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The Stopped Heart

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The Stopped Heart

By: Julie Myerson
Narrated by: Katie Moore
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About this listen

What happens when every parent's worst nightmare comes true - and when the past is unwilling to be the past? Some memories are too powerful to live only in the past.

During a ferocious storm, a red-haired stranger appears in the garden of a small farming cottage. Eliza and her parents take him in. But very soon, it's clear he has no intention of leaving.

A century later, Mary and Graham have experienced every parent's worst nightmare. Now, escaping their old London life, the memories and the headlines, they have found an idyllic new home in rural Suffolk. A cottage, a beautiful garden. The perfect place to forget. To move on. But in The Stopped Heart, the past never dies.

©2016 Julie Myerson (P)2016 Bolinda Ghosts Historical Fiction Horror Psychological Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Scary Paranormal Fiction Haunted Mystery

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All stars
Most relevant  
The story is unusual and captivating with its dark undertones and well-rounded characters.
For me, however, the narrative was spoilt by the over use of “what?” whenever there’s a conversation. It’s irritating from very early on and continues to grate throughout the book.

Captivating and beautifully read, but...

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I could not put this book down, so compassionately written. To be able to write about such traumatic events alongside so much love, loss and empathy- this is quite genius.
The story is so moving and gripping, I was addicted from the start.
Highly recommended

Brilliantly compelling

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I’m glad I stuck with this book until the end but I did nearly give up a couple of times. As others have mentioned the fact that nearly every question is answered with a ‘What?’ Or ‘I don’t know’ or even worse, the question repeated back again drove me mad! Who has such wishy-washy conversations!!!

Despite that, there were some heartbreaking moments which were told very well. The descriptions of small details and atmosphere were also very well captured.

Good story, tedious and long winded dialogue, well narrated.

‘What?’ ‘I Don’t Know’

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Where does The Stopped Heart rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was one of the best ones - I liked the story and the narrator was great.

What other book might you compare The Stopped Heart to, and why?

It's a psychological novel, exploring grief and family relationships, mixed with a ghost story and I've not read one which combines the two like this.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The ones where Lottie described the future inhabitants of the house.

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

It was very gripping and well-paced so I wanted to listen more. The end was moving for me.

Any additional comments?

The only thing I didn't like was some of the dialogue. A character would make a statement and the other character would say,"What?" or "What do you mean?" even though it was obvious to me what they meant, It slowed down the pace but may just be Myerson's style. This is the only book by her I have read, so I can't compare. I would read others though based on this one.The narrator was great.

Gripping and moving with great narration

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Heart breaking story. Beautifully read. I loved it but it's so very sad and distressing

Superb

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Mostly gripping and genuinely scary but also just…so weird. I just found myself asking “but why” to pretty much everything. The parallels are interestingly done but you’re left feeling extremely adrift regarding the absolutely zero condemnation of paedophilia. Not really a recommend, it was easy to want to keep listening but not well done enough to make me want to read anything else by her.

A very strange book

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This is one of the best audiobooks I have listened to. Julie Myerson is a wonderful writer and the two strands of this story are equally compelling. The ending delivered everything I hoped and proves it isn't necessary to resort to complex plot twists (though there is a twist within a secondary strand of the story) to keep readers hooked. It is brilliant on grief, marriage and coming of age, too. Thoroughly recommended.

One of the best

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. The story was great and gripping. The narrator brilliant and so good it was almost like listening to a BBC play.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of them except (of course) James.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Not so much a particular scene but the description and atmosphere was fantastic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Impossible. I needed to have spaces between myself and the story as it is very dark and intense.

Any additional comments?

Yes. Huge credit to Katie Moore the narrator. So skillfully read. Not only did she have many different voices to change but ages too. Each time I listened, I knew who she was reading by her amazing talent with accents age and gender. Even sulky teen. All very subtle and not overpowering.

Haunting and amazing.

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If every “What?” had been removed from this book it would have been about one third shorter. So annoying, random “what?”s dotted all over the place, hundreds of them I’m sure. The narration was good, except the gritted teeth of the very angry teenage girl. The historical story was far better than the current day one, but all the “what?”s drove me mad. Good narration overall, very poor writing.

What?

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Any additional comments?

This is a tragic, haunting and beautiful book, dealing with loss, grief and the complicatedness of families, as well as the interplay of present and past. Katie Moore reads it very nicely, with well-differentiated voices for the characters. I found it extremely moving, and felt (appropriately enough) haunted by its characters for quite some time after finishing it. Myerson writes wonderfully about the way in which old houses can seem to soak up the atmosphere of what has previously gone on within them.

As other reviewers have pointed out, it is worth noting that this book contains several very violent and distressing scenes. While sensitively handled and beautifully written, it is certainly a very dark book and anyone going into it should be aware of that fact. This is not a light read! But it is (in my opinion) an extremely impressive and gripping one.

Poignant and beautiful (and very dark)

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