Agnes and the Hitman

By: Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Take one food writer named Cranky Agnes, add a hitman named Shane, mix them together with a Southern mob wedding, a missing necklace, two annoyed flamingos, and a dog named Rhett, and you've got a recipe for a sexy, hilarious novel about the disastrous side of true love...

Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on. Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window. His name is Shane - no last name, just Shane - and he has his own problems: He's got a big hit scheduled, a rival trying to take him out, and an ex-mobster uncle asking him to protect some little kid named Agnes. When he finds out that Agnes isn't so little, that his uncle has forgotten to mention a missing five million bucks he might have lost in Agnes' house, and that his last hit was a miss, Shane's life isn't looking so good, either. Then a bunch of lowlifes come looking for the money, a string of hitmen show up for Agnes, and some wedding guests gather with the intent to throw more than rice. Agnes and Shane have their hands full with greed, florists, treachery, flamingos, mayhem, mothers of the bride, and - most dangerous of all - each other.

©2007 Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (P)2007 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Love Jennifer Crusie But

The story was fun and enjoyable EXCEPT that there are many times the characters are thinking, and the narration is in an echo chamber. It is very hard to understand what they are saying (thinking) I have hearing problems and it was even hard with my noise canceling head phones. If you are going to make a character think, try a whisper, not an echo chamber. I know I missed a lot because of this, that is why only 3 stars. It wasn't the narrators it was the production.

Pure Crusie and Mayer magic!

Been a fan of Jennifer Crusie for decades, love her zany characters and zippy storytelling, I’m slow to try out new authors. Nevertheless I was wanting to read a new JC book and decided to give “Wild Ride” a try. Boy was I happy that I did! The JC magic was there and Mayer provided an additional layer in terms of the male character’s voice and background (Mayer is former military) and it made a wonderful story. Agnes and the Hitman did not disappoint. Perhaps to some the career choice of Shane is off-putting, but come on people it’s fiction! To me Agnes did not come across as whiny as some reviewers said, I believe being abandoned by her parents and subsequent failed relationships made her feel insecure in between bouts of anger. I really enjoyed reading these two people, who at the beginning feel abandoned and lost, come together and find each other, and together with their crazy family members find love and belonging and contentment.

As for the narration - I LOVED Sandra Burr’s interpretation of the character’s voices. She was able to inject unique nuances and tones with each character - quite a feat when JC and BM tends to have many characters! As for the thought bubbles or echo tunnel voices, it was a bit strange in the beginning but I got used to it really quick and appreciated it because you can clearly hear when the characters are thinking, rather than speaking. It was part of the charm. I did not find Burr’s depiction of Agnes to be ditzy, she didn’t come across breathing the words, but I can see those familiar with JC’s previous female characters are usually quite ballsy, and perhaps the nickname “Cranky Agnes” prejudiced some people’s perception of how Agnes should have come a crossed.

Bottom line, I love the story, love the narration and am enjoying playing it again and again because it is so entertaining.

So Much Fun!

What made the experience of listening to Agnes and the Hitman the most enjoyable?

Burr does a really excellent job of portraying Agnes, and captures the pacing of the story perfectly.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Agnes and the Hitman?

Without a doubt my favorite scene was when the bridge shows up.

What does Sandra Burr bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This is a hard one for me to answer, because I read the story before I listened to it. I do feel she did justice to some of the trickier parts, such as the Agnes' inner dialogue.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both! Of the 3 that Crusie and Mayer wrote together, this is by far my favorite.

Any additional comments?

In this book you get the fabulous bantering dialogue that Jennifer Crusie does better than almost anyone, but it's the contrast/compliment of the quirky Agnes and the solid, stoic Shane as written by Bob Mayer that makes this book so perfect.

Absolutely Delicious!

One of the most thoroughly engaging and humorous books I have read in ages. Set in the South, this story takes place in just a few days time, as a wedding extraordinaire is about to be sabotaged by the most devious, malicious, manipulative little bombshell of a Southern Belle done wrong. Throw in some G-Men, mobsters and a heroine with guts and you have a wonderful ensemble of colorful, quirky characters that are the most entertaining group of nut-jobs you could want. I found this reminiscent of an Elmore Leonard tale and would have to say that reading Agnes and the Hitman was just an absolute romp!

Fun listen

What a cute little book. Agnes is a non-traditional character. Enjoyed her "conversations" with her anger control therapist although they were difficult to hear because of the recording style.

Couldn't stop listening!

I really enjoyed the character of cranky Agnes. Her misfit family are all interesting and the story continues to move along well. The narration was good, although the "echo chamber thoughts" were something new to me and I had to get used to them. The book has a great, light-hearted appeal to it. I recommend it for listening to while doing things around the house or while on vacation.

Laughter at murder and mayhem?

I can't believe I continually laughed out loud. Anger issues kept the heroine slightly off balance, using her frying pan to get her point across and protect her dog. Her fabulous cooking won everyone's heart, especially that of a certain hit man. The New Jersey mob and a do or die wedding, this book has it all.

Agnes

Loved reading this story, love listening to it. Laugh every time over the raspberry sauce. The first few chapters will have you rolling. Enjoy!!!

Humour and fun

This is the second Jennifer Cruzie book I’ve listened to, and that’s narrated by Sandra Burr.
I loved this story and Sandra Burr did a great job with the tempo, ambiance and the voices.
This zany story is made all the better with the humour and fun incorporated in the telling.

I disliked, tho, the manner of the thought bubbles….pitched too low to hear clearly and it just irritated me. But that’s solely a production issue, nothing to do with the story or narration.

It’s a light and, ultimately, happy book.
If you need that for a few days, listen to this.

Ditzy Agnes?

I've recently become a fan of Jennifer Crusie and I think the "Hitman" book is a nice addition to her list of titles. The book itself seems to be a lot of fun; the characters are a little stereotypical but it's fitting for the genre and entertaining nonetheless. My biggest problem with the book was the narrator. The Cranky Agnes character could be a lot of fun for a narrator to read and this could have been one of those books that enhances the writing with a great narration. But to me it sounded like the narrator was going for a Marilyn Monroe-esque voice for Agnes that, in my opinion, did not fit with the descriptions, dialogue or character. The other characters talked at times about their fear of Agnes when she is angry, but the little breathy Marilyn voice just didn't strike fear into my heart. I didn't hear Cranky Agnes, I heard Ditzy Agnes.

I agree with other reviewers that the echo chamber effect used when characters are thinking is annoying and unnecessary, plus very difficult to hear. A good narrator is generally able to distinguish thinking from dialogue with vocal inflections and I have almost never found myself confused as to what is a thought versus dialogue in other audiobooks. It's still a good book, and it's still a fun listen, but I think it could have been a lot more with some different choices on the part of the narrator and producer.