The Unseen

a compelling tale of love, deception and illusion

By: Katherine Webb

Narrated by: Clare Wille

England, 1911. When a free-spirited young woman arrives in a sleepy Berkshire village to work as a maid in the household of The Reverend and Mrs Canning, she sets in motion a chain of events which changes all their lives. For Cat has a past - a past her new mistress is willing to overlook, but will never understand . . .

This is not all Hester Canning has to cope with. When her husband invites a young man into their home, he brings with him a dangerous obsession . . .

During the long, oppressive summer, the rectory becomes charged with ambition, love and jealousy - with the most devastating consequences.

Read by Clare Wille

(p) 2011 Orion Publishing Group©2011 Katherine Webb

So So

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the story for the most part, good murder/mystery element, but I felt the move from present to past could have been done better. I could see how the 2011 sections linked the story but the connections were weak, and Leah's love interest seemed unnecessary.
It was too slow in parts, and seemed to have unnecessary padding in places making it drag even more. A predictable and rather unsatisfactory ending, I only kept going to see if I was correct in my assumption of how things turned out - and I was.
I also didn't take to the characters, Hester was too simpering and Albert just plain irritating.
Not a winner for me, however Clare willie's narration was done well.

Good book, no so good narrator

Would you listen to The Unseen again? Why?

I would probably read rather than listen. I should say that I am very fussy when it comes to narrators, and Ms Wille was not up to par for me. Her characterisations were excellent, but the rest of the read was flat. The story, though, was excellent, and Katherine Webb is a gifted writer.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Unseen?

A generally well-written book, there are several moments where the prose is just gob-smacking. Some of the descriptions were sublime.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

As mentioned above, I thought Clare Wille's characterisations were excellent, but the rest of the narration was dull, and at times felt like it was not in her natural voice. There were also some very annoying pauses after characters spoke.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

For sure!

Any additional comments?

Usually if I don't like a narrator, I don't finish the book. In this case, the story was so captivating that I continued, despite my misgivings about the narrator. I'm looking forward to reading and listening to more by Katherine Webb.