Security

By: Gina Wohlsdorf

Narrated by: Zach Villa

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

When the gleaming new Manderley Resort opens in 24 hours, Santa Barbara's exclusive beachfront hotel will offer its patrons the ultimate in luxury and high-tech security. No indulgence has been ignored, no detail overlooked. But all the money in the world can't guarantee safety.

As hotel manager Tessa and her employees ready the hotel for its invitation-only grand opening, a killer is in their midst. One by one staff are picked off with ruthless precision. And before the night is over, as Tessa desperately struggles to survive, it will become clear that the strangest and most terrible truth at Manderley is simply this: Someone is watching.

With stunning ingenuity, Gina Wohlsdorf puts listeners front and center as the elite resort becomes a house of horrors. Riveting to the final sentence, Security is fierce, wry, and impossible to turn off. With a deep bow to the literary tradition of Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, and Daphne du Maurier, Wohlsdorf's razor-wire prose blitzes listeners with quick twists, sharp turns, and gasp-inducing terror. Security is at once a shocking thriller, a brilliant narrative puzzle, and a moving, multifaceted love story unlike any other.

©2016 Gina Wohlsdorf (P)2016 HighBridge

Dead boring

What would have made Security better?

Seriously couldn't make it through the whole book. I keep waiting for something to happen and then finally gave up. Endless exposition about characters' personalities and no action.

Would you ever listen to anything by Gina Wohlsdorf again?

Nope.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Dull flat narrative. Matched the story though, which was also dull and flat.

Meh

The narration was fine. However, it's a screenplay trying to pretend it's a book. Gotta give her credit for trying to reclaim the maze from Stephen King, but not successful. The jumping from this floor to that floor - ugh. The stereotypical French chef was enough to make me want to stop immediately. And Tessa - god, what an annoying character. It was hard to feel any emotion to any of the characters. On the plus side it had a Ten Little Indians feel, there were some creative & gruesome deaths & some of the writing was quite good. The sex scenes interspersed with the horror was awkward. Not quite what I expected, and not in a good way.

Really hard to follow and thin story

Would you try another book from Gina Wohlsdorf and/or Zach Villa?

no I would not.....................................

What was most disappointing about Gina Wohlsdorf’s story?

The story was hard to follow and not compelling at all.....................................

Would you be willing to try another one of Zach Villa’s performances?

no I would not..............................................

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

no it did not...............................................

Any additional comments?

I really disliked this book. I stuck through it to end hoping that I would be surprised, etc and it feel completely short.

Creepy, suspenseful, riveting

This was very difficult to listen to because it is so well-written. The staccato rhythm of the writing forces you to listen even when you don't want to.

A new and engaging thriller

I'm always inclined to give a thriller a try. Some are good, some are disappointing, but I enjoy the genre enough that it usually equals out. This book was wonderful, even by my standards. We watch a team preparing to open a new hotel, but not from a typical narrator. This narration comes from the point of view of the security cameras and what they see. And one of the things they see is a killer moving from room to room, stalking the survivors.

What really will shock and amaze you is the genius behind the narration. Just as you think you know what is happening, just as you think the point of view of the story, the author completely changes the ground underneath you. The narrator keeps up with the voice and the tone of the story. This is thought provoking, paced beautifully, scary, and engaging. I loved it.

Fantastic yarn, fantastic narrator.

I must chime in and say that I thought this book was innovative, well-written, perfectly narrated (Zach Villa is a treasure!), precisely paced, with just enough grey areas to keep me interested in solving the puzzles. It is grisly, no doubt. Loved the references to classic dark thrillers. A luxury hotel with a maze garden - hello! Give it a try... you may love it too!