This is my first Linda Castillo book and I received it as an ARC for an honest review.
Overall I enjoyed this story. Kate grew up in an Amish household but left the life and has become the chief of police for the area she grew up. After a body is found the story leads us through some twists to unearth who the killer is and just what the man was killed for. Along the way there is a lot Kate finds and none of it makes the victim look like an innocent person.
Having never read a Linda Castillo book - I did enjoy the writing and the narrative. I would pick up another of her books!

An Evil Heart
Kate Burkholder #15
Linda Castillo


I was asked to review one of Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder novels for Library Journal a few years ago and was very pleasantly surprised because I wasn’t expecting the depth of crime drama and the incorporation of Kate’s past with the Amish into her policing. Needless to say I was hooked and from then on have enjoyed the Macmillan Audio editions of the series. They all have an edge, they’re all dark some darker than others and this one is one of those very dark ones and it was one heck of a story so read on to see what I thought.
Enjoy!


Castillo’s An Evil Heart is a fantastic twisty turny look into the very darkest of humanity. The author’s masterful storytelling will lead her audience down some really dark and disturbing roads giving them a glimpse of the underbelly of human nature and leaving them wondering if anything is sacred. As in all the novels in her series Linda’s storyline melds an amazing plot, Amish and English (non-Amish) characters, lifestyles and dialogue keeping fans up to date with all the goings on from past trips to Painter’s Mill, Ohio as well as one heck of a mystery unique to this novel. Her knowledge of Amish language and customs then mixing it with murder and mayhem make this novel a one-of-a-kind crime drama that will appeal to a wide range of mystery/thriller fans. Fans of this fantastic author, JT Ellison and Lisa Gardner will find this read absolutely unputdownable.
NARRATION:
Kathleen McInerny as always does an incredible job of bringing this novel to life for her listeners. Her perfection with the Amish language and her portrayal of Kate is outstanding but then she goes one better with her world class inflections and then perfectly portraying every other character in the novel making the Macmillan Audio edition of the novel the best way to enjoy it.

Kate Burkholder has a lot on her mind right now, she and John Tomasetti are finally tying the knot, but with only days before the wedding where the ceremony will be held is still up in the air. To make matters worse she gets a call about the body of a young Amish man found on a secluded road and horrifically learns that what she originally thought was a hit and run turns out to be a very violent murder and she’s left wondering who would want to kill twenty-year-old well-liked and respected Aden Karn with a crossbow. While digging into the case and into Aden’s life she is getting two very different pictures of Aden and begins to suspect that the Amish man may have had a nefarious side. Between wedding preparations and reconnecting more with her Amish family Kate’s investigations into the case is getting her more questions than answers but there’s one thing she knows for sure and that is she won’t give up until she knows all the facts.

Fantastic installment to the series. Huge items come to play that will impact the rest of the series. Must read

An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo is the perfect police procedural murder mystery for those just beginning in the genre as well as die-hards that have read hundreds from the genre. As someone who has read their fair share of police procedurals and murder mysteries alike, I can easily say this is one of the best there is.

Every time I thought I know who the murderer was, I was proven wrong until the very end! Normally I have no problem figuring out who did it and why, but An Evil Heart threw me for a curve I never saw coming.

I loved the cultural introductions to the Amish community and how it influenced Police Chief Burkholder’s investigation style and interactions with the community as someone who left the community before baptism. I enjoyed how she revealed no one is as them seem, and how people can go to great lengths to hide their evil intentions, even from their own loved ones.

The only two points that prevent me from giving a five-star rating is that the narrator sounded rather robotic at times which proved to be distracting from the story line, and while providing educational references to Amish culture/language as well as police code and procedure, it seemed to interrupt to story flow at times. These references would have made better footnotes than being in the actual story.

All in all, I highly recommend this book for any crime story lovers out there! Thank for you the ARC opportunity!

Although An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo was the fifteenth book in this fabulous police procedural series it was the second book that I had the pleasure of listening to. I listened to the audiobook that was read brilliantly by Kathleen McInerney. She was able to clearly distinguish between the many characters and the intonation of her voice led to a very enjoyable experience for me as I listened to the An Evil Heart unfold. As in Linda Castillo’s previous books, I was able to get a glimpse of authentic Amish life and their desire for protectiveness and privacy in their close knit community. It helps to read this series from the start but each book can easily be read as a stand-alone book.

Imagine the devastating shock the Amish community experienced as they learned about the fate of one of their own, a young man named Aden Karn! Aden had biked to work on that fateful fall morning. He took the same route he always took. A passerby discovered his lifeless body on the side of the road. Aden Karn had been killed with a crossbow. Kate Burkholder, the chief of police in Painters Mill, Ohio, was notified and immediately went to the scene of the incident. Kate knew the victim’s family from her years living among the Amish, before she chose to leave the Amish community. She quickly learned that Aden was well liked, funny, a gentle man who avoided conflict and came from an upstanding Amish family. Aden had been on Rumspringa, a period of time when a young Amish teen was recognized as an adult. Rumspringa allowed the Amish teens to experience and explore English life for the first time in their lives. The hope was that the temptations offered in the English lifestyle would not sway these young and impressionable Amish teens. It was the hope of the elders of the Amish community that these teens would choose to return to the Amish way of life rather than leave. They prayed that these teens on Rumspringa would embrace the Amish way of life as their own and return. Some did but some did not. Kate learned that Aden had been a hardworking man and that he had recently gotten engaged to a young and sweet Amish girl named Emily. It was Kate’s hope and determination to figure out who killed Aden Karn and why. The more she dug into the case, the more she discovered about Aden. Kate systematically uncovered dark secrets, flaws in Aden’s character and unprecedented actions that had not been revealed by those who knew him best. Kate had an agenda of her own. She was finally marrying Tomasetti so solving this case before her big day was a priority. Will Kate be able to uncover who killed Aden Karn and discover what motivated the killer before her wedding?

I have come to expect thrilling and sometimes dark police procedural action in Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder series. An Evil Heart did not disappoint. I loved all the twists in the plot as Kate got closer and closer to solving the mystery of who killed Aden Karn and what the motive was for killing him. As in all her books in this series, I enjoyed learning about the Amish way of life. I enjoy that she always includes the Amish dialect and gave explanation for the Amish language. As always, Linda Castillo did an excellent job developing the characters both Amish and English. I was surprised by the ending but felt that it was satisfying and made sense. Now, l look forward to the next installment in this addictive series. I highly recommend An Evil Heart to all that enjoy a good mystery/thriller with a touch of Amish.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the third Kate Burkholder book I have read, and the first in audiobook format. Every time I visit Painters Mill I am reminded of my home in southeastern Illinois. We have an Amish community there, too. I have always appreciated how Linda Castillo treats the Amish as real human beings: these aren't some kind of exotic species; it's not like visiting a zoo habitat. I really loved Kathleen McInerney's narration and being able to properly hear the Deitsch. As always, it is good to check in on the reoccurring characters, Kate and Tomasetti first and foremost, and find out that they are doing o.k. The story, as always, is solid, and kept me guessing up until the end. There are reasons that this series is up to number 15, not counting the short stories. I pick up one whenever I can, and highly recommend them to anyone who likes a good mystery: fundamentally a police procedural, they're a little cozy, not too much noir, with just the right balance of scientific forensic technology. I would like to thank Macmillan Audio for allowing me to experience this NetGalley audiobook. Four of five stars; I really liked it.

This was such an interesting murder mystery with a look into amish culture. It is obvious that Castillo has done her research and also has a careful approach about a closed-off group. Kate was a wonderful investigator and a strong leader which I always appreciate. I didn’t realize this was #15 in a series but the good news is that it can read as a standalone perfectly fine! It’s funny that they talk about how murders like this don’t happen in the town, but if there are fourteen other books I imagine they are quite common 🤣. I do want to go back and read the entire series now and I’ll be starting with book one, Sworn to Silence.

The narrator for this book is a glaring problem. She makes every character sound like a cross between Joe Friday and Captain James Kirk (William Shatner version). Listening to it was difficult. I've never listened to anything else by Kathleen McInerney, but if this is how she delivers all her narration, I wouldn't bother, no matter how good the story was.

Which brings us to the story. It's been seven years since the main character, Kate Burkholder, returned to her hometown, even years since she met the man who, in this book, she is set to marry. Yet she RE-explains everything to her future husband and her co-workers in minute detail experiences that she had. She demonstrates no growth as a person, carrying the same old baggage she was dragging around in the first novel. She learns nothing. She progresses not at all.

The frequent "something there" self-comments was annoying. The excessive use of the 10 code failed to lend credibility to the character or the author. These types of details were distracting and made a bad novel worse.

The book's basic premise could have been quite enjoyable, but how long can one stare at the train wreck that is a character's "life" without finally just throwing the book down and walking away?

A young Amish man, Aden Karn, is killed in a gruesome murder and a formerly Amish woman, Kate Burkholder, now a police officer is on the hunt for his cold-blooded killer.

I didn’t realize this book was part of a series when I picked it up, but it’s apparently the 15th book in the Kate Burkholder series! I don’t think you need to read the first books though, I didn’t feel lost in any way while reading this book. The book hooked me immediately, with the beginning playing out the horrific murder. The book had a lot of detail and twists that kept you guessing as to who murdered Aden and what he was involved in that got him murdered. It was very well written and engaging, and I like how it intertwined the life of the Amish with the life of a girl who used to be Amish and is now a detective. I will definitely be starting from book 1 and reading the rest of this series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and @NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Linda Castillo's novels require us to put aside our preconceived idyllic notions and reveal that humanity's darker side is alive and well in the Mennonite community.

<img src="https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/mika_sperling_brothers_and_sisters_003.jpg"/>

This novel reminded me of Miriam Toews' book, <u>Women Talking</u>, which focused on a Bolivian community of Mennonites that had been experiencing unexplained mass sexual assaults for several years. (A movie based on these true events is now available on Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon Prime, etc.)

<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f4/Women_Talking_poster.jpeg/220px-Women_Talking_poster.jpeg"/>

Obviously, the Bolivian victims were being drugged in some way, but it appeared that the Bolivian government declined to intervene in the "self-government" of this remote Mennonite community. Indeed, it is, in part, thanks to Miriam Toew's courageous exposure of this horror and the impact of the movie adaptation of her book, that this small community of Bolivian Mennonites finally received the legal intervention and help that the victims so desperately needed. Miram Toews: RESPECT!!!!

<img src="https://content.time.com/time/daily/2011/1108/360_bmennonite_rape_0802.jpg"/>

Major Spoiler Alert: In <u>An Evil Heart</u> the rural community of Mennonites in Painters Mill is experiencing a similar "drug-rape" epidemic amongst the younger members of Castillo's fictional world. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is tasked with capturing and exposing the perpetrator(s) of these heinous acts. But it appears that someone armed with a crossbow is also out to put a stop to such "unholy" behaviour in their community.

<img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRyzka_ZDo3H5KsKRgmkChweY09zs_Al3r-RA&usqp=CAU"/>

Graphic Violence Warning: The descriptions of various assaults and attacks were very detailed.

The heart-pounding ending had me cringing and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Contrarily, I found the investigatory portions very slow, occasionally tedious, and repetitive, but I get that this attention to detail and "re-examination" is probably true to life in a real murder investigation. (In retrospect, I realize now that they were also a welcome respite in between all those aforementioned high impact scenes!)

On the bright side: this is also the installment in this ongoing series where Kate and Tomasetti are scheduled to tie the knot, finally! ... Or will there be yet another delay?!!!

<img src="https://atlawoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ido-do.jpg"/>

Highly recommended - a 4.3 rating from me. My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Although An Evil Heart is the fifteenth entry in the Kate Burkholder series, it is my first, and also the first time I have read a book by Linda Castillo. I came to this one on the advice of Goodreads friends, and they weren’t wrong. My thanks go to Net Galley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the review copies. This book is available to buy now.

Our story is set in the fictitious town of Painter’s Mill, Ohio, where the Amish make up about a third of the population. Kate Burkholder, the chief of police here, is preparing for her wedding when a call comes in about a bizarre murder. A young Amish man, Aden Karn, has been shot with a crossbow and left to die. This would be unusual anywhere, but for the peaceable Amish, it is a tremendous blow. Who would do such a thing? And then there’s another murder as well. Are they linked, and if so, how?

Of course, things are not what they seem. Eventually, Emily Byler, Aden’s girlfriend, comes in to the station accompanied by both of her parents. Emily has finally confessed the horrible deeds that Aden has visited upon her. As the girl, burdened by “a dark mix of horror, shame, and grief,” buries her face in her mother’s shoulder, her mother says “Let me tell you about Aden Karn. The devil whispered his name and Aden Karn took his hand and went.”

But Emily didn’t kill Aden, so the case is far from being solved; if anything, it’s become more complex. Now Kate wonders whether Aden did such things to other girls as well.

At the outset I listen to the audio version of this book, and friend, it’s dreadful. For awhile I wonder whether it’s read by an A.I., because the sound is choppy, the words cut off in a way that suggests it’s not the fault of any narrator. But as I reach the 20th percentile, I realize that actually, the reader is not doing well, either. When it comes to voicing the male characters, the narrator sounds amateurish, and I have never said this about a narrator before. I begin to dread opening this book again, and that’s when I abandon the audio entirely and settle in with the digital review copy instead. It is the right thing to do. Castillo is a good author with a poor narrator, and I hope the glitches in the sound quality have been dealt with now that it’s publication day.

The ending is somewhat predictable, but not until the last quarter or so of the book. I would cheerfully read further entries into this series, and can tell you from experience that you can jump in right now without concerning yourself over the first 14 books if you choose. I recommend the printed version of this book to all that love the genre.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review!

4/5 stars
*
Wow! This book was definitely a rollarcoaster of a ride. This is book 15 in a series, but honestly I was able to read it as a standalone, as I haven’t read any of the other books in the series. The cover and the description of the book drew me in and made me want to read it, and I’m so glad that I did. This is a police procedural that follows Kate (the chief of police) as she investigates the brutal murder of an young Amish man. The secrets that become exposed as the book went on were so very shocking and I could not turn away from it. There were some parts that definitely seemed to be repetitive throughout the book so that kind of took away from the storyline at times, but not in a way that made me want to put the book down.

I listened to about half of this book while I was traveling for vacation, because lets face it, 9 hours straight in a car with a toddler isn’t the best idea LOL! However, this book was phenomenal to listen to and definitely helped pass the time while riding in the car. By the time we got to our destination, I was already halfway throughout the book and I wanted to keep reading it to figure out how it was going to end.

Overall, this was still a good book that kept my attention and made me want to keep listening!
*
This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

NYT bestselling author Linda Castillo returns with her popular Amish series, Kate Burkholder #15, with her latest, AN EVIL HEART —A riveting emotional suspense crime/cop thriller mystery of a brutal death of an Amish man and more.

A shocking new case that begins with a vicious murder and gets darker from there. "Nailbiting! Castillo's commendable storytelling will keep fans eagerly waiting for the next Kate Burkholder installment.

Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio. She grew up Amish, and though she left that life behind, many cases bring her into daily contact with this community. It is autumn in Ohio, and she has a new case to solve before Kate can return to her wedding plans.

A young Amish teen, Aden Karn, age 21, was on his bike on Hansbarger Road (a backroad), saw something in the ditch, and stopped. The person has a crossbow and aims it at him. One shot and a second one. Then he is gone. DEAD. According to the forensics, this was a brutal murder and close-up.

Kate spends time investigating his family, co-workers, girlfriend, Emily Byler (age 17), and her family. Her family thought they would be married one day. Was he targeted or an accident? It was not self-inflicted, so someone was waiting for him on the way to or from work.

Then there was the business with an old truck. Aden and Wayne (his roommate) bought the beat-up truck, made repairs, and sold it to Vernon Fisher (gas station owner). Then it stopped running. He was mad and stopped paying. So the boys went to his house and repossessed it.

Does this have to do with the truck or something else? At the start of the investigation, it seems everyone liked the nice Amish boy Aden, but others come forward later, and it appears he may have had a temper and a dark evil side. A sexual predator?

Kate is also planning her upcoming long-awaited wedding that is drawing near within a week or so with John Tomasetti. Her family is planning a wedding at her brother's farm. Her sister, Sarah, is excited about the wedding. Kate has not been Amish for eighteen years. She will try to blend the two cultures.

In addition to being the chief of police, Kate is trained as an emergency medical technician. She is razor sharp, intelligent, has excellent instincts, and is compassionate.

Tomasetti is also in the business and works for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. They met when he assisted on one of her cases. A total match. I love these two together! —They remind me of Karen Slaughter's Will Trent and Sarah Linton. And Lisa Gardner's DD Warren and Alex. John is strong and has had to overcome tragedy like Kate. The murder of his wife and two children almost killed him. He is now working on a kidnapping case.

Kate's investigation becomes more complex as a young woman is found dead, wrapped in plastic thrown off a bridge. Do the two cases connect? She needs a motive. She is missing something. Who hated Aden enough to ambush him on a lonely back road and end his life with a crossbow? Who would kill a young woman and brutally assault her?

The case spirals out of control when a young Amish woman presents a horrific story that pits Kate against a dangerous and unexpected opponent. When the awful truth is finally uncovered, Kate faces the terrible consequences. The masks people wear and how they contrast with the personas they present to the rest of the world.

Often the monsters are in front of us, and the evil lurks among us where things (or persons) are not always as they appear. There is so much more to the story in AN EVIL HEART (fitting title), so you MUST READ to find out!
I LOVED this book!

AN EVIL HEART is a superb and timely thriller full of devious twists, disturbing evil secrets, and shocking surprises you won't see coming. Riveting, fast-paced suspense that will have you hooked from the first page to the conclusion, anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

Readers, this is not a cozy mystery but an edge-of-your-seat real deal! Yes, the Amish are human, too, and as evil and cold-hearted as the English, as we find here. Well-developed characters, a twisty plot, expert writing, and an unstoppable main character.

AUDIOBOOK: Do yourself a favor and be sure and get the audiobook! I am a big fan of narrator Kathleen McInerney (a favorite), and here she was, KILLER! A perfect match for Kate and Linda. Seeing Kathleen's name swayed me to listen, but after finishing, I am now sold on Linda Castillo and this series.

This is the first book I have read in the series, and yes, it can be read as a standalone; however, I am dying to purchase all the audiobooks in the series—Highly impressive! I connected with Linda on Twitter and started looking for her books. This is what I found, and wow, was I hooked. I adore Kate - strong and resilient! I love her personality, and the blending with her personal life and the Amish was seamless.

Triggers: Sexual assault, drugging, and rape. I enjoyed the e-book and audiobook. Get this gem on your TBR for summer!

Thanks to #MinotaurBooks #StMartinsPress for a gifted ARC and #MacmillanAudio for an ALC via #NetGalley. All opinions expressed here are my own. #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInsfluencers

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 11, 2023
My Rating: 5 STARS
July 2023 Must-Read Books

Wow, I didn't see that coming. I am new to this series and was not expecting a book about the Amish to be so riveting. The twists are amazing and so unexpected I had to put it down for a minute. I love an unexpected villain, and this is a good one. While I wait on the next installment I will be catching up on this series.

This is a decent detective novel. It was my first of the series and it was nice to see that I didn’t have to read the others to know what was going on.

Do yourself a favor and grab the book because the audio made it very hard to get through this. It was horrible. It would have been much more enjoyable in that format. I thought at first it was because of the Amish accent she was trying to do. I will say it was probably pretty good, but the MC and others who were not Amish were off too. It was almost robotic. There was no speeding it up either because that made it more noticeable. I don’t know how this woman was asked back to do another reading?

Linda Castillo's novel, "An Evil Heart," offers a captivating blend of Amish culture and police procedural, presenting a unique perspective that sets it apart. The book boasts an excellent pace, brimming with compelling twists and turns. However, my evaluation of the advance reader copy, specifically the audiobook version, proved challenging due to certain limitations.

As an avid audiobook consumer who has listened to hundreds of titles, I have a discerning ear for narration. While "An Evil Heart" benefits from the presence of a professional narrator, the editing or production quality leaves much to be desired. Regrettably, the narration in this audiobook is, by far, the most mechanical and lacking in prosody that I have ever encountered. The delivery lacks appropriate timing, emotional emphasis, and overall fluidity. I am a teacher & if a student were to read with such a robotic and choppy narrative, it would warrant special services in an educational setting. Please note that my intention is not to disrespect the narrator in any way.

To provide a fair comparison, I listened to two other audiobooks narrated by the same individual. While they also exhibited some shortcomings in terms of prosody, they did not hinder my overall impression of those books as significantly as it did with "An Evil Heart." Consequently, I wholeheartedly believe that this book is worth reading; however, I strongly caution against opting for the audio version, as the narration greatly diminishes the overall impact of the author's words.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest book in the wonderful Amish police procedural series by Linda Castillo, wonderfully narrated by Kathleen McInerney - 5 stars!

Painters Mill Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call and finds an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow. By all accounts, Aden Karn, just twenty years old, was well liked, from an upstanding Amish family, and engaged to Emily, a young Amish girl. But as her investigation steps up, Kate discovers that people are keeping secrets that may reveal a different side to Aden.

This is by far my favorite series - I'm always so excited to read her latest book and this is #15! But know that if you want to read this is as a stand-alone, it would work perfectly, although they are so good you should start from the beginning! The books are gripping, tense, and full of wonderful recurring characters. In this book, Kate and John are on the eve of their wedding and I love the personal relationships we've followed along. While Painters Mill is not a real location, there are enough real Ohio Amish country spots to make things feel familiar to those who lived nearby or visited. Plus, I always appreciate the way the author includes the Pennsylvania Dutch language but translates it to English for better understanding - and Kathleen McInerney's narration was perfect. Highly recommended!

Got this as an ARC audiobook. I loved it!
It had me pulled in from the very first page.
the prologue was a great start for the book and really made me want to know what was going on!
I did easily guess who done it the first time they spoke to said character but that's OK it was a great listen to find out.
Very well written and easy to follow even though it is like book 15 of a series that i have never read, may have the change that thought.
I Loved the narrator as well.

Not my typical read but it was good. I enjoyed the characters. The drama was good with a bunch of little twists leading up to the end. The romance aspect was good too, I like that it was basically in the background and not a big part of the book.

The narrator was enjoyable. She did a great job telling the story in such a way that make it easy to keep track.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to this audiobook. I liked this audiobook and the story behind it. I have never read any murder mystery books that involved the Amish. I found it interesting to learn more about this and how the author incorporated Amish customs etc into the story. I didn't realize that this was from an existing series by this author that include the main character of Chief of Police Kate Burkholder. I will definitely be going back to check out her other books/audiobooks. The story, which takes place in a small town called Painter's Mill, and has a heavy Amish presence, is well paced and the mystery surrounding the murder, which takes place right at the start, really succeeded in pulling me into the story. The author was good at peppering bits of information about the Amish and their customs, traditions etc, including the tradition of "rumspringa". The effect was that I could get a clear idea of these secondary characters and their motivations/reasoning etc. Kate herself used to be Amish, but left and is now more "English" as she doesn't live by the Amish customs. The book opens, as mentioned, with the murder of an Amish young man named Aiden Carn. We spend the rest of the book learning more and more about Aiden and who he really was. There is more to him, and to this story than first meets the eye. I stayed interested right until the end and found the conclusion to be satisfying. The narrator's voice was pleasant and her pace was good. She did a fairly good job of differentiating between characters with her changes in tone etc. The only negative that I can say is that the narrator's voice sounded a bit stilted, which sometimes made her sound slightly robotic. That sometimes threw me off a bit, but overall she was good. I think this story made for a great audiobook, but I think it would be equally as enjoyable as a book to read.