Fantastic listen

Selected this for a long drive to Cornwall, love Deaver's work but not read much by any of the others. I was absolutely hooked in the first 5 minutes and was devastated just over 4 hours later when I arrived at my destination with no chance to hear the end for a couple of days. The story had so many twists that it really kept me guessing and just when you thought you had it worked out it headed in a different direction. Brilliant!!!!

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3 people found this helpful

Mixed feelings

I wouldn't usually buy books of this genre, but I thought it sounded like an interesting prospect so I decided to give it a try. It didn't win me over to the genre, though I did buy the sequel, 'The Copper Bracelet' (although I haven't actually had the inclination to listen to it yet!) So as you can see, I have mixed feelings about this book.

You have to take this book for what it is. If you're expecting a great thriller then you'll probably be disappointed. Of course the way it has been written doesn't lend itself to being a literary masterpiece. But if you accept that and take it as a bit of a novelty, an experiment, then it's reasonably enjoyable to listen to.

Yes, it doesn't always flow well. Yes, authors tend to do all the things you might expect - change the character's personalities, put in dubious twists, kill off some characters and invent other new ones. But in my view these issues are not as serious as some other reviewers suggest.

There were chapters I really enjoyed and chapters I didn't like at all.

All in all, take it for what it is. It's not a great novel, but it's an interesting experiment, different to most of the other books you read/listen to. If you're up for that, give this book a try.

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An Excellent Story

The concept for this book, where one author starts the story and then each subsequent chapter is written by a different author, intrigued me to try this title and I'm very glad I did. The story itself hit the ground running and the pace never faltered, with interesting twists and turns along the way.

And it has to be said that Alfred Molina's narration was first-class, keeping the listener engaged throughout.

Highly recommended

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Brilliant.

I listened in two sittings - only the need to sleep stopped me from doing it in one. The 'consequences' format ensured that there was tremendous energy and pace in as each author brought a fresh note to the evolving and involving tale. The choice of Alfred Molina for narrator was a master stroke.

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Really interesting concept.

I downloaded this out of curiosity more than a desire to hear a thriller and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it could be disjointed or confusing but it wasn't. The plot was tantalising, the characters developed through each chapter and the story flowed. Whilst you could tell the different styles of the authors and their way of writing this genre it made for a satisfying journey and insight in to their own writing. I liked this style a lot, it was stimulating. Will download another of this style.

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An interesting experiment - doesn't quite work.

I was interested to read about the way that this had been written and was interested to listen to it. There were too many twists, turns and characters for my own liking but it was interesting to remember how it had been formulated.

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does not quiet work

started very good. that ,s got me interested .but it was downhill half way through. good try .thanks

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Interesting idea full of twists and turns

This is my first ever audible book and I found the experience sufficiently enjoyable to become a full member.

Each chapter has been written by a different author and it is quite good fun to pick out the different narrative styles. This has meant that there is little restraint to the plot so the experience is like riding a roller coaster. This is an exciting story even if it is not entirely credible.

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Not Bad

I found there were a lot of twists, some predictable some not. Kept me interested and wanting to hear more

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Hmmm....

I liked the IDEA of this book - all these great writers teaming together to write some amazing secretive masterpiece - but I felt the book turned out to be a bit disjointed. OK. Very disjointed.

And it was only until I listened to the bonus interview at the end of the audible recording that I learned that the authors did not work together ONE BIT!

They just sent the growing manuscript to the next person on the list after they had added their chapter. So there was very little vision here for how the whole story would turn out, because none of them actually had any clue whatsoever, and it really really would have been a FAR greater book if they did some planning.

It all felt like a bit of a muddle really. Enjoyable because of the concept, all these writers coming together, but I felt it could have been so much more given a little planning on their part.

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32 people found this helpful