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The House by the Sea
- Narrated by: Emma Powell
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
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The House by the Sea
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Publisher's Summary
The new chilling and captivating novel from the best-selling author of Richard & Judy pick The Secrets Between Us.
When Edie’s mother-in-law, Anna DeLuca, dies, she is relieved. Edie blames Anna for the accident that destroyed her family. So, when her will lures Edie to Sicily and the long-abandoned Villa della Madonna del Mare, she sees through Anna’s games.
Suspecting Anna is meddling from beyond the grave to try to reunite her and her ex-husband Joe, Edie is determined to leave Italy as soon as possible. But before she can, the villa starts to shed its mysterious secrets.
Who are the girls beside Anna in her childhood photos, and why has one of them been scratched out? Why does someone, or something, want them to leave the past untouched? The villa is a place where old ghosts feel at home, but does their legacy need to be laid to rest before Edie and Joe can move on....
Best-selling author Louise Douglas returns with a captivating, chilling and unforgettable tale of betrayal, jealousy and the mysteries hidden in every family history.
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What listeners say about The House by the Sea
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2022-07-12
Not For Me, I Guess
I confess that when I downloaded this book I was hoping for more "paranormal" storyline.. involving the promised ghosts, spooky happenings, and unexplained feelings/dreams that were implied in the Publisher's Summary. A story set in an abandoned Sicilian Villa with creepy puppets found on-site, a wizened crone of a neighbor, and an adjacent family graveyard harboring dead infants should have been excellent fodder for a chilling story.
Instead, Louise Douglas chooses to deliver an (admittedly capably-written) story of character and relationship development: involving a divorced grieving mother ('Evie'), her uncanny hatred for the Mother-in-law ('Anna DeLuca') that she blames for her child's death, and her eventual reconciliation with ex-husband 'Joe'. The characters are relatable and 3-dimensional, the dialogue is strikingly realistic, and the descriptions are top-notch.. but Douglas makes attempts at cross-genre exposition (including suspense, horror, psychological thriller and mystery elements) that frankly Do Not work.
The end result is a passable drama.
If that's your thing, it isn't terrible. I personally found a character coming to grips with her emotional failures kinda pointless (virtually NOTHING of note happens in this story imo - a domestic-violence sideplot and efforts to drive Evie & Joe away from the property feel contrived).
The product is definitely strengthened by excellent narration by Emma Powell. She reads a little too slowly (1.10X is the most "natural" rate of playback) - and her Italian accents aren't great - but Powell's diction, timbre, cadence, and tone are spot-on. Boldwood Books cast this project beautifully.
I am grateful to Audible for including this 5 out of 10 star audiobook as a 'Plus' option (included with a subscription). It was a reasonable choice of book for a couple of quiet afternoons.. but unless you're *really* into character growth-focussed narratives - pass if they ask for a Credit.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-07-21
Nice story, good mystery
I found this novel to be a nice story, and I also enjoyed its mystery.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shannon
- 2022-06-02
great story, easy listen !
Really nice storyline and storytelling. Uncomplicated bit still with a few good twists and turns. Definitely worth a listen!
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