Audible Book Review: Snowflakes by Ruth Ware

I snagged this as I thought this was a good way to try Ware as a new-to-me author. It is a quick, engaging story.
Snowflakes
Hush Collection
By: Ruth Ware
Narrated by: Jess Nahikian

Series: Hush Collection
Length: 57 mins
Release date: 07-30-20
Genre: Collection, Mystery, Short Story, Thriller & Suspense
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

Publisher's Summary
When a barrier between truth and illusion grows stronger, a family’s trust crumbles in this arresting short story by the number one New York Times 

bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10.
Leah has spent her formative years isolated on a remote island with her family. But their quiet existence, far from the devastated mainland, is cracking. Father, sensing a coming threat, demands that a wall be built. As the stone blockade rises, Father’s paranoia escalates. So does Leah’s dread that the violence the family left behind has found its way to their sanctuary.
Ruth Ware’s Snowflakes is part of Hush, a collection of six stories, ranging from political mysteries to psychological thrillers, in which deception can be a matter of life and death. Each piece can be read or listened to in one truly chilling sitting.
©2020 Ruth Ware. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Review:
Leah has lived on a remote island with her father and siblings. Her father has insisted that they have to remain away from the war ridden mainland where their mother was shot and killed. Now Father is obsessed with building a stone blockade around their small cottage. He drives Leah and another brother to get up early and go gather the rocks needed for the wall. When they resist or don’t work hard enough he punishes them. Leah puzzles at his actions but she really becomes concerned when her father pulls their eldest brother away from work in the food gardens which is necessary for their survival.

The children are becoming more and more fearful of what is coming. When confrontation arrives they are shocked.

I picked this story up because I had not yet read anything by Ms. Ware (and the Audible was free). Ms. Ware creates a very real scene with believable, real to life characters. The development of the story and mystery is very well done, and I didn’t catch on to the truth of the situation until just before it is revealed. Although this was short, I felt the situation and characters were well developed.

Audio Notes: Jess Nahikian does a good job with the narration. She provides distinct voices and her inflection enhanced the mystery of the Story. I am glad that I had the chance to listen to this.

Source: August 2020 Free Audible Plus. This qualifies for 2020TBR goal.

Audible Book Review: Ayiti by Roxane Gay

This was not what I expected, but very interesting in its own right.

Ayiti

By: Roxane Gay

Narrated by: Roxane Gay

Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 07-17-18

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genre: Anthology, Collection, Short Stories

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary From New York Times best-selling powerhouse Roxane Gay, Ayiti is a powerful collection exploring the Haitian diaspora experience. Originally published by a small press, this edition will make Gay’s debut widely available for the first time, including several new stories. In Ayiti, a married couple seeking boat passage to America prepares to leave their homeland. A young woman procures a voodoo love potion to ensnare a childhood classmate. A mother takes a foreign soldier into her home as a boarder, and into her bed. And a woman conceives a daughter on the bank of a river while fleeing a horrific massacre, a daughter who later moves to America for a new life but is perpetually haunted by the mysterious scent of blood. These early stories showcase Gay’s prowess as "one of the voices of our age” (National Post, Canada). ©2011, 2018 Roxane Gay. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Review:

Ayiti: meaning Haiti.  This is an interesting collection of stories that are mostly not easy listening. Ms. Ayiti tells the tales of various Haitians or their children showing their experiences in Haiti and beyond. After I started listening I looked up the meaning of diaspora: A diaspora (/daɪˈæspərə/) is a scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale.

The experiences are at times distressing, horrifying, haunting, and touching. One particularly striking story tells of a grandmother’s experience at Massacre River, a river that divides Haiti and the Dominican Republic which the author describes as a border between two geographies of grief.” The tales describe the horrors of the past, the memories of her grandmother, and the lifelong impact the event had on her.

I almost didn’t get too far along because the language is very raw (foul) and graphic (rape and sex). I didn’t realize that the stories have been included as erotica, which is a genre/material I don’t generally read. Provided the raw language and sexual content wouldn’t bother the reader, I recommend this to readers who enjoy history and immigrant experiences.

Audio Notes: Roxane Gay narrates her own collection and does a good job. Not only does her voice fit the work, but she brings her own energy. It is likely I would not have read this in print so I am glad I picked up the audible on Daily Deal.

Source: 05/25/2019 Audible Daily Deal $.99. This qualifies for 2020TBR and 2020Audiobook goals.

Audiobook Review: Invitation by Alton Gansky, Angela Hunt, Bill Myers, Frank Peretti

This is entertaining and an easy listen.
Invitation
Written By: Alton Gansky, Angela Hunt, Bill Myers, Frank Peretti
Narrated By: Bill Myers, Ali Ahn, Cherise Boothe, Jeff Brick

Series: The Harbingers Series, Book 1
Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 04-04-17
Language: English
Publisher: Recorded Books
Genre: Christian, Collection, Mystery, Sci Fi, Supernatural
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Summary:
In the first cycle of the Harbinger series, four strangers discover they have extraordinary gifts and are brought together to fight a growing darkness. Meet the members of the Harbingers team--each written by an acclaimed author--in four linked episodes! Fast-paced and ongoing, this thrilling suspense collection reads like your favorite TV series. Four Bestselling Authors Team Up for Thrilling Supernatural Suspense Gathering four stories from four bestselling author friends, Invitation is the first collection in the ongoing Harbingers series. In "The Call" by Bill Myers, four strangers are drawn together to help a student at the mysterious Institute for Advanced Psychic Studies. His gifts are supposedly being honed to assist world leaders . . . but there are some very disturbing strings attached. Frank Peretti's "The Haunted" confronts a supernatural mystery, a case of murder, and an exploration into the darkness of the human heart, all centering around a mysterious house. In Angela Hunt's "The Sentinels," animals around the world are mysteriously dying. What could it mean? When the tragedy begins to touch Andi's dreams, she discovers a terrifying theory. "The Girl" by Alton Gansky is a gripping tale of a young barefoot girl found holding a scroll in the snowy Oregon mountains. She is sweet, innocent--apparently not of this world--and something wants to kill her...

Review:
Four strangers are pulled (or called) together to meet in one dangerous situation. After that they are pulled together again to face other supernatural circumstance.

"The Call" by Bill Myers introduces all four characters. It is written from the perspective of Brenda, a street raised, brash tattoo artist who happens to draw images of visions she sees effecting her customers. The four characters come together as they try to help a student trying to escape from a mysterious Institute for Advanced Psychic Studies. The student and characters are faced with their worst nightmare and have to struggle to make it out of the grounds safely.

"The Haunted” by Frank Peretti finds the professor, a former priest who now argues in favor of logic rather than faith, facing a mysterious haunted house which appears and disappears, trapping it's victims in their own evil pasts. His assistant, Andi, Brenda and Tank, are all drawn to the location to help solve the mystery and keep the professor from becoming a victim. During their creepy encounters they discover a little boy, Daniel, with an imaginary friend who protects him.

Angela Hunt focuses on Andi in "The Sentinels". Andi is the professors brilliant, geeky assistant who sees mathematical and natural patterns. Animals around the world are mysteriously dying and soon there are birds plummeting from the sky and dead fish littering the beach near Andi’s vacation house. The professor flies in Tank and Brenda, with Daniel in tow, to help solve another mystery. Daniel quickly forms a bond with Andi’s dog who is at risk of the killing phenomenon. Hopefully Tank’s gifts can help while Andi tries to unravel the mystery.

Finally, "The Girl" by Alton Gansky, gives us more of Tank’s background. Tank is a country boy jock excited to get a football scholarship until he realizes his soft heart doesn’t like hurting other players. He is sweet, caring and has a gift for healing. He and his uncle try to locate a barefoot girl in the cold snow. They discover that she is not what they think, more than they expect and in danger from unknown creatures. The other members of the team are called in to help face another supernatural occurrence.

I imagine it is not a simple thing for four authors to write of four characters and four situations and still make them fit seamlessly. The introduction noted the authors’ approach which was to have an overall storyline with episodes featuring each character – similar to a TV series. I found the work impressive for that achievement. I also enjoyed the four characters, the different stories and the gentle faith elements that are interwoven with the supernatural aspects.

I have read and enjoyed novels by three of these authors; Alton Gansky is new to me. I would be interested in reading more of this collaborative team as they use their gifts to fight an encroaching darkness. I recommend this to readers who enjoy supernatural mysteries and gentle faith elements.

Audio Notes: The four narrators, Bill Myers, Cherise Boothe, Ali Ahn, Jeff Brick each do a good job with the story presentations. The two females narrate the female character stories and the males narrate the male views. I enjoyed all four efforts which kept the work interesting. The narration enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

Source: ChristianAudio Sale Summer 2017. This qualifies for 2018TBR and 2018 Audiobook Challenge.