Doomsday Book

Executive Summary: I liked the story overall, but not the execution of it. I found it very frustrating at times. 2.5 stars rounded down.

Audiobook: I thought that Jenny Sterlin was a really good narrator. Sometimes too good. Her voices for some of the characters got on my nerves. She was especially good at sounding like a whiny child. I think her narration helped me out at times when this book was annoying, but listening in audio frustrated me overall due to the author's repetitive dialogue, which is not Ms. Sterlin's fault.

Full Review
The best way I can think to describe this book is running joke of Charlie Brown, Lucy and the football. Ms. Willis (Lucy) keeps holding that football out (revealing important to the reader) and encouraging Charlie (the reader) to kick it. Then she pulls it away. Over and Over.

She repeatedly says the same things over and over again, and rather than following through she just keeps dragging things out. I found it all incredibly frustrating.

The actual story was good. I think if the secrets had simply been teased at the start of the book, and then revealed in the same places in the book that she did without all the constant “taunting” of the reader, I'd have enjoyed this book far far more than I did.

There were some pretty great characters here. Some incredibly frustrating and downright unlikeable, but great nonetheless. It did at time seem like a comedy of errors though. If people actually talked to one another would have of this book even have happened? Hard to say.

Overall, I found this pretty disappointing. I've heard later books in the series are better, but if this is Ms. Willis's idea of how to build suspense/mystery then she's just not an author for me.