audiobook

Book Review: Sudden Death

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Sudden Death
Andy Carpenter #4
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

Finding himself in the middle of a stand-off between the police and a man with a dead body in his closet is not the most auspicious start to defense attorney Andy Carpenter’s relationship with his new client, who happens to be a famous football player. And when his team’s digging produces several more connected deaths, Andy starts to lose faith in his client’s innocence.

This book was my favorite of the series so far. The twist of the multiple deaths that seemed unconnected and accidental, but were related to the accused, added a lot of suspense and intrigue. I really didn’t know what was going to happen for a while. Though I’m starting to get used to Rosenfelt’s pattern of adding a final twist at the end of the book, so I did guess something correctly there. Still, I enjoyed the ride throughout the entire book. 

I highly recommend this book for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas, and though there are some over-arcing storylines throughout the series, you don’t really need to start at the beginning (though I’d still recommend it). Grover Gardner is the definitive voice of Andy Carpenter, bringing Andy’s wit and sarcasm to life, so if you’re an audiobook listener, I’d suggest trying that out for this series. 

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Book Review: Cranford

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Cranford
by Elizabeth Gaskell
read by Nadia May

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Classic Victorian literature

Having greatly enjoyed Wives and Daughters and North and South by the same author, and seeing this billed in some places as Gaskell’s best-loved work, I went into this expecting something very different. Maybe this is just another example of classic writing that I simply don’t get, but I spent at least half of the time listening to this wondering what I was missing. It wasn’t completely uninteresting, but there isn’t much of a plot—at least not one that is discernible until far into the book. Even then, it’s thin.

On the other hand, some of the vignettes are amusing or interesting, and when a somewhat more involved plot emerged near the end, I was invested enough to really like it. I just think that there weren’t as many solid, distinct characters around which this book was written. I realized partway through that I probably should have approached this book the same way I did the other two (though it was not intentional with those two). I watched the BBC mini-series for both of them before I ever read the books, and maybe that allowed me to stay more interested as the plot meandered its way to the end (especially in Wives and Daughters). My husband bought me the mini-series of Cranford recently, so I’ll watch that soon, and who knows, maybe it will inspire me to listen to the audiobook again in the future with a different mindset going in.

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Book Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Hercule Poirot #4
 by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

All my life, I’ve heard of Agatha Christie and her most famous character, Hercule Poirot. As a reader of mystery novels all the way back to my school days, I always thought I was missing out on something by not reading any Christie, yet for whatever reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do so. Now that I have read 3 of her novels, and now one of the most loved of the Poirot stories, I find they’re a bit of a letdown. It seems to be a common theme for me when I read highly acclaimed classics, but it often seems like I’m missing what others are seeing. With each of these books, I realize more and more that there’s just way more story than I feel is necessary. I tend to zone out while I’m listening and then realize I don’t really know what’s going on. That’s my own fault, I know, but I think it’s mostly due to me not connecting well with the prose.

I do understand why this book is one of the most acclaimed Poirot story, and I’m not going to pretend I figured out the ending before we got there, but it was just a little too late to make the rest of the story more interesting. I’m also not sure how I feel about the blatant trickery Christie used throughout this book (blatant after the fact, not during). I do still think that Hugh Fraser does a great job narrating. I’m not giving up on the series yet, but I have a feeling it won’t be long.

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Book Review: The Hidden Staircase

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The Hidden Staircase
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #2
by Carolyn Keene
read by Laura Linney

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic mystery

Continuing on with listening to these old books that I somehow didn’t pay attention to when I was younger, one of the things I enjoyed about this book was the setting and the feeling of being transported back in time. Communication was slow, houses were thought of as haunted, and teenage girls were tasked with solving mysteries. Okay, that last one might not have been true-to-life even in the 30s, but somehow it just feels plausible in these books. And though there are some fairly obvious coincidences in this book, I’m sure that the kids in the age group it was meant for wouldn’t pick up on them as easily and would enjoy the excitement of the mystery. Laura Linney again does well bringing Nancy to life, making the audiobook a great option for this series.

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Book Review: Bury the Lead

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Bury the Lead
Andy Carpenter #3
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

Defense attorney Andy Carpenter takes on a client who has been receiving communication from a serial killer, tasked with protecting the journalist by his boss. But then the man is accused of the most recent murder, and Andy’s job has changed drastically. The only problem is that he’s not 100% certain that his client isn’t actually guilty.

This book takes some definite turns from the series so far, with Andy being brought in even more unwillingly as defense attorney for an accused murderer. The story takes a lot of turns near the end, and I’m not really sure that Andy himself does a lot to solve the various mysteries tied up in the case. Certain things are kind of handed to him or done for him, though not in a way that made me feel like he was a weak MC. The cast of side characters he’s started to draw around him add to my enjoyment of this book.

There were a couple of things that I didn’t care for in this book, like the over-the-top dog love that actually lacked logic at one point for me (it’s not okay to make a dog sleep outside, but it is okay to expect a dog to live on a boat?), but overall, I enjoyed the mystery and the characters. Fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas should consider reading this book. Grover Gardner is the definitive voice of Andy Carpenter, bringing Andy’s wit and sarcasm to life, so if you’re an audiobook listener, I’d suggest trying that out for this series. 

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Book Review: Murder on the Links

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Murder on the Links
Hercule Poirot #2
 by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

When Poirot is summoned to France by a man that is already dead when he arrives, he attempts to detangle a twisty mystery. This story threw me a couple of times. At least once, I thought the mystery was solved, only for it to take another turn. I don’t know if that’s because I was listening to the audiobook and maybe missed something or if they were intentional twists. There were so many potential answers to the mystery that seemed to be real and then were later shown to be false, though, that I’m certain I will look back on this story and either not be able to remember who the actual culprit was or remember it wrong. I’m also not a fan of the insta-love trope that happens with Hastings in this book. It’s a bit of a stretch to believe that this woman made such a big impression on him in the small interaction they had, though it weirdly seems to be a common trope in fiction written in this general time period.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Hugh Fraser and thought he did a great job. I don’t know that I’ll read this entire series in the end, but I certainly plan to keep going.

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Book Review: Fortunately, the Milk

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Fortunately, the Milk
by Neil Gaiman
Read by the author

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s fantasy

I’ve always been intimidated by Neil Gaiman, and at this point, I’m pretty sure I’ll never read any of his adult books. But when I heard about a children’s book written by this famous author, I thought it would at least give me a chance to see what all the fuss is about. Though it’s a bit chaotic and I listened to the audiobook, thus forgoing the pictures almost entirely, I appreciated the cleverness of the story. For one thing, I always like it when time travel is done well and connections are made at different parts of the story where the time traveler(s) interact with themselves in big or small ways. For such a short story, this happens a few times, and I think it’s a great introduction to well-done time travel stories for kids. I also enjoyed the running joke from the title, with the innocuous breakfast milk playing such a large role in the story. It’s a ridiculous, goofy “dad story” through and through, and I appreciated Gaiman’s narration. Though I’m sure kids would be much better off seeing the pictures and perhaps hearing their own dad (or other parent) read it to them.

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Book Review: The Secret of the Old Clock

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The Secret of the Old Clock
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #1
by Carolyn Keene
read by Laura Linney

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic mystery

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys were household names in my house growing up, though for some reason, I didn’t read much of them. Maybe they felt dated to me even then, but now I’m ready to see what I missed. While, yes, Nancy’s life is shown to be a bit too perfect in this series opener, it somehow feels about right for the time period. I also don’t think I really ever realized that these books were intended for pre-teens, 9-12-year-olds, rather than older teens or young adults like I assumed, considering the age of the main character. In that light, the not-terribly-deep mystery makes a little more sense. I do like that Nancy’s desire to find the missing will is driven by her compassion for those who are in need and had been promised part of the inheritance, but it also seems to me like she just can’t help but want to solve the puzzle. I can understand why Nancy was a role-model for young girls for decades, why the series lasted for so long, and why it even inspired a lengthy series of video games (many of which I’ve played). Laura Linney was a great choice for narrator, as she brings the smart, young, wholesome young woman to life quite well. I don’t know that I’ll have the endurance for 100 books, but I do plan to continue the series.

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Book Review: Henry Huggins

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Henry Huggins
book #1
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Neil Patrick Harris

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

This book might be a bit dated, but Henry and Ribsy are a fun duo. In the intro, Beverly Cleary explains that she wanted to write a story that wasn’t all grand adventures, travels, heroics, etc. for the regular boy, and I think she did a great job of that. Certainly most of what happens in this book wouldn’t be remotely possible today, which is kind of sad, but that makes books like this all the more classic and worth reading. No surprise that Neil Patrick Harris did a great job narrating the book, and I believe I will enjoy visiting a simpler time as I listen to the rest of this series in the coming weeks.

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Book Review: We Bought a Zoo

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We Bought a Zoo
by Benjamin Mee
Read by Gildart Jackson

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Memoir

Benjamin Mee tells the story of how he went from a DIY writer to a zoo owner, along with his family, and all of the difficulty that came with purchasing the zoo and getting the license to run it. Though normally, I don’t have a lot of negative to say about an autobiography or memoir, understanding that the author has shared what they wanted to share, whether I wish there was more or less of anything. I will say, though, that this book was quite slow and dry for a while. It picked up a lot when they actually acquired the zoo, and I especially enjoyed the various stories about the animals.

Various parts pertaining to Mee’s wife’s decline and death reminded me of my mom, who died just over a year ago from a quick-moving form of dementia. Mee’s enjoyment in spending time with her, even though that extra time was spent with him taking care of her in ways that aren’t so romantic, meant a lot to me. His difficulty with coping with his loss and the things that would remind him of his wife made me think of my husband—not that he’s gone, but how I think he’d be if he lost me, especially the part about various treats he would buy for her at the store. My husband does that a lot, and I can imagine just going grocery shopping being hard on him.

My least favorite thing about the book is Mee’s very strong evolution-as-fact worldview, which permeates most of the book. He even uses it to explain how people deal with loss, saying we’ve evolved to be used to the idea that a loved one might not come back from “hunting” or whatever. I’ve got news for Mee and anyone else with this mindset—we were not created to accept death. We were created to be eternal, and though man messed that up, God provided a way for us to live forever with Him through the sacrifice of his Son. I disagreed with a lot of Mee’s worldview, but I didn’t factor that into my rating. In an autobiography, I fully expect to get the author’s unadulterated worldview. Whether or not I would recommend this book for others, it’s hard to say, to be honest. Those who are interested in the business side of zoos may enjoy it, but as I said, it was a bit dry to me. If you’ve seen the movie and want to know if the book is similar, I haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve read that a lot of creative license was taken in making it.

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