Murder List by Julie Garwood

On my trip up to Spokane, WA I had my first ever experience listening to a book on tape. It was a little weird at first since it has been a great many years since anyone has read to me, but after a few minutes, I got the feel of it. It's a little like watching a movie with subtitles; at the beginning, it feels arduous, but by the end, I don't even notice I am reading them.

I was busy, so my mother was tasked with the job of renting books on tape. The first she chose was Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. We made it through the second disc before deciding to turn it off and use the radio instead. I don't know if it was hearing the book aloud, but I do not much like James Lee Burke's writing style. There were too many flourishes and descriptions that seemed unnecessary and out of place. The story wasn't particularly compelling - what we made it through - and my mom and I found ourselves talking over the disc which we felt wasn't a particularly good sign.

We finished the second audio book, Murder List by Julie Garwood. I would give this book two stars at the very best. Though it was classified as "romantic suspense" (please remember, not my book selection), it should have been classified as "suspense then romance" as that's really what it was. Garwood's book was badly written, sloppily planned, and poorly read.

The writing simply wasn't very good. The dialogue was predictable, as were many of the plot points. She used many of the same phrases over and over again. However, I have been known to excuse poor writing for good storytelling, but sadly in this case the storytelling was worse than the writing. The book started with a prologue which was meaningless to the plot (though the epilogue did make mention of it). The first half of the book sets up a relationship between three best friends who decide to investigate - on their own - a manipulative therapist. If the book had continued in this vein, it would have been fine, but it did not. Halfway through, Regan (the main character) parts ways with her best friends and is given a bodyguard. The rest of the story takes Regan from the cool, capable woman we were introduced to into a gibbering idiot who has to rely on her hunky bodyguard for everything. Also, don't bother to try to figure out the mystery - it is impossible, as the solution relies on characters the reader is never introduced to.

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

The reader of the book was also not very good. She used weird accents for some of the characters which seemed to come and go. Her voice for Regan made it seem like she was a whiny little girl instead of the corporate businesswoman she was set out to be. The voice for Sophie (one of the friends) sounds like a woman who smoked cigarettes for forty years.

I do not recommend reading, nor listening, to this book.