Audio books, sometimes the voice makes a difference

Does an audio rendition of a book enhance the experience or does it get in the way? I listen to audio books when I'm driving alone, which gives me half a dozen hours a week of listening pleasure. Today's selection might be OTR (old time radio shows) or a mystery book. My experience is that the reader’s effect ranges from selling the book to killing the book. I just closed an audio book half way into the first CD because of the reader’s voice and phrasing. I heard the words but I wasn’t getting the story! While the premise of the book (Creepers by David Morrell) interested me enough to pick up the audio at the library, I’m not encouraged to try the book.

Davina Porter, who reads the Hamish MacBeth series written by M.C. Beaton, has had the opposite effect. These books fall into the cozy classification, which is not my first choice in story type. The first book I heard from Porter hooked me on the series. Her accent and phrasing help me feel the Scottish Highland village of Lochdubh and it’s residents. She paints a great picture of Hamish, the lazy constable who , like a dog with a bone, won’t let go when he feels a wrong has been done. I just tried, for the second time to get into a printed Hamish book, and failed for the second time. Might well be my short attention span but for me Beaton’s book work better in audio than in print.

Nick Landrum gives voice to Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter books (two so far). Dexter is a sociopathic, serial killer sleuth. Pretty improbable premise, but Landrum’s rendition of Dexter is perfect! Dexter’s view of society and his place in it is so unique, almost a spoof of society and its members. The story is written first person, so we see the world through Dexter’s eyes and mind. This is a little like wearing the wrong glasses; you can see things, but everything is a little warped. Landrum makes you really want to know what Dex is going to say and do next. I’m sure I would enjoy reading Lindsay’s books, but Landrum’s presentation makes me desire more Dexter.

Have you heard any audio renditions of books that seem to take the author’s words to new levels?
quirky detective

Dexter Morgan, the sociopath, serial killing nice guy.

Dexter may be one of the quirkiest. He works for the police (blood spatter analyst). He considers himself to be non-human, essentially some form of android. Think of Star Trek’s Spock with a sense of irony and humor. He mimics normal behavior to get along. He acts out what he feels are normal responses and emotions. He has a compulsion to kill, which he has directed (with the guidance of his foster father) towards those that he feel deserve to die. He detects, but his end goal is dissection. Sound dreadful?

He's actually can be quite charming. In the hands of Jeff Lindsay, Dexter makes the abnormal seem, well sometimes a little poetic and very often very funny. Be warned, this character and series are not for everyone. Having said that, you may also find Dexter to be dear Dexter. Lindsay doesn't stop at one quirky character, but fills out with a cast of characters who all know something is wrong with Dex, but can’t quite figure out what it is. Two books in the series so far: start with Darkly Dreaming Dexter and continue with Dearly Devoted Dexter.

If you enjoy audio books, checkout Nick Landrum’s presentation of Dexter. Spot on, as they say in the UK.

Blanche White, the maid who figures things out

I picked up my first Blanche White book because of the title, “Blanche On The Lam”. What caught my eye was her name, the same as my mothers. That little hook brought me into Blanches world; the world of an independent black woman who happens to be a maid. Barbara Neely in four books moves Blanche from the South to the North, from job to job, accumulating a family along the way. In every book there is trouble and often threats to Blanche and her two children. She handles these threats, solves crimes, keeps her dignity and gives insight into her world. This book makes my quirky list for it’s unusual protagonist and Neely’s ability to let me see a life much different from my own. I’m pretty sure my mother would have liked Blanche as well. Checkout the four Blanche titles at the Blanche White website

Has a family connection ever drawn you towards a book?

Scott Moody, the schizophrenic cab driving detective.

Author Steve Oliver took his experience as a mental patient and as a cab driver and invested them into his character, Scott Moody. Riding with Moody in his cab is quite an experience as he takes you into his delusional thinking and his equally bizarre life. He has a wife and daughter that he loves but can’t be with. He has a bare existence life that keeps him driving to earn money and chase his demons – real and imagined. Author Oliver is brave enough to share his psychotic experience and gives us a rare glimpse into the kind of shattered thought process a mentally ill person might have to deal with, while trying to cope with "normal" people who seem to think a little more linearly. Scott Moody is featured in three books: Moody Gets The Blues, Moody Forever, and Moody In Winter. Check him out at Steve Oliver's website

Who makes your quirky detective list?