Finding Faith ... in a couple of quick listens

My roots run deep in English, Irish and Welsh ancestry. And while I've never had the opportunity to go visit the isles, and it will be a long time before I do, stories from there capture my imagination.

This past week, I happened to have a lot of windshield time as I worked to move my brother from his old city to the metro area where we live. And so I took the opportunity to indulge in a couple of Audible's Originals that I received for free in the past couple of months. And to my surprise, both stories had deep connections to the isles, the first being set in Australia, but containing a story line that depends deeply on the country's deep ties to Great Britain, and the second being set in Ireland itself. And the bonus was that both stories were read by narrators with English accents.

Finally, both narrators need a tip 'o the cap for their fine voice work, and both added a joyful depth to each of the stories. I'll share more about them later.

The first read "Tell Me Lies" by J.P. Pomare and read by Aimee Horne was billed as "a fast-paced, psychological, whodunit mystery that will leave listeners wondering if anyone can actually be trusted." And that description held up if you enjoy a paperbackish-type fast read.

The gist of the story is this: "Psychologist Margot Scott has a picture-perfect life: a nice house in the suburbs, a husband, two children, and a successful career. On a warm spring morning, Margot spots one of her clients on a busy train platform. He is looking down at his phone, with his duffel bag in hand as the train approaches. That’s when she slams into his back and he falls in front of the train. Suddenly, one tragedy leads to another leaving her, her family, and her patients in danger. As misfortune unfolds, listeners will soon question Margot’s true role in all of these unfortunate events."

I'll be honest, one of my pet peeves in storytelling is when the author tries to get so clever, that they throw in one (or more!) too many plot twists. Without the appropriate skill, it can come off as just an author trying to show off their cleverness. And there was a point in listening to "Tell Me Lies" that I was at that point: Too many plot twists.

But just as I was getting annoyed, the story started plunging toward its culmination and rescued me from dropping out. And I have to also admit that I never saw the story's pinnacle coming, and so I am so glad that I stuck it out during the portions that felt like I was slogging along.

My greatest praise for this audio book is for the narrator Aimee Horne, who really made the book sing. Through her voice techniques, she masterfully created the characters' personalities, which is normally reserved for a reader's imagination, but is so dependent upon the narrator for listeners of audio books. There were multiple main characters, including both men and women, young and old, and Home switches into and out of those characters in believable fashion. It's no exaggeration to say, that her narration made the book as enjoyable as the story line itself.

Interestingly, I'd love to provide you more background on Horne, but my best efforts in some quick web sleuthing only points to the fact that she has narrated a good many books and possibly even some movies. On the movie website IMDb, she's listed as an actress with several credits, but I don't know if the narrator and this actress are one in the same.

Being a short listen, just a tad over six hours, I dare not share much more about the book, as the story arch is short and giving away too many details will ruin it. But if you're into a quick-moving, paperbackish-type novel that's not deep but is fun, then I'd tell you check out "Tell Me Lies."

The other listen that I finished this past week was "The Sisters," by author Dervla McTiernan, and narrated by Aoife McMahon. Only half as long as "Tell Me Lies," this listen checks in at just over three hours, so it's not a big time commitment.

So, admittedly, when I downloaded "The Sisters," I was unaware that this short piece is a prequel that leads up to an established best-selling series. I only learned afterward that this work leads up to McTiernan's Cormac Reilly series, and is set 10 years prior.

Knowing this could have saved me some trouble, as frankly, the book takes off as if the listener has this important foreknowledge, and I'm only now piecing together some salient points about this work being a prequel. So the following description might mean even more to those who have enjoyed McTiernan's established series.

In "The Sisters," bright-eyed Carrie Ryan is at the very start of her career. When she has a hunch about an ongoing murder investigation, she knows it could be her only chance to prove herself and truly break into the “boy’s club” of Dublin’s police force.

According to the Audible description: "Carrie uncovers this make-or-break moment in a case file that her sister Aifric, a newly qualified barrister, leaves on their kitchen counter: Robert Collins has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend after a fight in a local pub. All signs point toward a guilty verdict, but both sisters quickly begin to find evidence that complicates the story. All the while, Carrie is very aware that she’s crossed the line — if the detective sergeant running the investigation finds out she’s been messing around with his case, her career will be over before it has begun."

As you can imagine, you can't delve very deeply into story line if you only have three hours with which to work. And to help accomplish this time limit, the author does little to build depth into many of the characters in the book, outside of Carrie and Aifric, but then again, because it was designed as a prequel, all of this makes so much more sense now!

I won't ruin the story line of the book as Audible's description above is pretty apt, but i will say that narrator Aoife McMahon's authentic Irish accent and ability to switch characters does much to the likability of "The Sisters."

I will say that having some knowledge of the Cormac Reilly series would likely heighten your satisfaction of this listen, but if you're looking for a quick, almost "novella-ish" listen, give it a try. It's worth your three hours.