audiobookmel's review
4.0
Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.
I’m reading more and more thrillers lately. I was exacted to get a copy of this audiobook for review. This is a new-to-me author, but I’ve listened to this narrator before and liked her work. I have to say, this was an enjoyable listen.
Samantha Chapman is a litigator who has left her previous firm and moved back home. She buys an old house to convert into an office with living area upstairs. Her mother and sister are in the same town, along with her father’s mother. Her father has passed away, so he’s not in the picture, though he is mentioned quite a bit.
There’s quite a bit that goes on in this story. It does take place in the small Southern town of Hot Springs, Arkansas. It does have the small town feel; there is a ton of gossip in the town. There are also a lot of skeletons in the closet which came out as the story progressed.
I don’t want to share too much, because I don’t want to spoil anything if you choose to read this story. I will warn that Sam did suffer from a violent relationship (the reason she left the firm in Little Rock). There is quite a bit that is going on in this story, but it’s a very enjoyable story. If you like a good mystery/thriller, this is a great story for you.
Narration:
This is my second listen from Andrea Emmes, the first being a cozy mystery. I have to say, I’m really enjoying her narration. She does a great job bringing the characters to life. The first listen took place in upper Michigan and this one in Arkansas. I think she did a great job with the way the characters of two regions speak. It wasn’t a overly thick southern accent, but still had that southern feel, which I thought fit really well. Her pacing and tone were also perfect for this mystery.
**I like to thank the narrator for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I’m reading more and more thrillers lately. I was exacted to get a copy of this audiobook for review. This is a new-to-me author, but I’ve listened to this narrator before and liked her work. I have to say, this was an enjoyable listen.
Samantha Chapman is a litigator who has left her previous firm and moved back home. She buys an old house to convert into an office with living area upstairs. Her mother and sister are in the same town, along with her father’s mother. Her father has passed away, so he’s not in the picture, though he is mentioned quite a bit.
There’s quite a bit that goes on in this story. It does take place in the small Southern town of Hot Springs, Arkansas. It does have the small town feel; there is a ton of gossip in the town. There are also a lot of skeletons in the closet which came out as the story progressed.
I don’t want to share too much, because I don’t want to spoil anything if you choose to read this story. I will warn that Sam did suffer from a violent relationship (the reason she left the firm in Little Rock). There is quite a bit that is going on in this story, but it’s a very enjoyable story. If you like a good mystery/thriller, this is a great story for you.
Narration:
This is my second listen from Andrea Emmes, the first being a cozy mystery. I have to say, I’m really enjoying her narration. She does a great job bringing the characters to life. The first listen took place in upper Michigan and this one in Arkansas. I think she did a great job with the way the characters of two regions speak. It wasn’t a overly thick southern accent, but still had that southern feel, which I thought fit really well. Her pacing and tone were also perfect for this mystery.
**I like to thank the narrator for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
petra_reads's review
4.0
My original Fatal Agreements audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
In this Southern suspense novel, three generations of women from the Chapman family are haunted by secrets from the past and the present. Litigator Samantha Chapman returns to her hometown of Hot Springs to set up her new office and residence in the dilapidated Halstead house. Rumors about what went on within the walls of this former doctor’s office have been surrounding Halstead house for decades. Soon Samantha has to face not just the sadist she thought she had escaped from several years back but also a ruthless foe from high school days.
I haven’t been disappointed by an [a: Ashley Fontainne|4958072|Ashley Fontainne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1348674642p2/4958072.jpg] book yet, and this was no different. There was such a lot of scheming, colluding and manipulating going on, it made my head spin. Intricately plotted, everyone had secrets, everyone had their own agenda, every character was flawed to some degree. Ms. Fontainne has a knack for creating these troubled, nobody-is-perfect characters, and while you may not necessarily like them, they all remain so believable and real despite of all the major drama surrounding them. My favorite characters were actually some of the subsidiary ones: Bradford, the retired cop, what a great guy! And Sam and Suzy’s grandma, she was so funny and entertaining. As the body count rose, the pace remained fast and the unexpected revelations just kept on coming.
[a: Andrea Emmes] narrated this audio book with great pacing, suitable accents, and the right emotive tone where necessary. Her male voices were credible and the voice used for children was excellent, but the female characters were not always easy to differentiate.
Still, this would have been a top listen if it hadn’t been for the subpar quality of the audio production. There were some sound issues, with the volume increasing and decreasing for the odd sentence here and there. It felt as if these sentences had been inserted at a later stage making the entire production somewhat jagged and disjointed.
Overall though, a very entertaining, dark and gritty Southern mystery with a lot of suspense and family drama.
Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com
In this Southern suspense novel, three generations of women from the Chapman family are haunted by secrets from the past and the present. Litigator Samantha Chapman returns to her hometown of Hot Springs to set up her new office and residence in the dilapidated Halstead house. Rumors about what went on within the walls of this former doctor’s office have been surrounding Halstead house for decades. Soon Samantha has to face not just the sadist she thought she had escaped from several years back but also a ruthless foe from high school days.
I haven’t been disappointed by an [a: Ashley Fontainne|4958072|Ashley Fontainne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1348674642p2/4958072.jpg] book yet, and this was no different. There was such a lot of scheming, colluding and manipulating going on, it made my head spin. Intricately plotted, everyone had secrets, everyone had their own agenda, every character was flawed to some degree. Ms. Fontainne has a knack for creating these troubled, nobody-is-perfect characters, and while you may not necessarily like them, they all remain so believable and real despite of all the major drama surrounding them. My favorite characters were actually some of the subsidiary ones: Bradford, the retired cop, what a great guy! And Sam and Suzy’s grandma, she was so funny and entertaining. As the body count rose, the pace remained fast and the unexpected revelations just kept on coming.
[a: Andrea Emmes] narrated this audio book with great pacing, suitable accents, and the right emotive tone where necessary. Her male voices were credible and the voice used for children was excellent, but the female characters were not always easy to differentiate.
Still, this would have been a top listen if it hadn’t been for the subpar quality of the audio production. There were some sound issues, with the volume increasing and decreasing for the odd sentence here and there. It felt as if these sentences had been inserted at a later stage making the entire production somewhat jagged and disjointed.
Overall though, a very entertaining, dark and gritty Southern mystery with a lot of suspense and family drama.
Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com
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