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Title: Music for Torching

Author: A M Homes

Narrator: Penelope Rawlins

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-15

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Paul and Elaine have two boys and a beautiful home, yet they find themselves thoroughly, inexplicably stuck. Obsessed with 'making things good again', they spin the quiet terrors of family life into a fantastical frenzy that careens well and truly out of control.

From a hilarious encounter in the pantry with a Stepford Wife neighbour, to a hostage situation at the school, Homes lays bare the foundations of marriage and family life.

Critic Reviews:

"Brilliant I found myself rapt from beginning to end" (New York Times)

"Homes describes nice people doing not-so-nice deeds in luminous, precise prose" (Tim Appelo)

Members Reviews:

The Ending - Lazy and Bizarre

A M Holmes wrote May We be Forgiven which is one of my favourite books. I also liked This Book Will Save Your Life. And for much of Music for Torching, I enjoyed the trade-mark bone-dry, black and bleak humour.

It is an increasingly bizarre and fantastic, nightmarish story. The writing is pitilessly forensic in its dissection of a marriage, of the 'dream' of American middle-class suburban life - and even family life. It does have moments of 'humour' which I enjoyed. But you also feel that you are watching a car-crash in which the driver and all the passengers actively want the crash to play out.

The characters are vivid and even though I didn't believe in many of them - and detested the main characters - some of the small-part acts are just brilliant - the slightly-drunk neighbour, the bi-sexual housewife - and the children.

But the ending (which I will not reveal) was in my view lazy and just lobbed in for the sake of shock value. It is disconnected from the the rest of the book entirely and I hated it - not just because it was so awful, but because I went on this journey with Holmes, paid for the credit, and then got a 'cut and paste' horror end that in no way reflects the rest of the book - and that's saying something given how weird the rest of the book is. But at least it was consistent - the end was cheap.

The narration was very good, and that is why I have given this download 3 stars overall, instead of the 2 that the story merits.

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Title: Heaven's Basement

Author: Richard Poche

Narrator: Roberto Scarlato

Format: Unabridged

Length: 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-14

Publisher: Richard Poche

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Bunny and Cody are a pair of escorts entertaining two low-rent dope dealers in a seedy motel. When one of the dealers attacks Cody, Bunny takes the law into her own hands and shoots the men dead.

Stealing the drug dealer's stash of cocaine and money, the women carjack a housekeeper at the motel.

Lolita is no ordinary maid, however, as she mysteriously knows details about the prostitutes' lives.

Paul Nighthorse is an emotionally scarred deputy who catches the case. His pursuit takes a dark turn as his own demons come back to haunt him in the form of a stripper who has information on the whereabouts of the women.

With the deputy in hot pursuit, the threesome go on the run. Lolita tries to talk the two women into giving their lives over to God. But Bunny thinks they finally have enough money to get out of the life. ...Until Cody reveals that one of the men had bitten her.

And now she thinks she is becoming a vampire.

Before the night is over, the women realize that there are no easy getaways.

Members Reviews:

Excellent Short Story

This story is short, however, it is a fantastic short story. I would describe it as a mix of thriller, a little mystery, and just the right amount of action. The story starts off pretty fast and hard. Right of the bat we see Cody is somewhat injured and trying to decide with her friends what to do next. The story does not slow down, in fact, it gets even more fast pace. The story covers many interesting characters whose lives are all connected together in one moment in time. The plot was well done and the characters were very detailed. If you are a thriller/action fan, and looking for something different, read this book.

Vampires, Thieves, and Other Troubles

A short story about an evening gone wrong in the American countryside. Strippers, gunmen, robberies, hostage situations, bloodsucking sinners, bible thumping maids, a patrolman who can't keep his eyes on the road, and other things. Definitely worth a read.

Fantastic Story!

I found this story extremely fascinating! This was such a suspenseful, thrilling, and intriguing short story. The author, Richard Poche, did a fantastic job of using so many literary elements in a fantastic way throughout this short story. On top of that, the cover artwork is fantastic! It gives the reader an interesting idea of what this story is going to be about before they even read the description of the story. One of the many things that I liked in the story was the progression of the characters. I really liked reading through Cody's change in character. I felt that she came into herself and in a way, became more accepting as the story took interesting changes and twists along the way. Overall, I truly enjoyed and appreciated this story. I look forward to reading more of Richard Poche's work!

Short but a great read

It was a short story, with a lot packed into it. You had the girl that was a religious nut, the scared hooker who was not afraid to shoot, the other hooker that thought she was becoming a vampire, and the cop and striper romance. I think only two people got the happy ending of sorts if the dead crows are any sign of it.

It is one of those books you can't put down, a great short read.

Got this on Kindle Freebie Day

The only thing this did for me was to hold my interest long enough to finish it.

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Title: Christmas at the Beach Café

Author: Lucy Diamond

Narrator: Melody Grove

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-08-14

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

After a hectic summer running her beach café in Cornwall, Evie Flynn is looking forward to her first Christmas with new boyfriend, Ed. But when Eds ex suddenly gets in touch again, and some unexpected guests arrive: Eds surly brother, Jake, and Evies heartbroken best friend, Amber, Evies Christmas starts to look as if itll be a total turkey. Will any of her festive wishes come true?

Members Reviews:

Too short-not value for money

Too short-not value for money

It was a nice short story, but no real depth to follow in Evie's story.

Bit lame

Just a short continuation of the 1st book. Very short. Lacked substance. Very much a disappointment

book

nice short story enjoyed it on to the next book know love it big thumbs up

loved it

A great continuation of a lovely story with really engaging characters. have really enjoyed all 3 of the beach cafe books that I've listened to.

Jingled up bells

A funny little novella which had me laughing out loud. Pleasant enjoyable story which just cruised along and lulls you into a feeling of contentment. Like listen with mother for those who remember

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Title: Nagasaki

Author: Éric Faye

Narrator: David Timson, Anna Bentinck

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-14

Publisher: Gallic Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Winner of the Académie Française award 2010.

In a house on a suburban street in Nagasaki, meteorologist Shimura Kobo lives quietly on his own. Or so he believes. Food begins to go missing. Perturbed by this threat to his orderly life, Shimura sets up a webcam to monitor his home.

But though eager to identify his intruder, is Shimura really prepared for what the camera will reveal? This prize-winning novel is a heart-rending tale of alienation in the modern world.

Critic Reviews:

"Unfolds, like those Japanese paper pellets that, dropped into water, expand into fragile, delicate beauty that touches the heart." (The Spectator)

"Concise and brilliantly unsettling will haunt you for a long time" (The Lady)

Members Reviews:

Too sentimental, in a creepy way

Too sentimental, in a creepy way. Quote:" everyone should be given a jey to their childhood flat, and spend one hour in it when they grow up." Geez. But i kind if like a book this sentimental, for a change.

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Title: Letters from Wishing Rock

Subtitle: A Novel with Recipes, Wishing Rock, Book 1

Author: Pam Stucky

Narrator: Tiffany Williams

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-29-14

Publisher: Pam Stucky

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Letters From Wishing Rock is the first book in the Wishing Rock series.

Letters From Wishing Rock is a 2013 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree.

What would happen if everyone in town lived in the same building? Ruby Parker is about to find out. Her fiancé has left her and she needs a fresh start, so she moves to Wishing Rock, Washington, a small town on Dogwinkle Island in the waters near Seattle, where she meets a quirky cast of characters who quickly become family. Letters between the neighbors and their friends chronicle the twists and turns of the characters daily lives. Theres Jake, a handsome and charming first-year medical student who catches Rubys eye from the start, despite his being over a decade younger. Millie, a Wishing Rock resident for 40 years, runs the towns library, post office, newsletter, and grocery store, knows everyone and everything, and shares the history of the area with her playful wit. World traveler and psychic Alexandra bestows insight and wisdom with humor and compassion, and Rubys Gran heads to the United Kingdom, heeding her own advice to seize the day. And then theres Ed; if something fun is going on, the grandson of the towns founding father is likely at the center of it. Amidst all this action, Ruby manages to find passion and companionship, but will she be able to open her heart to love?

Online dating, a group trip to Scotland, a discussion about dogwinkles, a fateful hoedown, and friendships old and new, all interspersed with recipes from some of the towns best cooks, make Wishing Rock come alive in this delightful and insightful look at life, love, relationships, and community.

Critic Reviews:

"...this book is practically designed to woo me. And it worked.... What it reminded me of most, actually, was the show

Northern Exposure, which I also loved." (Molly Ringle, author)

"It was just what the doctor ordered, fresh, quirky, funny in places and seasoned with wisdom." (Tahlia Newland, author)

Members Reviews:

When everyone is under one roof ...

Any additional comments?

Letters from Wishing Rock is the story of Ruby. She moves to the island town after a break up with her fiance. Wishing Rock is unique because the entire town's population lives in one building. Through emails, news letters and texts, we learn about life in Wishing Rock.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. Each character in the book is able to give their own spin on situations and events that happen during the story. The personality of the characters are well developed. Ruby and Jake were my favorite tho Gran was close on their heels.

Ms. Williams' narration was a great addition to the story. She read each email, text and news letter in the voice of the person writing it. She also drew me into the story and I couldn't wait to hear what was going to happen next.

I would recommend this book to my friends.

Not for me

This just did not work for me, I don't believe this book works as an audiobook, why not?

To start with, the emails, I found it so annoying when the narrator, instead of just saying "re" would pronounce it as "Are Eee". OK, maybe my annoyance was irrational, but nevertheless, annoyed and irritated I was.

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Title: The Greatest Show off Earth

Author: Robert Rankin

Narrator: Robert Rankin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-05-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Roll up! Roll Up! You have never seen anything like it in your life. The last thing Raymond expected when he went down to his allotment was to be abducted by a flying starfish from Uranus. But these things happen and when he learns that he is being sold as a delicacy in a Venusian auction, he is grateful to be rescued by the travelling circus.

But this is not your everyday circus, this is Professor Merlins Greatest Show off Earth, with ancient exotic performers who travel between the inhabited worlds in a Victorian steamship. The professor has a job for Raymond: release the 200 people held prisoner on Saturn and save the population of planet Earth from extinction.

Simon, Raymonds best friend, is in trouble, too. The Men in Grey are after him and a cult of Satanic chicken worshippers are keen to use him as a human sacrifice. Simon does have a book from the future that might help him out, and there are all those villagers with the flaming torches.

The Greatest Show off Earth is partly set in Bramfield, based upon the actual Sussex village of Henfield, where author Robert Rankin lived for a number of years. Rankin inhabited Raymonds cottage, which can easily be found by following the directions in the first chapter. The characters are mostly real people the author met and drank with in The Jolly Gardeners, and some, like Simon, Andy, Paul, and Military Dave appear in the book under their own names. With touching naivety, Rankin thought that the locals would appreciate being in his novel. Not all did, and a certain someone, who will remain nameless, shot the windscreen out of Rankins car one night, and regularly left dead rats upon the doorstep to signal his disapproval.

Country life never really agreed with Robert Rankin and he now lives happily in Brighton, where he no longer puts his neighbours in his books.

Members Reviews:

Excelent

Weird and wonderful just as I like it lots of crazy characters with a story to match well worth a listen

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Titre: mn

Auteur: Kim Thuy

Narrateur: Kim Thuy

Format: Unabridged

Durée: 2 hrs and 56 mins

Langue: Français

Date de publication: 09-03-14

Éditeur: Coffragants

Evaluation: 3.5 sur 5 sur 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Kim Thúy nous livre son nouveau roman puissant et raffiné, à la hauteur de son talent.

Mn est une histoire d'amour entre une femme et celles qui l'ont, tour à tour, fait naître, allaitée, élevée. Elle a été déposée dans le potager d'un temple bouddhiste sur le bord d'un des bras du Mékong par une adolescente. Une moniale l'a recueillie et nourrie d'eau, de riz et du lait des seins d'une mère voisine, avant de la confier à une autre femme - enseignante de jour, espionne en tout temps. Mn parle de l'amour à l'envers, celui qui doit se taire, celui qui ne peut être vécu, celui qui ne doit pas s'inscrire dans le temps en souvenirs, en histoires. Or, juste avant la fin, ou au milieu d'un nouveau début, ailleurs, loin de la chaleur tropicale, près du corps, dans la lenteur aérienne des flocons de neige, il y a eu un amour à l'endroit, c'est-à-dire un amour ordinaire né d'une rencontre ordinaire, avec un homme ordinaire, ce qui était pour elle l'extraordinaire, l'improbable.

Mn, c'est l'apprentissage du mot "aimer" pour donner suite à la définition du verbe "vivre" de À toi et à la conjugaison de "survivre" de Ru.

©2013 Libre Expression (P)2013 Les Éditions Alexandre Stanké inc.

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Title: Sanctum

Subtitle: Asylum, Book 2

Author: Madeleine Roux

Narrator: Michael Goldstrom

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-28-14

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Haunting, fast-paced sequel to the New York Times best-selling novel Asylum. Perfect for fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Sanctum is a mind-bending listening experience that blurs the lines between past and present, genius and insanity. Dan, Abby, and Jordan were traumatised by the summer they shared at New Hampshire College, the former site of the Brookline asylum. They want to move on, but someone is determined to keep the terror alive by sending them anonymous photos of an old-time carnival.

Forsaking plans to never to go back, the teens return during a weekend for prospective students, and realise that the carnival from the photos is not only real, it's here on campus. As Dan and his friends visit abandoned houses and hidden places of the surrounding town, they realise that Camford is hiding a terrible past, and the influence of the asylum runs deeper than they ever imagined.

Critic Reviews:

Praise for Asylum:

"I started reading this one at my desk in broad daylight and still got goose bumps." (Glamour

"Horror readers and fans of the TV show American Horror Story' will delight in the fast-paced plot." (ALA Booklist)

Members Reviews:

A fantastic sequel that read like a horror movie

*4.5*

In the aftermath of the events that took place in Brookline, the old asylum located on New Hampshire College campus, Dan and his friends Abby and Jordan are still dealing with the nightmares and memories of what took place. With some mysterious information that is sent to them and presents itself to Dan, the trio must make the trip back to NHC and try to solve the secrets in order to be able to try and move on from what happened.

This sequel is fast paced, filled with suspense and reads much more like a horror movie than the first book, Asylum. It has the same creepy and eerie feeling that is found in the first book, but has a feeling of being in the realm of possibility. Whereas Asylum was more about the overactive imagination and unreliability of the mind, in Sanctum there is a more immanent threat that is developed. For me that poses a greater threat and more fear because instead of just thinking something is happening or going on you know it is happening. There are actual people stalking the three and when you put that with the eeriness of the setting and the added element of a creepy carnival there is a trifecta of terror. The dark and ominous elements added with the well thought out story layered with secrets and hints of insanity, perfectly combined to make a suspenseful story that reminded me of horror films and even of the T.V. show American Horror Story.

I was happy to see that there were a lot of questions answered in this book that I felt were unresolved in Asylum. I did still think that there were some questions not completely answered and just insinuated that I wish were actually answered. The other problem I had with the first book was the characters and I thin Roux did a much better job in this book with the characters in my opinion. The relationships and friendships actually felt real and not like it was trying to hard. The addition of the new characters Micah, Lara and Cal really helped to add to the story and overall plot. Roux does a fantastic job creating characters that are questioning their sanity and even the ones that are close to insanity.

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Title: The Black Tower

Author: P. D. James

Narrator: Daniel Weyman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-25-14

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Commander Adam Dalgliesh is recuperating from a life-threatening illness when he receives a call for advice from an elderly friend who works as a chaplain in a home for the disabled on the Dorset coast. Dalgliesh arrives to discover that Father Baddeley has recently and mysteriously died, as has one of the patients at Toynton Grange. Evidently the home is not quite the caring community it purports to be. Dalgliesh is determined to discover the truth of his friend's death, but further fatalities follow and his own life is in danger as he unmasks the evil at the heart of Toynton Grange.

Critic Reviews:

"More expertise from P. D. James. The writing is excellent, the pitch of final terror beautifully sustained." (Evening Standard)

"She writes like an angel. Every character is clearly drawn. Her atmosphere is unerringly, chillingly convincing. And she manages all this without for a moment slowing down the drive and tension of an exciting mystery." (The Times)

Members Reviews:

A Familiar Tale

PD James has been my favourite author for many years (sad to record in this review that she has now passed away). I have physically read this book, seen a tv adaptation and enjoyed both thoroughly. This unknown narrator (to me at least), was not perfect for me. I would have greatly loved to have heard it being read by the actor Roy Marsden, as he for me is Adam Dalglesh. However having said all this, I enjoyed listening to this crime thriller.

Brilliant as ever

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, P D James was an amazing writer. It doesn't matter in whatever order you read Adam Dalgliesh they still naked sense.

Bleak and unsettling

This is an unusual one. The book opens with Dalgliesh finding out that, contrary to an earlier diagnosis, he does not after all have a life-threatening disease and leaves hospital sure that he is going to leave the police force and do something else with his life.

An elderly priest has invited him to stay with him as he wants to consult him about something unspecified. Dalgliesh goes to see him to spend some of his recuperation time with him but when he arrives, the priest has been dead for nearly two weeks. Despite himself, he finds he cannot stop being a policeman and starts asking questions. He finds plenty of suspicious behaviour but somehow does not follow through with any of it as he is not there officially and of course does not have his usual team with him. He is under-par as the result of his illness, and because he is no longer sure he wants to be a policeman.

The investigation is unfocused and to this reader at least confusing. James' supporting characters are usually very vividly drawn and easily distinguished but in this book some are rather hazily drawn even when they come to play an important role in the story.

The persistent feeling of menace is very strongly conveyed but none of the characters have any redeeeming features. I missed the presence of the decent older woman who features in later books to give a humane core to the story.

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Title: Shadows and Lies

Author: Ronald Watkins

Narrator: Don Kline

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-07-14

Publisher: Watkins Literary

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When the President's mistress reveals the existence of a sex tape and demands money for her silence, it falls to the long suffering First Lady to deal with it. Unwilling to trust the Secret Service or any other federal agency, she calls on childhood friend and former lover, Dan Powers, to negotiate the deal. But with bodies quickly falling, Powers soon learns nothing is as it appears and that he's been marked for death.

An intimate and scathing look at power politics in Washington D.C., Shadows and Lies is as timely as today's headlines.

Members Reviews:

A Complex Conspiracy

The First Family is having issues; the First Lady Rebecca Gordon Tufts has received a blackmail note from her husband's mistress demanding a half million dollars in hush money. Not trusting members of the White House staff to deliver the money and keep quiet, she asks an old friend, retired policeman Dan Powers to come to DC to take care of the job as a personal favor.

It's rare to find a book where almost every character presented is someone with no redeeming features, but this book manages to turn that trick. The only character the reader can actually cheer for is Dan Powers who ends up being the whipping boy for almost every one else in the story no matter which way he turns.

The story itself is complex with a lot of twists, turns, and surprises with Powers using his experience as a big city detective to follow the clues and sort out these bad guys from the other bad guys. He suffers being shot, beat up, lied to, and betrayed by just about everyone yet he keeps on the case to root out the truth and identify the ultimate culprit amongst a whole cast of culprits.

The real problems with the book are in the execution of the plot and the mechanics of story telling. There are many grammatical and typographical errors in the book which increase in number as the book progresses, as though the proofreader or editor gave up halfway through the job.

Another glaring error is a disconnected plot point that seems to have gotten lost between one draft of the book and the final version regarding an apparently abandoned subplot of a drug problem that Rebecca Tufts had at one time. The drug in question, Librium, was mentioned twice as though the reader should already know the backstory and the character's relationship with it and how it caused another problem to occur, yet there is no such subplot to explain it. An editor should have caught this and corrected the problem either by omitting the references or directing the author to insert an explanation of the references possibly by restoring the original subplot to the book.

The timeframe of the book is also a problem. There are hints in the text that make it seem to take place in a time just after the millennium without specifying the exact year, and yet there are technical points that would tend to indicate that it is not a present-day setting. There are mentions of a few popular personages such as Tom Brokaw and Oprah Winfrey to give it verisimilitude, but there are other details that make a major plot point difficult to believe if the story took place in a time after the year 2000. Information that would be common knowledge by that date and afterward was not known by the main character, and this lack of awareness put him at a disadvantage.