Mystery/Thriller -- 2 stars
Audiobook Narration -- 2 stars
Book: In the marsh behind the Sunset Motel in Atlantic City there are two bodies waiting to be discovered. Before the summer is over, there will be more. Unaware, Clara, a boardwalk tarot reader, begins to have frightening visions. Some of them involve two of her clients. An unlikely friendship develops between Clara and Lily, a SoHo art dealer who is working in a local spa for the summer. Will they be heroes or victims? ----- Bad choices form the centerpiece of this slowly paced mystery. Clara and Lily are well drawn and interesting characters even if their friendship stretches credulity. While I enjoyed these two characters, it took way too long for the story to circle back to the bodies in the swamp. I was literally at 76 percent of the book before there was any real action, before pieces hinted at in early chapters were drawn into the story. The last quarter of the book is well written and satisfying. If only the lead-in had been as enjoyable.
Narration: If you're going to have a different narrator for each female character, why would you choose three women who sound so alike they are interchangeable? All are guilty of a nasal, fake breathy style of delivery that makes them sound weak. It is as though they're trying very hard to be seen as good girls, obedient, lady like, and not too assertive. They announce their character before each section, but if you miss it, good luck trying to figure out whose story you are hearing. When the single male reader takes over, it is a relief. His narration is straight forward, without any unnecessary artifice. As a result, his story is the most heart wrenching.
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