Holy Orders by Benjamin Black

This review was published in the April 17, 2014 Xpress Reviews of the Library Journal website. 

Black, Benjamin. Holy Orders. 8 CDs. Unabridged. 9 hours 30 minutes. Macmillan Audio. 2013. ISBN 9781427231673 $39.99.

Holy Orders is the 6^th book of the Quirke novels. Jimmy Minor, a reporter for the local paper, is found dead in the canal, beaten and horribly mutilated. Jimmy was always a private guy, who would want him dead? Was it because of who he fancied or was it the church covering up something he was working on? It’s up to medical examiner Quirke and Inspector Hackett to solve the case. Author Benjamin Black, which is the pseudonym for John Banville, fails to create the gripping thriller that he was aiming for. He attempts to develop his characters but bogs us down with so many pointless details that the listener only knows that someone died and that there are a bunch of characters that they don’t care about.  

Narrator John Keating tries his best to give the story life and emotion, but due to the story jumping points of view so many times by the second disc you can’t recall what voice belongs to whom.

Not recommended, fans of mysteries and thrillers would be disappointed.

Jessi Brown. Huntington City-Township Pub. Lib., Huntington, Indiana. 

Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon

This review was published in the February 15, 2014 issue of Library Journal.

Seamon, Hollis. Somebody Up There Hates You. 6 CDs (6 hours 15 minutes). High Bridge. 2013. 9781622312108. $26.95

Seamon’s debut young adult novel is a mixture of heart wrenching sadness with some humor thrown in. The story is told from the viewpoint of Richie, a 17 year old boy living in a hospice unit. Richie along with his partner in hospice crime 15 year old Sylvi, is determined to make sure he lives whatever days he has left to the fullest, whether it is breaking out Halloween night with his uncle or being propositioned by Marie Antoinette. Seamon’s detail to the hospice unit is spot on from the showers to the family lounge area. Narrator Noah Galvin, who has narrated other novels such as Perks of Being a Wallflower and Punished, does an amazing job of voicing Richie.
Older young adults who enjoy reading books about dying teenagers will want to give this book a try.
Jessi Brown, Huntington City-Township Public Library. Huntington, Indiana.