haley overby

doesn't draw you in, but keeps you there

Reviewed: 03-15-24

I'd prefer a book that draws you in from the beginning. I was not taken by this book until about halfway through - in fact, there were many times I wanted to stop and return it immediately. So, not the best start, but the ending was worth staying for.

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decent read

Reviewed: 03-03-24

good book with admirable twists. the narrator's voice annoyed me to the point of not wanting to continue at first, but it either got better or I got used to it by the end. also, there are several unanswered plot points by the end - i.e. why the big cover up and why weren't they actually investigating?? why did it take 2 weeks for a *reporter* to uncover everything?? was B involved in J's demise or just reveling in the fact? another reader reviewed they felt bamboozled by the ending, but I thought it was rather fitting with just enough of a twist as to not be super obvious. there were a few drop hints at the beginning of there being some sort of political conspiracy with 3 of the main 4 that never bloomed either. would've been nice to see if those had anything to do with the cover-up to wrap it all up. I'm usually ok with everything not being wrapped up in a shiny bow - ok with loose ends, but I felt like these were just unfinished rather than simply purposeful loose ends. Not the best book ever, but not a bad one - at least deserves a read.

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Didn't draw me in and not gripping - not terrible though

Reviewed: 02-24-24

I felt very disconnected the entire read. It never drew me in the beginning and stayed that way throughout. I could see where some people were saying the end was very unbelievable, but not too terribly so - it was more of the people not dying when it was obvious their injuries should have lead to death and the lack of any procedure whatsoever. The author was monotone, but also not terrible. Overall, I'll probably keep this book. Maybe read it once more in future, but it won't be on the repeat list.

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Absolutely Terrible

Reviewed: 09-26-23

Both book 1 and 2 were absolutely terrible. Juvenile and difficult to listen to.
Aside from the terrible story, the narrator's frequent and loud deep inhales were at first very distracting. It got slightly better by book two.

Warning, there may be spoilers.
Juvenile - in that I felt as if I was watching a kids show from the beginning 'Adele - you're needed on the next flight across the world! They can't figure it out without you!'... okay..? Has she really proven herself that much?? She can wake up at 4 am every morning to run and chooses to eat cereal in the shower to 'not waste any time'... yet, when she's called on a case before 5am and on a flight within the hour, she can't study the case on the way - she slept the whole time?? She doesn't have any leads or questions, just waiting for clues to fall in her lap. Spending precious time sitting there refreshing her computer waiting bored for leads? Make calls, interview friends and family, go find your next clue, stop waiting around.
Oh, and she just happens to be needed in exactly the three countries she happens to have citizenship and speaks the language in... IN BOTH BOOKS!! Seriously?? No creativity whatsoever.
Not to mention the leaning on American stereotypes of French people - supposed to be rude, hate tourists, and do nothing but hump like bunnies... That's exactly how they are portrayed. Lackluster and abhorrent portrayals.
The detectives seem to have absolutely no actual experience or will to do the work, no respect, and follow actual ZERO procedure. I guess that's what they were trying to portray - but I highly doubt France is the wild West when it comes to detective work...
I get it, it's fiction - but typically this type of fiction plays on and bends the truth, not shattering reality and logic as this author seems to have done.
There's so much wrong with these books, but these are the highlights. I struggled in every way to finish this, but I did it out of some unfounded need to 'give it a chance'.
I have over 200 murder -mystery, procedural, type books in my library and this is probably the absolute worst. Highly DO NOT recommend.

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Plot Twist

Reviewed: 08-20-23

I don't necessarily like when a book doesn't get good until the end or if it relies on the plot twist to make the book - I'd prefer a slow unraveling of the truth that keeps you guessing. Not - the book leads you in one direction the whole time then pulls the rug at the very end. BUT - that being said, the plot twist was enough to save the book from certain 'terrible status'. I'm not saying there were any reviews that revealed this, but I'm glad I didn't read any reviews ahead of time (which I usually do) so I didn't expect anything.

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Not sure why this was recommended to me

Reviewed: 02-05-23

I typically listen to murder mystery, procedural, detective series books, and some psychological thrillers (but not many)... This book was none of those, and I'm not sure how it got in my algorithm, but I'm okay with having read it. I would've also been okay not having read it. I'm neutral. I don't think I want to be neutral about a book. And probably neither do you. It was a long droning book about how someone's mental instability had manifested into physical and how that affected everyone around them. And ended in a 'happy ending'. So, long, slow, nothing really mysterious or exciting. If that's what you're looking for, then give it a try, but skip if no.

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2 people found this helpful

I should've listened to the warnings

Reviewed: 01-14-23

So many of the reviews were really poor for this book, but it kept on coming up in my 'recommend titles', so I thought I'd give it a try and ignored the warnings. I shouldn't have.
I struggled to listen through it. The twists were nice but expected. The cliff hanger was more like a black hole. Listen to the reviews and don't do it.

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Not what I was expecting, but excellent!

Reviewed: 11-23-22

This was overall an excellent read.
I wouldn't necessarily say there is too many unexpected twist and turns to the point where you feel bamboozled, but there's just enough mystery and suspense with slightly expected turns that you feel guided into the experience of the book rather than being overwrought with major plot twists taking over the story experience.

I typically read murder mystery books with primarily procedural underpinnings and I especially love a good series, but it was a good break from that. It's not a series, it's far from a procedural, and it offers a little bit of a break from reality as well. You get a little bit of history and a hint of ghoulishness - enough to help you break away from reality but not too much so it's possible that it's still believable. I love that 'Mary' portrays all of our bad experiences, trauma, and innermost deepest fears. And we get a sense of consummation by putting her to rest finally at the end.
Also on a note of 'unexpectedness', one of the reviews that shows near the top says something along the lines of 'it's good but couldn't read because it's a romance novel'.
I tend to put a lot of sway on reviews of a book - it has helped me decide on proceeding with a book or not many times before. That said, I've also learned in the past that there's been bad reviews on a book that I really liked and that there is really good reviews on a book that I really hated. Not everyone likes everything the same things and that's exactly how it should be! (life would be so boring otherwise!) But I felt this review was slightly naively misleading - not to undermine the reviewer, but just to inform others like myself who base some of their decisions on reviews.
Although the protagonist has a long-term relationship partner that is featured in the book, there's really no 'scenes' as such, as I was somewhat expecting after reading that review. There's barely kissing. It's not that it was something I was seeking out necessarily, but I've "read" (listened) close to 200 books on audible (most of those I've read multiple times over) and there's been plenty of lewd and suggestive scenes, and this book did not have any of that whatsoever!!

I wouldn't say the narrator was the best, but it definitely did the job as far as the ability to follow along (not distracting or detracting from the book), portrayal of character emotions, somewhat good accent, etc.
Also, one kind of silly aside... how in the heck was Sonya's suitcase still neatly packed after running in the woods and it repeatedly hitting her leg and all that...?? The items must have been tightly strapped down...

Overall, I'd recommend to really anyone!

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It is what it is

Reviewed: 04-19-22

If you like a serial killer story with very little from the psych of the killer nor any details from murders/scenes with only sprinkled in FBI profiling, an unoriginal plot, hyper-sexualized characters and plot, all wrapped up in bad acting from the narrator, then you may like this book. I can't even say it was entertaining. Needless to say it was not the best book. I guess I can say that it was something to listen to... I've read other books from this author, and although I can't say they've been my favorite, they've been far better than this... Perhaps if you're just getting into reading/listening in general or this genre, it may be good, but for an experienced reader/listener, it was not my cup of tea.

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Not as bad as reviews say, not Slaughter's best

Reviewed: 01-03-22

Don't get me wrong, I was pretty upset to have a narrator change in the middle of the series as well, but I also don't think that the narration was as bad as some of the reviews say. I absolutely love Kathleen Early, I will listen to books simply because she's narrated them. It's also crazy how narration can really change the tone and how the book reads! It ended up being that Clarinda (Clarissa?) somewhat reduced the incredible Slaughter's writing. I guess you could kind of say it's like drinking milk when you were expecting orange juice, it may taste disgusting at first until you realize that it's milk.
That said, I actually started listening to the Will Trent series long before I read the Grant county series, and I was not necessarily wanting to read the Grant county series due to it being set in a small town and seeing Sarah's relationship with Jeffrey would make it seem like a treason against Will, who I grew to love in the Will Trent series. however, this series so far have given an enlightening view on both Lena and Jeffrey that you don't necessarily get from The Will Trent series. The end of this book does foreshadow the inevitable if you've read the Will Trent series before this. Especially if you know that this is the second to the last book. I'm hoping the next book will be read by Kathleen again, we'll see. I'm also looking forward to going back and reading Will Trent series again to see how the past mingles with the future, it's been about a year since I've read through them.

If you're into the series, give it a go, but don't expect it to be as good as KE and it won't be so bad.

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