So disappointing

After the woodcutter I was eagerly awaiting this story even though it did have mixed reviews. unfortunately I found this to be quite tedious, whilst the ending was good I think this book could have been 6 hours shorter. I won't lie, it's put me off reading anything else from the author.

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Not for me.

I try to listen to books every so often that I would not normally choose or new authors for me . I am happy to do this with the buy one get one free offers that audible has.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I am not sure if it was the narration or the writing style but I just could not get into the story or develop anything more than a severe dislike for any of the characters. I use audio books to help me sleep and this book just enabled my insomnia.............but I was committed to listening to it and always feel like I would be doing the author an injustice by giving up............and you never know if a book that starts of badly will pick up to have an amazing middle and end. Not the case here. Not a mystery, thriller or suspenseful book. The only thing that could have saved it was a nuclear explosion occurring at the start and then 16 hours of white noise.

However I refuse to give 1 star as even though I hated the story and narration, the book was well written with decent character development, it may just be that this was too gentle of a story for me.

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1 person found this helpful

Good, but overlong

An interesting if somewhat convoluted tale. The characters are well formed. The narrator is very good BUT his attempts at the various accents and dialects are lamentably poor; to the extent that it is distracting. That said, if you are not from the North of England, you probably won’t even notice.

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Interesting characters and story

Good story with great characters.Took a few chapters to get into it but once I did it was very worthwhile.

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1 person found this helpful

Average offering that promised much more

Like many, I came to this from The Woodcutter, so had high expectations. The Stranger House is not in the same league.

I agree with many that the narration leaves something to be desired, especially in the attempt at an Australian accent, but there was a half-decent stab to add some variety to the Cumbrian characters.

The plot was just a little bit all over the place, and felt loose. Bits and pieces seemed forced together in a way that didn't fit. Neither did the attempted foray into mysticism really work. In all, this felt like a book that could have been excellent if only a bit more work had been put in.

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1 person found this helpful

sad I didn't like this

I listen to Reginald Hill often. However I really struggled with this one, but not sure why. it is a good plot but written in a convoluted way. I consider Mr Hill a brilliant author and this will not put me off, just not for me

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Good detective novel with a touch of romance

A good story particularly well told; the reader distinguishing the great variety of accents, genders and ages in a believable way. The combination meant that I could lose myself in the book and, although a long book, it held me to the end

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24 people found this helpful

Reginald Hill at his best

This is quite a different one for Reginald Hill - very unlike the other books of his I've read or listened to. But I would definitely say it's one of his best (at least of the ones I've read). It's really added to by the quality of the narrator too. It's got a really quirky character and doesn't take itself too seriously, and is a gripping and interesting story. Definitely one to listen to.

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11 people found this helpful

another brilliant story

I just love Reginald Hill's books. Totally different to the great Dalziel and Pascoes, and again from the totally brilliant the Woodcutter. This was nicely narrated, which always helps, the plot was more complicated than you thought it was going to be, and you start getting all smug thinking you've got it sussed (and I am usually pretty good at that), when there is another clever twist. I was genuinely sorry when I'd finished it. Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

Not as good as The Woodcutter

I adored The Woodcutter (would make a fantastic film) and the story behind The Stranger House is equally as good however, the narration particularly of Sam was extraordinarily annoying...

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