True Blue

Title: True Blue

Author: David Baldacci; Read by Ron McLarty

Publisher: Hachette Audio

ISBN: 9781600247613

Length: 12 Discs; 14 hours

Obtained: Personal copy - won from another blogger a few years ago

Comments:

I needed an audio to take the puppy on a walk (long story), the library was closed, and I had just finished the audio I did have checked out (A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny)... Then I had a light bulb moment.  I still had that audio I won and never got around to listening to.  Unfortunately, when I first started it, I didn't like it.  There was a molestation scene in the prison; I never handle rape/molestation in books/movies well.

And I think a large part of my dislike was due to the narrator.  He felt more spy novel than thriller to me.  Plus, when Beth and Mace Perry were talking to each other, Beth sounded like a guy.  She actually sounded like a guy most the time, but it was more obvious and grating when she was talking to her sister.  Then there was the music and sound effects.  This was my first time with sound effects or music between scenes in an audio.  It took some adjusting.

But adjust I did.  Eventually, I was able to get into the story (good thing with 14 hours of listening).  I ended up thinking Mace was a decent character.  But the character that really shined for me was Roy Kingman.  I thought Roy was great.  He was the perfect sidekick, intelligent in his own right.  He had compassion and integrity (even if he allowed for some rule breaking when with Mace).  And he amused me.  I had some lol moments while listening and walking the dog, and they usually involved him.

As for the story, it interested me, but it also ventured in areas I didn't want to go.  My father is schizoaffective.  He can be paranoid about things, so anything that approaches conspiracy, even if it's legit, is something I avoid.  True Blue is loaded with conspiracy, which made me wary.  But the social aspect intrigued me.  My undergrad major was basically sociology with a concentration on law (delinquency, criminology, and sociology in and of prison  and court systems were all addressed in my coursework), so I already have an interest in some of the area's this book touches on.

Anyway, I've been told this particular book isn't Baldacci's best work.  I may try him again depending on the timing.  If I do, I think I'll either go for print or an audio with a different narrator.