really good

loved the writer , and the reader. lots of information , very well done and organized. highly recommend

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Fascinating and Moving.

This book truly had me in tears. My heart broke for all the families affected by these tragic events.

The narrator did not do this book justice. She often sounded robotic.

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Content is fine, Narration is torture

Where is this narrator from?! (I'm guessing NOT Canada)
The deliberate attempt at a stereotypical Canadian accent (with marked pauses before pronouncing "Oot and hoose", for example) made me embarrassed for her. No one would dare read Memoirs of a Geisha whilst dropping all the L's and substituting them for R's! So why is this okay here? ...not to mention the robotic affect.
-- Hoping the author has a rethink at a new narrator
(At the time of this review, I am still on chapter one- debating returning it purely based on narration)

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Excellently researched

Fascinating look into a disturbing time in London’s past. Somewhat overshadowed by narrator’s sometime robotic voice and mispronunciation of names and name places.

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The facts

Well organized and written in a way that puts you in that time in history. Very primitive/naive crime and psychological awareness by the authorities back then.

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Pronunciation by the Narrator

I am born, raised and still live in Central and Southern Ontario, Canada. I have to say the “abooot” and “hooooouse” pronunciation made me so irritated, I almost could t finish the book. It was so extreme, it seems like it has to be purposeful? I don’t know anyone that actually speaks like that.

Also, as there is a copy and fact checking process for the written book, there should be one again for the pronunciations of geographical names. Huron and Penetanguishene in particular were so butchered, I didn’t even recognize them until context clues. If I recognized those, than I’m sure locals familiar with London, Ontario and the surrounding areas mentioned in the cars heard even more.

Internet sleuths from another country can get away from this as civilians - a la "etta-bih-coke," in a recent Netflix series. But these are glaring mispronunciations in a professional work and it makes it all seem very sloppy. It seems like it should be basic due diligence.

All to say, this really took away from the compelling, and heartbreaking subject matter and that is really the worst part.

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10 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Amazing book about my hometowns murders.

Vanessa Brown poured herself into this book. I could imagine all of the locations and felt how much she cares to find a solution. Although I knew most of the cases, some details and opinions were new, and the story was intriguing. Jumping from case/date/location felt awkward at first, but it all wrapped up as best as cold unsolved cases can. I did not appreciate the performance. It felt fake and her accent and place names were not local/colloquial or correct. I wish the author had read it herself.

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5 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Amazing is all I can say

This book if fantastic! It tells all about the hidden secrets of London! My mind was blown away but all the tragedy that took place in such a short amount of time! Amazing!

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Very interesting and informative

I’m not sure what the few reviews mentioning the narration being bad, I thought it was good. She does pronounce some “ou”s differently like ‘about’ but it’s barely noticeable and it’s not an act. I’m sure it’s not easy narrating a book and giving voices to a dozen or more people of both genders, different ages, etc. she did so in a way that wasn’t distracting.
The story is very thorough, and in some aspects I found it too thorough tbh. I would have covered the entire time span somewhat condensed like, then dove into each case in depth. This would help with the contextual aspects of cases more effectively imo. When it’s all spread out I found I didn’t compare the last cases as completely as I would have liked to.
The whole sections dedicated to distracting characters should have been barely mentioned in comparison. I think that wore me out to the story. I started turning out as once that part began, I was only waiting for it to get back on track. It’s clear the few people were dealing with issues like Munchausen’s syndrome.
Yet overall I really liked the book, and the writers style and skill. The bonus was how close the story was to their own life.

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Pronunciation drove me nuts

Loved the books but the narrator's pronunciation drove me nuts. The narrator is obviously not from SW Ontario. I have never heard anyone call a house a "whoooose". My daughter and I had no idea what she was talking about at first. Penetanguishene, Huron, Dundas and other local names were also equally butchered. No one in the London area says "abooot". It would have been nice to have a local narrator read this.

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1 personne a trouvé cela utile