Wendy Taylor
- 46
- reviews
- 8
- helpful votes
- 128
- ratings
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The Midnight Man
- A Slayton Thriller, Book 1
- Written by: Caroline Mitchell
- Narrated by: Emma Gregory, Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Blackhall Manor has witnessed many dark crimes, long before five teenage girls break in to play the Midnight Game. It was supposed to be a game, but only four girls come home. Detective Sarah Noble has just returned to the force, and no one knows more about Blackhall Manor than her. Except perhaps Elliott Carter, who is only seven but has seen things in his dreams most adults could never imagine. It"s a case that will bring them together and shake Sarah to her core. Will she be ready to meet the Midnight Man?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well enjoyed!
- By Wendy Taylor on 2025-01-06
- The Midnight Man
- A Slayton Thriller, Book 1
- Written by: Caroline Mitchell
- Narrated by: Emma Gregory, Elliot Fitzpatrick
Well enjoyed!
Reviewed: 2025-01-06
I really enjoyed this book! It had flawed characters and a decent plot, with a twists that made sense, some slowly unveiled; others that snuck up.
The only part I personally wasn’t keen on was the clairvoyant character but that’s just me and it really didn’t take anything away from the story line.
The narrators were excellent! I’ll definitely check out more books by this author.
Well done!
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The Third Nanny
- Secrets of Redemption
- Written by: Michele PW - Pariza Wacek
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 7
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 7
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Story3 out of 5 stars 7
Janey hadn’t heard from her sister Kelly since she ran away from home eight years ago. Until the day the letter arrived; a disturbing letter. Before Janey could make contact, Kelly disappeared again. The only clue she had to work with was in Redemption, Wisconsin, where Kelly had worked as a nanny. So, Janey decides to retrace her sister’s steps...by taking over her job. The family she nannies for has secrets, and the more Janey digs, the more twisted the story becomes—and the more Janey realizes she might be the next to disappear.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Nope. Just, no.
- By Wendy Taylor on 2025-01-02
- The Third Nanny
- Secrets of Redemption
- Written by: Michele PW - Pariza Wacek
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
Nope. Just, no.
Reviewed: 2025-01-02
I had urges throughout this book to just end my suffering but I kept thinking it might come together at some point and make sense. It didn’t. I think the author tried to bring it around but failed.
If you like soap opera style writing, where plots are weak and side tangents plentiful (that go no where . . . example: Maddie and her dreams), then have at it.
If you like books with well thought out story lines and great twists, take a pass on this.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Married Man
- Written by: K.L. Slater
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story4 out of 5 stars 19
Everyone thinks my husband is dead. Just like we planned. Eleven years ago, my husband disappeared. Eleven long hard years I waited, my heart breaking for our son, who didn’t know his father was coming back. Today, my hands shake as I try to understand what I’ve just learned: my husband has a new wife. This wasn’t part of our plan. Eleven years ago, my husband made a terrible mistake. I sacrificed everything to help him fix it. But now he’s put our son and me in danger again. We had a plan. He broke the rules. But who will pay the price?
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5 out of 5 stars
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WOW…. What a Suspenseful Ride
- By AFH on 2024-11-18
- The Married Man
- Written by: K.L. Slater
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
A very rare DNF for me
Reviewed: 2025-01-01
I typically always finish a book, but I just couldn"t with this. From chapter to chapter, it jumps from character to character (Liv, Kait, Maddox) AND back and forth in time (present day, six month before, past, Friday, seven months before, Saturday, three months before), which is very confusing and doesn"t allow the reader time to know the character well enough to follow . . . . or, frankly, to care. I gave up.
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Drop Dead
- Written by: Lily Chu
- Narrated by: Phillipa Soo, John Cho
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 146
Obituary writer Nadine Barbault doesn’t mind being called “Lady Death”. It suits the ice queen persona she’s cultivated to survive the fast-paced Toronto Herald. So when Nadine learns that famous (and reclusive) author Dot Voline has died, she doesn’t hesitate to run the obituary…only to discover that Dot is very much alive. Nadine’s screw-up has brought Wesley Chen of the rival Spear no end of joy—she’s been a thorn in his extremely ambitious side for years. But the renewed interest in Dot also surfaced chatter about a mysterious past scandal.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great listen as always from Lily Chu
- By Magan on 2025-01-20
- Drop Dead
- Written by: Lily Chu
- Narrated by: Phillipa Soo, John Cho
It was cute
Reviewed: 2024-08-20
It’s a cute, easy-read with a completely predictable storyline and ending, but it was an enjoyable way to spend a day cleaning.
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Unspeakable
- Written by: Kevin O"Brien
- Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
A family of four murdered in their hotel room. A single mother and her boyfriend both stabbed to death. A sordid history of violent crimes, repeated over and over - but decades apart. Olivia Barker is a therapist with no connection to the murders. But she has heard things. Stories that keep her up at night. Details that only a killer would know. A killer who could be one of her patients…Olivia has no proof for her suspicions. But as the body count rises, so do her fears. A rock is thrown through her window, her car tires are slashed, a chilling message is scrawled on her bathroom mirror.
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3 out of 5 stars
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I couldn’t stick with it
- By Susan on 2024-12-02
- Unspeakable
- Written by: Kevin O"Brien
- Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn
Enjoyed!
Reviewed: 2024-08-13
Chose this from Audible’s member’s catalog and no knowledge of this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I was skeptical about how it would or could make sense, but the author got there!
Off to find more Kevin O’Brien titles!
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Death in the Spires
- Written by: KJ Charles
- Narrated by: Tom Lawrence
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died – a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders’ for their charm and talent – only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer? As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby"s killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Same classic flavour minus the spice
- By Keikie on 2024-04-26
- Death in the Spires
- Written by: KJ Charles
- Narrated by: Tom Lawrence
A surprisingly good listen!
Reviewed: 2024-08-12
This was an audible suggested read and it was on sale so I purchased it.
It took me a few chapters to get into but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I thought the handling of topics like same sex relationships, abortion and SA were presented very well, especially given the time period. I’m not sure I can agree with the ending, but I remind myself it’s a work of fiction.
I’m now off to find more titles by this author!
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A Drink Before the War
- Written by: Dennis Lehane
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4 out of 5 stars 25
With novels like Mystic River and Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane has dramatically altered the landscape of the crime thriller—while boldly overstepping the boundaries that have long separated mystery from literature. Now two of his sensational early novels have been combined in a single volume—two gritty and mesmerizing masterworks of suspense featuring the private eye duo of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not aging well
- By Wendy Taylor on 2024-08-08
- A Drink Before the War
- Written by: Dennis Lehane
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
Not aging well
Reviewed: 2024-08-08
I kept having to remind myself that this was written 30 years ago.
But still . . . I was so uncomfortable at the frequent use of the “n” word. And that serious child SA was minimized with the language of the day. And that a 16 year old (a child!) was basically told to get over his trauma anger (racial and SA) and come up with a solution. Absolutely no recognition of PTSD or generational trauma.
I don’t know? I thought we were wiser than that in the 1990s.
And the gun violence! Teenagers who can’t even buy beer are carrying guns? Is that really the was it is in the States?
Ugh.
I was so disappointed because I like some of the author’s other books, but this left me uncomfortable and feeling I never want to travel to the States.
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Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- Written by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 668
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 604
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 601
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant narration of beautifully written story
- By Kareem on 2023-05-28
- Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- Written by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
I wanted to like it, but . . .
Reviewed: 2024-07-16
I really, really wanted to like this, but was left feeling the author has no clue what it’s like to be in foster care.
Honestly, parentless Demon not only goes to live in the football coach’s mansion (hmmm . . . where have we heard that story before?), but is also a talented artist who has a newspaper contract by age 17! And he has teachers and neighbours who are there to root him on!
Wow. Not the experience of anyone in care I’ve ever known.
And . . . he manages to mess these gifts up.
This is an insult to anyone who has bounced through the system.
On the upside, the narrator was great!
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Rise and Shine
- Written by: Anna Quindlen
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance3 out of 5 stars 1
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Story1 out of 5 stars 1
It"s Monday morning when Meghan Fitzmaurice blows her perfect life to bits. The host of Rise and Shine, the country"s highest-rated morning talk show, Meghan cuts to a commercial break, but not before she mutters two forbidden words into her open mike. It"s the end of an era, not only for Meghan, a household face who is not equipped to deal with disgrace, but for her younger sister Bridget, a social worker in the Bronx who has always lived in Meghan"s long shadow.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Shallow
- By Wendy Taylor on 2024-07-15
- Rise and Shine
- Written by: Anna Quindlen
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
Shallow
Reviewed: 2024-07-15
I kept thinking the point or plot would soon be revealed but . . . nope.
Seriously, this is the most shallow, superficial book I can remember reading. The premise is so weak it’s laughable. In a world where newscasters have been caught literally with their pants down, the idea that the mere gaffe portrayed here would be career ending is ridiculous. The supposed reaction to this faux pas by the entire nation insults the readers’ intelligence.
Time I will never get back.
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The Fifth to Die
- Written by: J. D. Barker
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Graham Winton
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4 out of 5 stars 32
Detective Porter and the team have been pulled from the hunt for Anson Bishop, the Four Monkey Killer, by the feds. When the body of a young girl is found beneath the frozen waters of Jackson Park Lagoon, she is quickly identified as Ella Reynolds, missing three weeks. But how did she get there? The lagoon froze months earlier. More baffling? She"s found wearing the clothes of another girl, missing less than two days.
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1 out of 5 stars
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To bloody, gruesome and gory for me!
- By Sandy Lisk on 2024-08-14
- The Fifth to Die
- Written by: J. D. Barker
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Graham Winton
Can’t finish
Reviewed: 2024-07-14
I rarely ever don’t finish a book but I just couldn’t with this one. I’m so disappointed because I loved the first.
But halfway through, there’s no mystery and it’s ALL the parts of the first book I didn’t care for (over-the-top, unbelievable things like scaling the ledge of the building, bombs, kidnapping, guns, knives, mafia, etc all in two days in the life of a so-so lawyer).
It’s just gratuitous violence and unrealistic action.
It makes me remember why I prefer UK and Canadian authors.
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