Promising story but poor narration

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I was looking forward to listening to this book but after 90 minutes, although the story is promising, the narration is poor. The voices used veer between a poor rendition of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry and characters from the Simpsons. The Scots and Irish accents of the police personnel wander all over the place. It occurred to me that Ida was going to be a key character in the investigation of the murders and I just couldn't stand listening to the whiny voice being used for her so I'm afraid this book is going back. Honestly, when we read a book we don't take on a dozen different voices. Why do it for an audio book, especially if the reader is not up to the job? If the writing is good enough, it should be clear who is speaking. Male readers inevitably make a poor fist of female voices so time to stop this nonsense and just have someone read in a their own voice.

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5 people found this helpful

Incredibly engrossing

I had been wanting to listen/ read this for so long! Utterly enthralling throughout the entirety

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story a little complex for me.

I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if I'd given it more time. could only listen in bite sized chunks. I found the story quite confusing at points, and found it difficult to follow.

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1 person found this helpful

Well worth listening but let down by narrator

The first of the very good quartet but the least good. Overall the narration is ok but the narrator’s character voices are poor and almost caricatures - Scottish and Irish accents are straight out of the Simpsons and female voices are generally camp.

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Quite a good listen but not my favourite

I did enjoy this book but it was probably 4 hours longer than it needs to be and although the narrator was probably good at American accents (I am British so i couldn't say), the Scottish accent was awful! Set in 1919 New Orleans, a murderer is about and various people are trying to catch him. Some of these characters are better than others and the story is quite slow as I say, but generally speaking it was quite a good listen and I am going to finish the series so it can't have been that bad!

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2 people found this helpful

The best murder mystery I've ever experienced

It's a slow burner, but once this plot got going I couldn't stop listening. Superbly told and suspenseful right up to the very last moment, with all the history and charm of New Orleans.

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just what I needed

New Orleans of 100 years ago came to life for me with this book. my other half discovered it and thought it would be my sort of thing and it was. the characters hold your attention on their own and the plot keeps you guessing. the performance took some time to get familiar with as it varied so much with what I had heard on other books but once I was tuned in it added to the intrigue.

I would recomend for anyone looking for something different but not too challenging. I enjoyed it and looking forward to the next in the series.

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Oh, The Shark Has Pretty Teeth, Dear...

Ragtime hoodoo whodunnit with this slice of pre-prohibition New Orleans noir from Ray Celestin. Exhuming the unsolved case of a real-life serial killer known as "The Axeman", Celestin fleshes out the bones with a mix of mob mischief, corrupt cops, voodoo curses and long-buried secrets rising from the grave. The narrative is sparky and evocatively written; the cinematic plot neatly in the tradition of Chinatown or L.A. Confidential. Possibly I could have done without the inclusion of Louis Armstrong as a principal character (an analogue would have been less jarring) and the plucky heroine erred towards the Mary Sue, but neither of these things were a problem. Due to the involved plot, I suspect 'The Axeman's Jazz' is an audiobook that rewards a second listen so as to better enjoy all the carefully-structured details.
I'm also surprised by some of the negativity directed at Christopher Ragland's narration, which I thought did the job perfectly well.

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Vivid and surprising

This wasn’t about exactly what I thought it would be. It was far better than I’d imagined. The performance is brilliant and the narrative gives you a lot to keep up with. I purchased after watching AHS Coven, following that depiction of The New Orleans Axe Man. The depth of detail on the political and racial drivers at work on New Orleans’s society 100 years ago is perfect and resonates deeply with the current climate around the BLM movement.

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Brilliant..

Very interesting and exciting story. It was wonderfully presented with the reader using so many authentic sounding accents and voices.

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