Audiobook Review: The Summer House by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois
The Summer House
Authors:
James Patterson
Brendan DuBois
Narrator: Ari Fliakos
Published: June 8, 2020
Audiobook: 10 hours 19 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: April 7- April 12, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
One historic lake house. Seven murder victims. Four accused Army Rangers. Two versions of the truth.
Only one can survive.
Sullivan County, Georgia, belongs to Sheriff Emma Williams. But not when Army Rangers posted to the local base are implicated in a major crime. To an elite team of investigators led by Major Jeremiah Cook, the physical evidence Williams swears by presents clues to an entirely different story. The small-town sheriff has never worked a multiple homicide, and Cook knows it. Unless he can convince the locals that the recent crimes are part of a larger mystery, this outsider may never unlock the century of secrets hidden inside The Summer House.
Jessica’s Review:
Patterson is 78-years-old and has been ‘co-authoring’ his books lately. If you research these books, it appears that Patterson creates an outline for the novel while the ‘co-author’ develops the novel into what it becomes. Patterson then reviews the drafts, gives feedback and revises the novels to make sure the novels stay in his style. Of course, Patterson is the more well-known name that gets the attention of readers. It’s a ‘give and take’ collaboration that both Patterson and his co-author benefits from.
I have only read two other novels written by Patterson, both of the “Zoo” series books. The Summer House is very different from Zoo. The Summer House is a military thriller that starts off with the murder of seven civilians, including a small child. A group of Army Rangers is implicated in the murders.
This novel just really didn’t work for me. The characters were unlikeable for me and they consisted of stereotypes rather than multi-dimensional characters. The novel takes place in a small, fictional Georgia county and the narrator tended to exaggerate the accents of several characters. Being I am a Georgia native my thoughts were, “We don’t all talk like this!”
I as curious as to how the book was ultimately going to end and was happy to see one character get what they deserved. If this had been an introduction to Patterson for me, I would not have been impressed. I would probably stick with his earlier works or if it’s a collaboration, look to see who the co-author is, and if I like that person then I would read it, such as JD Barker who has collaborated with Patterson several times. Barker has also become a named author that I will make a point to read.
I had recently listened to another novel that Ari Fliakos had narrated and he really brought more to that narration unlike The Summer House. This was just a book that was not for me. Maybe military thrillers are not for me. I did like the cover!
Audiobook Review: The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald
The Night Olivia Fell
Author: Christina McDonald
Narrators:
Kelly Burke
Laurel Lefkow
Published: February 5, 2019
Audiobook: 10 hours 45 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: January 6-16, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.
In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: Her teenage daughter, Olivia, has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain-dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.
When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?
Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heart-wrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: How well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?
Jessica’s Review:
This book showcases how strong the mother/child bond is: So much so that it won’t be for all readers who are triggered by severe injury to a teenage daughter. I’m not a parent but I could feel the emotion that Abi felt as she was determined to find out what happened to Olivia. This is because I have very close friends with children (younger and older) that I love and would be devastated if this happened to them.
Abi Knight get the call that no parent ever wants to receive: “Your daughter is in the hospital.” Then she later finds out her daughter is brain-dead… and pregnant. The doctors are required by state law to keep Olivia on life support until the baby arrives. And for Abi, this will be several months of anguish. Olivia did not tell Abi that she was pregnant.
This was a good novel! We have povs from both Oilvia and Abi and over the course of the novel find out who the baby’s father is, what happened to Olivia, and more. This is a mystery/ suspense with a bit of political intrigue added in to the mix.
The novel goes into the secrets that both Abi and Olivia are keeping. I did not figure it out but finding out who was responsible was a bit anticlimactic for me. I was expecting more than what happened. But Abi’s emotions and determination were the main focus for me. Towards the ending the book does get emotional, as the reader already knows the direction the story will go in. I can see some mothers ugly crying at the ending. And yes, it was emotional!
Both narrators did a great job. I am not sure which narrator voiced Abi and which voiced Olivia, but they were exceptional in their portrayals.
This was my first novel by McDonald and I will be reading/ listening to more by her!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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ALC Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Beautiful Ugly
Author: Alice Feeney
Narrators:
Richard Armitage
Tuppence Middleton
To Be Published: January 14, 2025
Audiobook: 9 hours 19 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 26, 2024- January 3, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.
Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there… but his wife has disappeared.
A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.
Jessica’s Review:
I have only read a couple of Alice Feeney’s books, but she is all over my TBR, and with listening to Beautiful Ugly, I really need to try and get her books moved up higher on my list. I was granted an ALC (advanced listening copy) from the publisher and also had an opportunity to read Beautiful Ugly with a physical book via my Book of the Month subscription.
I was glad I had access to a physical copy: There is a map included of the Isle of Amberly which is where Grady goes. I did reference the map as I listened to the audio. Another reason I was delighted to have a physical copy was towards the end of the book something is mentioned. I can’t say what as it could be a spoiler, but I did what was mentioned and I squealed as my reaction! Being able to do this added so much more to the book for me and added a half star to my rating!
Beautiful Ugly has two things to it that I really enjoy and one that can be hit or miss: dual narrators, dual timelines, and the unreliable narrator. With unlikeable characters (other than the dog), a missing wife, and the dual narrators being both Grady and Abby, at about 24% of the way in I texted some friends and said “I’m listening to a book and if it goes Gone Girl, I’m going to be pissed!” I am sure I am not the only reader to think this. We have a dog in this book and I was worried that something would happen to Columbo, as he was a main character along with Grady. Reader and animal lover, fear not: Columbo is fine!
The audiobook has two narrators and they both did a fabulous job. They performed really well with these unlikeable characters. There are also sound effects throughout the narration which enhanced the audiobook. The sounds effects consist of static of the handheld radios, the ocean, and some light music throughout the novel.
I did start this book at the end of 2024 and ended it in 2025, and I hope this is a great sign of the books I will be reading/ listening to this year!
I wasn’t entirely happy with ultimate motives that are uncovered, but dang the final twists were something! I really hope this becomes a mini-series for tv and it sticks with the book, that would be quite a thriller to watch! I won’t say if Beautiful Ugly went the Gone Girl route or not as it would be a spoiler alert. Just read or listen to this book yourself to find out! Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an alc to listen to and review.
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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