I feel like I've lost an old friend

How could the performance have been better?

I tried really hard to embrace the new narrator but in the end I was very disappointed.

I don't understand why it's read by a Brit and that everyone has an English accent. The narrator's French accent is terrible and his versions of Olivier, Gabry and Ruth are just awful. The Three Pines setting is completely redundant given the loss of any Canadian accent.

I'll continue to read Louise Penny because I love these characters and their stories but it will no longer be the same...

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Another interesting and enjoyable story.

I love this series of books - Louise's writing combined with Adam's narration is great. Have to say that the voices of the characters weren't as distinctive as in previous books, but still a great listen nonetheless. And, yet more progression of the overall story. So in short - loved it! Again!

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"Clera"

I love Louise Penny's writing, in particular this series. However, the narrator is so unlike the previous one, that I am unable to settle into the book, especially with Clara being called Clera. Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high.

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2 people found this helpful

Come back Adam Sims

What did you like most about A Great Reckoning?

Another great story

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The new narrator may be technically perfect but he did nothing for the story. Its gone from being a very Canadian series to feeling like Im being read a bedtime story and any minute now "teddy will say goodnight to nurse and go to sleep"..such is the tone. I have loved all of the previous Louise Penny books on audible. This is my last. I will go back to print if this narrator continues.

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

The change of narrator made me feel like I had lost old friends and these were imposters.

Any additional comments?

Very disappointed

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1 person found this helpful

Great Reckoning

I just love this author, so good on so many levels. Thought provoking, good story

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Wow!! One of the best yet!

This book was awesome. The ending was worth the journey for sure. Can’t wait to start the next one.

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Another great Penny mystery

Where does A Great Reckoning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've listened to all the Inspector Gamache series books on Audible.com.au and loved them all.

Did Robert Bathurst do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

All of the other books in the series were narrated by Adam Sims who does an extraordinary job of the characters and voices. Bathurst's reading style is different. He doesn't attempt the voices in the same way. His very proper British accent had me feeling I was listening to a beloved teen book from the early 20th century rather than a 21st century murder mystery. He made argument sound unimportant and evil sound tut-tuttable. It was disappointing after the previous books. I'm sure Bathurst is a great narrator but he's not suited to this genre or story location.

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Wrong narrator

Why have a narrator that is so different from the previous man? It's the wrong author for this guy, his French pronunciations are terrible, made me want to stop listening straight away. I only finished the book because the story is great.

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Goodbye Adam Sims. I'll miss you.

Overall, the story is as captivating as the other books. Though I found elements of the case solution to be uncharacteristically guessable, and with an annoyingly glaring plot hole.

The new narrator is ok, but lacks continuity with Adam Sims' excellent characterisations. Characters like Beauvoir have drastically lost or altered personalities in the transition. Much of the overall Quebecois/Canadian nuance is lost on the British narrator, who voices all characters in British and reads French phrases with unconvincing French pronunciation. Most female characters are voiced in the same way, except, thankfully, Ruth, whose voice is as delightfully caustic as before.

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What a disappointment

I really look forward to each new credit from audible so I can submerge myself in the next Inspector Gamache instalment. I have loved them all, and then came Book 12. After so enjoying the characters and accents of Adam Sims, this book sounds like Harry Potter, as narrated by Michael Caine, Sean Connery and a few assorted Londoners. Why replace a previous excellent narrator with one so unsuited to a story based in Quebec? The women sound alike, ridiculous and soppy, the beloved Jean Guy is totally devoid of personality and as for any suspense or tension that might be in the plot - completely MIA. I didn’t return the book because I kept thinking it might improve, but it never did. Sadly, I don’t think I could bear to listen to any more narrated by Robert Bathurst, pleasant though his voice may be.

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3 people found this helpful