Recommend it

I'm not generally into the crime/thrillers/mystery genre, but a friend recommended this book so I decided to check it out. When I did, the summary sounded interesting and the audible sample drew me in immediately, so I bought it. I'm very glad I did!

The story was compelling and the writing was brilliant - had a fresh quality to it and was so evocative; the author is obviously very observant. One of the reasons I tend not to read in this genre is that I feel there are pitfalls that tend to come up again and again that wreck the plausibility of a lot of stories - things like the characters doing stupid things in order to advance the plot - I was very happy when listening to this to find whenever I worried this would happen, it didn't!

On the narration front, I was also super impressed. All three of the narrators were superb and I will be looking to see what else they've done. I listen to a lot of books and am really picky about narrators so I'm amazed to have found one book with three that I found faultless (this is pretty much unheard of in my world ;)

All in all, definitely recommend this book if you're into this genre at all and also if you're not but are willing to give it a go.

85 people found this helpful

Brilliant in every way !

Where does Dear Amy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Amongst the top 10

What other book might you compare Dear Amy to, and why?

Quite a few others. Books need to keep me guessing and not be predictable.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Absolutely splendid from Helen Baxendale. Faultless delivery. She picked up every nuance of the storyline and didn't miss a beat. Rare in an audio book reader unless the reader is the actual writer.

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

Indeed. I was so sad for Amy.

Any additional comments?

I defiinately look for this author again and for books read by Helen Baxendale.

15 people found this helpful

A good idea but explored to the point of tedium

I am afraid i have to agree with the reviewer on here that struggled with this book.
It started well and the premise is good but it began to get so far fetched and confusing towards the end of the first narrators chapters that i started to switch off.
I sadly havent finished it and to be honest returned it.
I found Helen Baxendale an excellent narrator, she is easy to listen to which is more than I can say for the books content. The author would have been better off simplifying some of the paths she went down.
Not for me and I was looking forward to listening- quite dissapointed as on the surface was my cup of tea.

21 people found this helpful

Predictable

Thus book has some great reviews. However I found the first half interesting, but then when it became obvious what had happened it was somewhat pedestrian. The narration was good which helped somewhat. It was an average listen. Bit worth the hype

3 people found this helpful

A proper psycological suspense thriller...

One that Hitchcock could have been proud of. Perhaps the plot might not be completely plausible, but is that what we look for in a good story?
It has all the ingredients; we see a character in more danger that she realises it. Will she escape in time? Just as we think we've figured out what is happening, half-way through the story everything is turned on it's head and we realise that we didn't know at all.
We hear the story narrated from the perspective of three different characters as gradually the various strands of the plot weave themselves together.
Set in Cambridge, the book starts with a narration (third person present tense) by Katie Brown who is abducted. Then the narration is taken up (first person past tense) by School Teacher and agony aunt Margot Lewis who believes she is on the trail of Bethan Avery who was similarly abducted back in 1998. During the quest Margot Lewis is befriended and helped by Martin Forrester from the university. One can imagine these parts being played by Grace Kelly and Cary Grant as we sit on the edge of our seats wondering equally if the person in danger will be saved and whether the couple will get together at the end of the story.

3 people found this helpful

really good book

listened to this book within a week couldnt stop listening. Very discriptive and well read

7 people found this helpful

Well told tale

Kept me entertained to the end. I did see the twist a long way off but that didn't spoil it. A couple of bits went unexplained (how did she get there? Who was the guy she... Well, I won't spoil it!) but overall, a good story. The narration was excellent by all 3 performers. Would definitely recommend to those who enjoy a crime/detective story which isn't too deep & doesn't confuse!

3 people found this helpful

Good but could have benefitted from slight pruning

I enjoyed this book. The subject matter was interesting. However at times felt it was trying a little too hard. Too much heavy description stopped it from being as suspense filled as it should have been, but this didn't stop my overall enjoyment.

3 people found this helpful

Loved the first half...

I loved the first half of this audio book & was gripped, but found it just went a bit off track & long winded for a while, as if the author was just writing for the sake of filling pages. Still worth a read I guess.

6 people found this helpful

Loved it!

What made the experience of listening to Dear Amy the most enjoyable?

The horror of what happens made me want to know how it may feel to be in such a terrifying situation as a child! A parents/childs worst nightmare!

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

All 3 were so good. Well done!

Any additional comments?

Again, so glad I ignored any negative reviews as thoroughly enjoyed this book!

2 people found this helpful