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Kind of Cruel

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Kind of Cruel

By: Sophie Hannah
Narrated by: Emma Kay, Jonathan Aris, Anna Bentinck
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About this listen

Shortlisted for: Crime & Thriller of the Year – Specsavers National Book Awards 2012

When Amber Hewerdine consults a hypnotherapist as a desperate last resort, she doesn't expect that anything much will change. She doesn't expect it to help with her chronic insomnia. And she doesn't expect to hear herself, under hypnosis, saying words that mean nothing to her: 'Kind, cruel, kind of cruel'. These are words she has seen somewhere before, if only she could remember where….

She also doesn't expect to be arrested two hours later, as a result of having spoken those words out loud, in connection with the brutal murder of Katharine Allen, a woman she's never heard of.

©2012 Sophie Hannah (P)2012 Hodder & Stoughton Crime Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant  

Would you listen to Kind of Cruel again? Why?

I already have! I found the story intriguing the first time I listened quite a while ago, and I think I enjoyed it more the second time round because the story though complex is very satisfying.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Can I have two characters? If so, then they would be Dinah and Noni. I think Sophie Hannah really delves deep into the way (intelligent) children think, react and express themselves, for example the conversation in the car between Amber and Noni, where she (Noni) is struggling to understand maths is spot on. Although these two characters don't play a big part themselves, in a way they are at the centre of the story.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have heard Anna Bentinck before, she is very good to listen to. The other two readers were excellent as well.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It brought back several memories I had as a child, things you can't analyse at the time, but that stay with you subconsciously. I didn't laugh or cry, but I could relate to many of the descriptions for example the story right at the beginning of Jinny's first day at school, the hypnotherapy sequences ( why do you always have to go down a staircase and not come back up? ), and the depiction of the experience of insomnia, again, spot on.

Any additional comments?

A cleverly plotted novel, it kept my attention from beginning to end. I would recommend it. Now what can I listen to next?...

Really good psychological thriller

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I really enjoy the psychological domestic dramas that Sophia Hannah creates. She's a writer who creates characters I can identify with, and there's a sense of creepy reality in her books. Kind of Cruel is a clever book with a good whodunit element to it. It also rejoins the police characters we've met in her previous books, and it's nice to catch up with Charlie Zailer and her emotionally useless policeman husband.

Psychological thriller with a good twist!

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Really interesting mystery with lots of psychology at the heart of it. Really enjoyed how that played out in the story.

Loved the psychology angle

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not bad but it was a bit annoying the constant referral of "cruel - kind of cruel" i stopped counting how many times it was said in each chapter. but actually not a bad book but dont think i would bother recommending it to a friend.

not bad ...but

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Deeply disturbing, story twisting, psychological plot with twists and many facets - to many may be. Felt sometimes that it was giving so much back story to easy and almost every character so as to set up for a sequel. But overall not bad at all. There were times when listening on headphones that there was a little too much saliva swallowing going on: but found I wanted to know what happened and have listened to the whole book in three days. So scores or high because of this

Could not stop listening

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Much too much psycho-analysis for my taste. I liked some of the characters but the plot was convoluted
and slightly absurd.

Not very believable

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I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS NOVEL, ALTHOUGH I HAVE LOVE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL NOVELS, THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT SHARE THAT MAY FIND IT OVERLONG. 5*

LOVED THIS NOVEL

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Amazing book, incredibly well written and narrated. More of a psychological thriller than a crime thriller, with never a dull moment. Keeps you questioning 'why' and 'how', with the answers slowly unraveling bit by bit. I'm a big fan of Sophie Hannah, and this is probably her best book so far.

Mystery behind the mystery

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This is the first Sophie Hannah novel I've encountered. I selcted it having heard a positive radio review. The mystery is graduately revealed by different characters making deductions and realsing facts that are not known to others. There is the point of view of the main character, Amber and her family and friends, police detectives and an analyst - with the three narrators taking turns. It kept me guessing what happened in the past and where the story was heading right to the end. I'll try more Sophie Hannah books.

Entralling tale

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Any additional comments?

A story told through the eyes of someone who has lost her memory but with the aid of a diary notebook and a psychoanalyst all is eventually revealed to the lady herself regarding her past and the truth of her current situation.

Secrets and lies

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