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Golden State

A Novel

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Golden State

By: Michelle Richmond
Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
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Dr. Julie Walker wakes on a summer morning in San Francisco to find a city in chaos. Today Californians are voting on a controversial ballot initiative that will change history. With the future of the state and the nation uncertain, the streets have erupted into violence.

Injured, Julie must make her way across the city by foot to the Veterans Administration Hospital, where her sister, recently returned from Afghanistan, is in labor. At the hospital a brutal scene is unfolding as a man who shares an intimate past with Julie begins to take his revenge. Throughout the ordeal Julie's estranged husband, desperate for reconciliation, sends out coded messages from the radio station where he is the well-known Voice of Midnight.

Five years in the making, Golden State is both a political thriller and a meditation on marriage, love, and loyalty. Like The Year of Fog, it is a page-turner with a philosophical bent.

©2014 Michelle Richmond (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Political Romance Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Suspense Emotionally Gripping
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Critic reviews

“Beautifully written, Golden State is a tender portrait of loss, marriage, and sisterhood, all set against a gripping backdrop sure to keep readers’ hearts in their throats as the story unfolds.”

(Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author)

“I hadn’t read such a gripping, bittersweet, moving novel in ages. Golden State sweeps you up, whisks you away and doesn’t let you go till the very end.”

(Tatiana de Rosnay, New York Times bestselling author)

“Golden State is a powerful, riveting, and heartfelt novel, an ode to San Francisco and to the fierceness of the human spirit.”

(Ellen Sussman, New York Times bestselling author)

“Nearly every feature of this mesmerizing novel is provocative, as Richmond explores the fragmented, hopeful lives of complex characters. This is gripping, multilayered must-read fiction from the bestselling author of The Year of Fog.”

(Library Journal (starred review))

“Mesmerizing and intricate, Richmond’s dissection of a California on the violent brink of secession from the nation provides the backdrop to her deeper inspection of the uneasy, fragile relationship between siblings…An understated yet riveting read that can be recommended to fans of Jodi Picoult and Jacquelyn Mitchard.”

(Booklist (starred review))

“Kathe Mazur’s measured performance of this engrossing audiobook is understated to the point of being languid…The laid-back narration may seem a risky artistic choice. However, Mazur’s control makes the chilling moments—and there are many in this ingenious novel—even more gripping…A fantastic performance.”

(AudioFile)

“On the day Californians cast a groundbreaking vote, a doctor is confronted with situations that compel her to contemplate her past, present, and future in Richmond’s contemporary novel…An interesting and sometimes disturbing study exploring how a person’s anticipated path can change and examining the choices people must make in order to move forward. Skillfully written.”

(Kirkus Reviews)

“Richmond takes readers through a bittersweet, heartwarming tale of a woman on the cusp of life-changing events in both her personal and professional lives…The reader is carried away by this action-packed, poignant story, making this a tale that will live in the hearts of the reader once the last page is read.”

(RT Book Reviews)
All stars
Most relevant
An interesting tale of one woman told over the period of one day. Emotionally rounded and believable characters. Worth a listen as there is so much going on to keep you moving forward.

Enjoyable

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it's definitely an easy read and there's nothing I would say was amazing about it but I finished it which always tells me that at least for me it was a good book. it was very engaging and I find it so interesting reading about marriage and family that's in a very personalised way.

pleasantly surprised by this book

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That has to have been the mother of all bad days!

Overall I liked this book well enough. There was just too much going on though.
I think it would have been better without the political backdrop and the strange hostage storyline. If it had just been about the marriage, the child and the sister, that would have been enough. Those were the strongest parts anyway.
I assume that the author was trying to make a bigger point, bringing everything together but you can make the point just with the main stories and a bit of subtlety.

In saying all of that, there weren't so many things that you lose track of what's going on. It's well written and easy to follow. The book examines some very poignant and complicated elements within different types of relationships.
It held my attention until the end. (Well until the resolution of the hostage situation at least - after that it got a little annoying!)

The narrator did a decent enough job. Often when narrator's need to convey a character as being upset they tend to overact a bit, but even though this narrator did do this a bit, I mostly believed it when she did it.

Golden State

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I was fully engaged with this story. It was full of emotional intelligence and characters who grew over the years. Never read this author before but I will find other works she’s written.

Surprisingly good

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I liked this story a lot, beautiful prose and an interesting backstory, give it a go!

original and heartfelt

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