Judas Child

By: Carol O'Connell

Narrated by: Erika Leigh

It is three days before Christmas, and two young girls have disappeared from the local academy. This hasn't happened for 15 years, since Rouge Kendall's twin sister was murdered. The killer was found, but now Rouge, 25 and a policeman, is forced to wonder: was he really the one? Also wondering is a former classmate named Ali Cray, a forensic psychologist with scars of her own. The pattern is the same, she says: a child called out to meet a friend. The friend is the bait, the Judas child, and is quickly killed. But the primary victim lives longer. . .until Christmas day.

Rouge doesn't want to hear this. He's spent the last 15 years trying to avoid the memories. A little girl has haunted his dreams all these years - and he has three days to finally put her to rest.

Filled with rich prose, resonant characters, and knife-edged suspense that have won so many fans, Judas Child is Carol O'Connell's most powerful novel yet.

©2009 J.T. Ellison (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Horrible narrator

I would really like to have heard this book, but I just had to stop. The narrator sounds like she is reading headlines for the six o'clock news. I kept checking my iPod to see if perhaps I had set it to the fast speed. Nope. So, I tried to correct by putting it on slow speed. That didn't work either. I finally had to give up. The sing-song staccato with no sense of pacing is just too maddening. Too bad. Sounded like a good story.

More than 5!

This is a great story with excellent narration. I honestly can't believe the comments about the narrator - she does not just an excellent job with the female voices, but with the male voices as well - and her voice is very pleasing to listen to. All around this is one of the finest in this genre!

Absolutely heart wrenching... beautifully creafted

just read it. get thru it and it wlll shock you !!!!!! hope you fall in love like i did

This book hooked me on Carol O'Connell !

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have recommended this book to several friends. We all had the same reaction. Many twists and turns and didn't foresee the final outcome.

What about Erika Leigh???s performance did you like?

It was a decent performance.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end left me gasping.

Any additional comments?

I went from this to all of O'Connell's other books available on audio. I have not been disappointed and always get the new releases. Audible would be smart to pick up the missing Mallory series books.

WOW

My 40 year old daughter and I both enjoyed this book very much. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from the very begiinning. I loved the two young girl characters - espectially the one with the "actress" personality. What a slam bang ending. I don't think you will see it coming.

just okay

Spoilers. be warned. the book left me feeling dissatisfied. to many unanswered questions. the ending fell flat because she didn't do a good job of accounting for what happened in half the book. the book felt unfinished to me. why did the priest and fbi agent have same eyes? was sadie's body in that grave the entire time? the priest was the only priest the doctor could confess too? didn't like the character development. needed more to understand why the main characters acted add they did.

Good book, bad narrator..

I had a hard time getting through this book only because of the narrator, Erika Leigh. She should read children's books. She doesn't have the voice for this kind of book.

I really like Carol O'Connell's books and have listened to many of them and alway gave a four star rating. Not this time. The narrator was terrible in my opinion

Incredible writing and narration

I listen to a lot of crime mysteries, but tend to steer clear of "police" drama. I took a chance on this novel, and I am very glad I did! It might seem to have all the elements of a typical crime mystery- missing children, dedicated youthful police officer, sexy yet damaged female protagonist, a host of small-town suspects from the doctor to the lawyer to the school principal- but truly, this book was totally original. It is candid without being graphic, and it deals with the topic of pedophilia without becoming sentimental or judgmental. The characters are well-developed, and I liked that I didn't always like or dislike them, but rather changed my mind about them over and over as the story unfolded. But best of all, it is a really great mystery- it left me guessing, and guessing, and guessing. The last two hours had me so spellbound, I laid awake with my ipod on, waiting for the big reveal.
The narrator's voice does have a kind of "Mother Goose" quality at first, but the narration is solid and consistent, building tension well and keeping the characters voices distinct and believable.
Overall, I could not fault it. Recommended to anyone who loves the challenge of a good mystery.

Exceptional Story

I was riveted to my seat the entire time listening to this story!!!!

The suspense never wavered. It just got
better and better and better.

I have listened to all of her books and I can say without a doubt, each were as good as the last.

I am still confused! Is is over?

I have the strange feeling I have already read this book... but can't be sure. It's not in my Kindle library - so maybe not?!? I digress... I find myself at a loss. I am not really sure what to say. I liked the plot, but it all seemed a bit too shallow for me. You never really got deep into anything... things were just left dangling - like say David, mono-zygotic twins, the "shadow" under the bed, the whole story about the scar... and did they say they "buy" kids for scholarships?? It all seemed to be explained, but in a way that left you wondering if that was all there was to it. I feel like I missed A LOT about this book that should be important. It's like something evil this way comes, then bibbity, bobbetiy, boo! It's all fixed or just disappears all together - not to be mentioned again.

I did get the last twist... I had that pegged. Again, that feeling I had read this before. I do not really understand the dynamic between all the doctors or the doctors and Allie. Now, I did listen to this book - so maybe I just zoned out and missed something crucial, but after reading this in other reviews, I tend to lean toward my first instincts about the book. I think I may need to listen to the last few chapters again.

As for the audio version... the narrator verged on annoying, especially in the presentation of the "doctors".