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Title: In the Suicide Mountains

Author: John Gardner

Narrator: Gary Dikeos

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-09-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

An intricately woven fable filled with magical creaturesand astonishing surprises.

In this wonderful fantasy, John Gardner weaves tales within tales to bring a magical world to vivid life. When three travelers on their way to the Suicide Mountains meet an enigmatic man, the Abbot of the Ancient Monastery, they begin a series of wild adventures in which they must confront mystical creaturesand come to terms with the roles fate has determined for each of them.

Superbly imagined and brimming with philosophical insight, In the Suicide Mountains is a tribute to Gardners passion for medieval storytelling, and an unforgettable novel in its own right.

Members Reviews:

VERY GOOD

A fun adult fairy tale written by a very talented author. Probably requires to be read/listened to more than one time to fully understand a lot of the underlying messages and symbolism. However, very enjoyable on any level. Good narration.

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Title: Quiver

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Holly Luhning

Narrator: Jennifer Wiltsie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-24-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In sixteenth-century Hungary, Countess Elizabeth Bathory began to torture and kill over 600 servant girls so as to bathe in their blood. She believed this practice would render her beauty immortal; it certainly did her reputation.

Quiver tells the chilling story of the notorious Countess Bathory and her undying power to enthrall. Danica, a young forensic psychologist, is one of many who have been drawn into the orbit of Bathory's enduring legend. Danica has moved to England from Canada to work at Stowmoor, a former insane asylum turned forensic hospital, and one of her patients is Martin Foster, imprisoned for murdering a fourteen-year-old girl.

Foster is a menacing but fascinating patient, and Danica begins to suspect he may have belonged to a cabal idolizing Bathory and reenacting her savage murders. At the same time, Danica receives a mysterious note from Maria, a seductive archivist who moves in glamorous circles and with whom Danica has an intriguing and complicated past.

Maria claims she has discovered Bathory's long-lost diaries, which chronicle her spectacularly bloody crimes, and as Danica's career and her relationship with her artist-boyfriend, Henry, begin to break down, Maria increasingly insinuates herself into her life. Soon, Danica is in too deep to notice that Maria's motivations are far from selfless, and that, in fact, they may just cost Danica her life.

Editorial Reviews:

Elizabeth Bathory was a real-life 16th-century Hungarian countess who systematically tortured and murdered young girls in order to bathe in their blood. In parlance common to our day, the girl had issues.

Common parlance is the order of the day in this psychological thriller that makes heavy use of Bathorys sordid crimes. Written by Holly Luhning and performed in a seductive alto by Jennifer Wiltsie, Quiver follows Danica, a forensic psychologist who finds herself drawn into the world of Martin, a teenager accused of worshiping Bathory, and Maria, a mysterious figure who claims to have found Bathorys long-hidden diaries. Luhning pursues the modern-day thriller of Danicas predicament while she tells the story of old, bad Bathory. Yes, film rights have been optioned.

Members Reviews:

Eerily sneaks up on you, gripping read

wonderful description of the failings of the psychological profession. does a good job of balancing out just enough normality with just enough for shadowing of events ahead. wish it was longer.

Distressing but compelling

This is a heart of darkness kind of book. It's about Elizabeth Bathory, and she is a nasty piece of business in any century. It's also a very interesting look at psychopaths without saying it's about them. It was a compelling read but I could see the end chapters away and that was a disappointment. It''s also terribly graphic. I would say it's pg35 (No. I wouldn't hand it to someone in their irresponsible tweens.)

Awesome Narrator, Story not as awesome but ok

Jennifer Wiltsie did a fantastic job narrating this story. The story itself one must suspend belief that the main character can be so gullible but then some stories I read in the news about people make me think it's probably possible she could let herself be strung along.

I think many people would enjoy this book especially with the great narration.

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Title: Worst. Person. Ever.

Author: Douglas Coupland

Narrator: Julian Rhind-Tutt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-03-13

Publisher: Random House Audiobooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A razor-sharp portrait of a morally bankrupt and gleefully wicked modern man, Worst. Person. Ever. is Douglas Coupland's gloriously filthy, side-splittingly funny and unforgettable novel.

Meet Raymond Gunt. A decent chap who tries to do the right thing. Or, to put it another way, the worst person ever: a foul-mouthed, misanthropic cameraman, trailing creditors, ex-wives and unhappy homeless people in his wake. Men dislike him, women flee from him. Worst. Person. Ever. is a deeply unworthy book about a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value. Gunt, in the words of the author, "is a living, walking, talking, hot steaming pile of pure id."

He's a B-unit cameraman who enters an amusing downward failure spiral that takes him from London to Los Angeles and then on to an obscure island in the Pacific where a major American TV network is shooting a Survivor-style reality show. Along the way, Gunt suffers multiple comas and unjust imprisonment, is forced to re-enact the Angry Dance from the movie Billy Elliot and finds himself at the centre of a nuclear war. We also meet Raymond's upwardly failing sidekick, Neal, as well as Raymond's ex-wife, Fiona, herself an atomic bomb of pain. Even though he really puts the anti in anti-hero, you may find Raymond Gunt an oddly likeable character.

Members Reviews:

worst. book. ever.

Lazy plot, uninteresting characters. I might have liked this back when I was 15. Well narrated by Julian Rhind-Thutt which is the only reason why I bothered to finish it.

Not great

I have read and enjoyed several of Coupland's books before, but couldn't get on with this at all. Can't say if it was the narration, the plot or the characters but probably a combination of all three. As an English listener there are a number of popular culture references that don't ring true. I got through it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas for the 21st century

Would you listen to Worst. Person. Ever. again? Why?

I very rarely re-read books so no, I wouldn't listen again however that's not to diminish from this book.

What did you like best about this story?

Absurd. Relentless. Dark. Scatological. Hilarious. Surreal in the best possible way

What does Julian Rhind-Tutt bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

I do feel that this novel and the narration (or acting really as he lends superb characterisation to all the voices) are a marriage made in heaven.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Absolutely laugh-out-loud funny. Occasionally I had to pause so I could recover from a fit of giggles.

Whatever Happened To Douglas Coupland?

What would have made Worst. Person. Ever. better?

My fella and I listened to this on our commute. Maybe it's because we've grown out of him, but both of us found this utterly awful. I've read a lot of Coupland's books - Girlfriend In A Coma and Eleanor Rigby, I loved, and I get the whole 'Voice of a generation' thing, but what happens when that generation grows up? We found this juvenile more than anything. Far fetched, ridiculous and lazy. Only Neil was a character you wanted to know a little more about but he wasn't really given any wings.

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Title: Bad News

Subtitle: A Patrick Melrose Novel, Book 2

Author: Edward St Aubyn

Narrator: Alex Jennings

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-12-13

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The second Patrick Melrose novel.

Twenty-two years old and in the grip of a massive addiction, Patrick Melrose is forced to fly to New York to collect his father's ashes. Over the course of a weekend, Patricks remorseless search for drugs on the avenues of Manhattan, haunted by old acquaintances and insistent inner voices, sends him into a nightmarish spiral. Alone in his room at the Pierre Hotel, he pushes body and mind to the very edge - desperate always to stay one step ahead of his rapidly encroaching past.

Members Reviews:

Depressing but brilliantly written and spoken

This book is so depressing that, although it is brilliantly told, I couldn't give it a higher rating than 4 stars. Edward St. Aubyn relates the sordid world of drug taking in such vivid detail that I felt I was there with him as he dealt with dealers, struggled to find veins that were not damaged from previous abuse and lived in permanent anticipation of his next fix.

In New York to collect the ashes of his abusive father, the story is about the endless round of sniffing, injecting, swallowing drugs and, although he knew that the seconds of pleasure they gave him were not worth the agony of withdrawal, he could not stop himself. This book should be on every school syllabus because it would surely discourage any would-be addict from ever attempting to try drugs.

Alex Jennings narration is superb and made the miserable account of an addicts life bearable.

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Title: All That Is

Author: James Salter

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-13

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

From his experiences as a naval officer in Japan during World War II, Philip Bowman returns to America and becomes a book editor. He soon inhabits a world where affairs ignite, alcohol reigns, writers struggle, and publishers hustle. As one marriage goes bad and another fails to happen; he meets a woman who enthralls, then betrays him, setting him on a course he could never have imagined for himself.

Critic Reviews:

"The best novel Ive read in years. All That Is will be treasured by its readersOnce again he has delivered to us a novel of the highest artistry." (Tim O'Brien)

"Salter is the contemporary writer most admired and envied by other writershe can, when he wants, break your heart with a sentence" (Washington Post)

"A beautiful novel, with sufficient love, heartbreak, vengeance, identity, confusion, longing, and euphoria of language to have satisfied Shakespeare" (John Irving)

Members Reviews:

Life goes by so fast

James Salter's writing is beautiful, elegant and delicate at the same time and gives you plenty of emotions . The life of the main characters is presented in a series of pictures at different times of his existence , without an excessively structured and logic connection.

We are the privileged witness of his hopes, emotions, deceptions ; we feel with him thorough 60+ years. A great book, plenty of joy and sadness, which reminds us that great literature can be great fun.

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Title: The Day of Creation

Author: J. G. Ballard

Narrator: Fleet Cooper

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-25-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

On the arid, war-plagued terrain of central Africa, a manic doctor is consumed with visions of transforming the Sahara into a land of abundance. But Dr. Mallorys obsession quickly spirals dangerously out of control.

Critic Reviews:

"Compulsively absorbing: the white heat of its images seems to burn off the page, and the surreal landscapes linger on in the mind." (The Independent)

Members Reviews:

Day of Creation is a verbal lyric...

Ballard's "Day of Creation" is lushly written and able to transport the reader to a river that virtually travels back in time. The author's ability to paint a verbal portrait of the subconscious drives of the human mind, Freudian overtones and all, make this an amazing journey into the fertile imagination of one of England's most famous contemporary writers.

L. Pifer

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Title: Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli and Snake Hill

Author: James Patterson

Narrator: Bryan Kennedy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-20-13

Publisher: Random House Audiobooks

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Rafe Khatchadorian, the hero of the bestselling Middle School series, is ready for a fun summer at camp until he finds out its a summer school camp! Luckily, Rafe easily makes friends with his troublemaking cabin mates and bunkmate, a boy nicknamed Booger Eater, who puts up with endless teasing from the other kids. Rafe soon realises theres more to a person than a nickname, though, and Booger Eater might be the kind of friend you want on your side when the boys from the Cool Cabin attack.

This fourth book in the massively popular Middle School series is an unforgettable summer of hi-jinks, new friends, and surprises, all told with the hilarity and honesty readers have come to expect from blockbuster author James Patterson.

Members Reviews:

the BBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT

it was so good I fell asleep the hole night with it playing. Recommend it

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Title: The Quarry

Author: Iain Banks

Narrator: Peter Kenny

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-20-13

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Kit doesn't know who his mother is. What he does know, however, is that his father, Guy, is dying of cancer. Feeling his death is imminent, Guy gathers around him his oldest friends - or at least the friends with the most to lose by his death. Paul - the rising star in the Labour party who dreads the day a tape they all made at university might come to light; Alison and Robbie, corporate bunnies whose relationship is daily more fractious; Pris and Haze, once an item, now estranged, and finally Hol - friend, mentor, former lover and the only one who seemed to care.

But what will happen to Kit when Guy is gone? And why isn't Kit's mother in the picture? As the friends reunite for Guy's last days, old jealousies, affairs and lies come to light as Kit watches on.

Members Reviews:

the last offering of a great author

A brilliant story, his last book that perhaps reflects some of his own thoughts, challenges and insights as he confronted mortality. And Peter Kenny reads extremely well, as he always does. After a few hundred audiobooks I can say that this combination of author and reader are my absolute favourite and I highly recommend them.

Excellent narration of Iain's last book

What made the experience of listening to The Quarry the most enjoyable?

the narration and the steely response to cancer with a touch of rage into the night with humour and understanding

Who was your favorite character and why?

the son

What does Peter Kenny bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you had only read the book?

brings out the individual characters of the protagonist and the friends and especially his father

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

just thanks to all involved especially Iain Banks and Peter Kenny

Ok but characters you grow to hate

Started well but the let down is the story I am afraid to say, charterers I eventually either hated or didn't care about. Disappointing but good narration and some redeeming features, I.e. kit in particular

Iain Banks last novel

Would you listen to The Quarry again? Why?

Iain Bank wrote this book then announced he too had cancer and died shortly before this book was rushed through and published.

This will not be the first or last. He is a great storyteller and writer. One of the 20th century greats.

What did you like best about this story?

He has a great way of bringing together his characters.

Which character as performed by Peter Kenny was your favourite?

Kit - he is intelligent so insightful.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

all of it

Gives understanding of disability.

If you could sum up The Quarry in three words, what would they be?

Understanding of illnesses.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kit. Thinking about what was going on in the story and Kit being such a young boy who was the main carer of Guy, his father, made me feel that as a young man he was able to pass on a lot.

Have you listened to any of Peter Kennys other performances? How does this one compare?

Not sure I've listened to any before but my memory is terrible so maybe I have.

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Title: Tidal Shift

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Dora Heldt, Jamie Lee Searle (translator)

Narrator: Teri Clark Linden

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Forty-six-year-old divorcée Christine is finally happy - or so she thinks. She has an amazing boyfriend but she also has a drama-filled family she fears might scare him off. And when Christine spies her dependable Aunt Inge in the company of a man who is most certainly not her husband, it sends the family drama into overdrive - and delivers an unexpected wake-up call to Christine. Because after witnessing the newfound passion with which 60-something Inge is tackling each day, Christine becomes aware of the mounting frustrations in her supposedly fabulous life. Sick and tired of playing it safe, Christine finally decides the time has come to make some big changes. But will her quest for a new lease on life ruin her hard-won happiness? Or will she discover a joy she never imagined possible?

Members Reviews:

Good Narrator if you listen at speed 1.25 or 1.5

What did you love best about Tidal Shift?

It was a fun family story with all the misunderstanding that can happen in a family.

What aspect of Teri Clark Lindens performance would you have changed?

I am not sure but I think that somehow the performance was slowed down because I listened to other audio samples of books narrated by Teri Clark Linden and she did not speak as slowly as she did in this audio

Any additional comments?

For those of you who gave up on the listen, Please give it another try but speed it up. It is an enjoyable story.

The worst narration in all of my years w/Audible

Would you try another book from Dora Heldt and Jamie Lee Searle (translator) and/or Teri Clark Linden?

The story is fluff and humorous -- just what I was looking for. But it is as if the narrator is reading to developmentally challenged first graders. Occasionally she loses herself and speaks in normal cadence, but that is very rare.

Would you be willing to try another one of Teri Clark Lindens performances?

Never.

Nice story spoilt by terrible narration

What didnt you like about Teri Clark Lindens performance?

I know this was a translation but why was it read as if the listeners had only a basic knowledge of English. The only way I was able to get over the awful narration was by being too busy to care unpacking into a new house. I'm glad I persevered because I enjoyed the story.

Really bad narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I could not listen to this audio book, the narration was so bad. Tried to return it but unable to.

Has Tidal Shift put you off other books in this genre?

yes

What didnt you like about Teri Clark Lindens performance?

Stilted, did not flow unlike most audible books it sounded like she was reading it straight off, the characters also did not come over well.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment, frustration

couldn't finish it - awful narration

If this book wasnt for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

anyone who likes listening to robotic voices or children that have just learnt to read but an't put emphasis in the correct place - you'd be better off with an ebook and getting a generic software pacakge to read it out loud.

Would you ever listen to anything by Dora Heldt and Jamie Lee Searle (translator) again?

maybe the author as long as it had a different narrator.

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Title: Death in Two Parts

Author: Jane Aiken Hodge

Narrator: Casey Holloway

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-18-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When wealthy Mrs. Ffeathers takes a liking to her granddaughter, Patience, she changes her will, leaving her fortune to the girl. Then Mrs. Ffeathers is found poisoned, and it seems that only one person has a financial motive. Fifty years later, the mystery remains unsolved.

Born near Cambridge, Massachusetts to Pulitzer prize-winning poet Conrad Aiken and his first wife, the writer Jessie McDonald. Jane Hodge was 3 years old when her family moved to Great Britain, settling in Rye, East Sussex, where her younger sister, Joan, who would become a novelist and a childrens writer, was born. Their parents divorced in 1929.From 1935, Jane Hodge read English at Somerville College, Oxford University, and in 1938 she took a second degree in English at Radcliffe College, her mothers alma mater.

She was a civil servant for a time, and also worked for Time Magazine, before returning to the UK in 1947. Her works of fiction include historical novels and contemporary detective novels. In 1972 she renounced her United States citizenship and became a British subject.

For many years a believer in the right of people to end their own lives, Hodge chose to end her own by means of an overdose in June 2009. The Times obituary (pub. July 25, 2009) stated that she left a letter expressing her deep distress that she had felt unable to discuss her plans with her daughters without risking making them accessories.

Members Reviews:

Like Jane Aiken Hodge

I like her books.

Was glad to find a couple on Amazon.

A good easy read.

I travel a lot, so ebooks are wonderful to me.

A Death in Two Parts

Patience Smith has just been told that all her money has been used up and she will not be paid any more from the trust left by her father. But the solicitor has a solution to her problems - to go as a paid companion to a distant relative - from whom she escaped ten years ago. Patience is older and wiser now and feels she will be better able to deal with the elderly lady so she agrees to the proposition at least to tide her over the Christmas holidays before she can go back to university. An accusation of shoplifting from which she is rescued by the timely appearance of Geoffrey Crankshaw, a Scotland Yard detective and an acquaintance of hers saves her from prison.

Mrs ffeathers, of Featherstone Hall, is a manipulative old woman who deletes in keeping her family tied to her apron strings by threatening to stop their allowances. She has to be one of the most unpleasant characters I have ever come across in fiction and like her relatives I didn't mourn her death. But the solution to the mystery of who killed her has to wait for almost half a century before it will be solved.

I did enjoy this intriguing crime story and I liked Patience as a character. The solution is ingenious as are all the ramifications of the story. The book is well written and the characters believable. I recall reading this author's historical novels many years ago but I only read a few of the crime stories. I am looking forward to reading them now that they are being released as e-books and I shall revisit the historical novels too.