The Drowning Spool

narration ruins the story

What disappointed you about The Drowning Spool?

The narration was awful. Of all the Crewel World mysteries I have this was the poorest narration I have experienced. While Betsy's voice was good the other characters all had either whiney similar voices,or comical type accents whether male or female. Godwin's voice was terrible. Officer Jill Cross's voice, usually conveying calm and an authoritative air also had that strange nasal twang that almost all the female voices had. It was really distracting and I couldn't enjoy the story at all.

Would you be willing to try another one of Betsy Bronson’s performances?

NO.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed in the narration.

Any additional comments?

When providing the snippets to listen to the story before buying, please pick a section where more than one voice is used if at all possible. I listened to the snippet and Betsy's voice was good - but had I heard any of the others I would never have purchased this title.

8 people found this helpful

Really?

What didn’t you like about Betsy Bronson’s performance?

The plot of this story is really good. I have gone through all of the narrators and Betsy Bronson's performance was horrible. I felt like I was listening to a gaggle of small children. You are an adult, speak with tones that depict adult characters. Sure the one for Wilma worked but the remainder were just terrible. Adding this name to my list of don't get the book if she is the narrator.

3 people found this helpful

Narrator not true to previous ones

I've been listening to all the Betsy Devenshire mysteries. The publisher has used several different narrators and this one is the worst. None of the characters are close to the voices used in previous books and every one is either very nasalized or forced too deep. It was very distracting to the story.

2 people found this helpful

Narrator did characters that were not believable

Would you listen to The Drowning Spool again? Why?

No, I would not listen to this again.

Would you be willing to try another one of Betsy Bronson’s performances?

I think that Betsy Bronson's voice was easy to listen to until she did other characters. I usually feel like I'm connected to the story, this one I felt like I was listening to a cartoon. I would listen to her without character voices.

Any additional comments?

I listened to the whole book but had a hard time getting through it. I have listened to all of the other books and I loved them. I could not connect to this one.

1 person found this helpful

Please do not use this Narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, keep Susan Boyce as the narrator. Betsy Bronson is awful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Godwin for his comic relief

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator tried too hard to change voices for each character both male & female. She didn't do it well and it distracted from an interesting story

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe

Any additional comments?

I love this series. I have listened to them many times and find them an enjoyable read. This one was a good story but bad narrator.

1 person found this helpful

This narrator must go

I'm not even half-way through the book, but I can't stand the narrator. The only voices she gets ok are Betsy's and Wilma's. On the one hand I'm disappointed there's not a whole lot for Godwin to do in this book (at least so far), but on the other hand, I'm glad because she just doesn't get Godwin't voice at all. In fact, most of the voices sound like little children speaking. That's nuts! I know there have a few narrators for these books, but none as distracting as this one. Until now, I had never been compelled to write a review to complain about the narrator. Going forward, if I see Betsy Bronson is narrating I'll get the actual book instead.

Betsy Bronson did a horrible job narrating.

I'm not sure if I can finish listening to this book. The narration is horrible. I may give up the rest of the series of Betsy Bronson is the narrator.

terrible narration

I really enjoy Monica Harris's books, and have listened and truly enjoyed every one in the series that preceded this, but I could not finish this because I found Betsy Bronson's narration intolerable. The voices she used for the various characters are terrible. the worst of these were the voices she used for two African-American characters, one of whom is a close friend with the main character. Bronson introduced a racially-stereotyped voice to, no doubt, ensure that listeners would identify the characters as black. She even infused it with a Southern accent! Seriously? Once she introduced these voices, I couldn't go any further with the book.
This audible book should have been reviewed before being released. A poor/bad narration definitely ruins a good book. If I could this "return/exchange" this book, I would do so.

Terrible narrator

This was the worse narrator I’ve ever listened to. She was totally inept at male voices and really ruined the book for me.

Still going strong

Monica Ferris is still going strong with this series. The narration left a lot to be desired. There was no distinction between characters. I still enjoyed this book/audiobook.