Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Book Review - The Photographer; Mary Dixie Carter

TITLE/AUTHOR:   The Photographer; Mary Dixie Carter

PUBLISHER:  Minotaur and Macmillan Audio

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2021

GENRE: Fiction / Thriller

FORMAT:  audio download / LENGTH:  8 hours and 47 min.

SOURCE:   Net Galley and Macmillan Audio

SETTING(s):  New York City

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY:  A dark and rather creepy debut thriller.

BRIEF REVIEW:   Delta Dawn is a "photographer" who lives in Brooklyn.  Her work consists of mostly parties and family events and other special functions for wealthy New Yorkers. She does her job well and has a niche when it comes to capturing the best and eliminating the flaws in her photographs.  However, there is a dark side to Delta Dawn.

 When she is hired by the Straub's (Amelia and Fritz) for their daughter Natalie' 11th birthday she soon realizes just how much she wishes their life was her life. The couple are architects and live in a beautiful home, have fancy clothes and a lot social events which keep them busy.  They have an enviable life,  just the kind of life Delta has always longed for.   One day when the Straubs find themselves without a babysitter, Delta offers to help them out by staying with Natalie. Soon she finds other reasons to become a more frequent presence in their lives and, she is doing some pretty bizarre and freaky things behind their backs while they are out of the house as well.  Soon her envy and obsession seem no longer within her control but, she has another idea which may keep her connected to this family long term.

This debut thriller was fast paced, creepy and entertaining in a deranged sort of way. Even though it didn't have any earth shattering twists,  it was one of the stories that I knew I had to finish to see just how crazy things got.  I didn't even mid that I had to suspend belief along the way. The story was like passing a 10-car pileup along the highway, just hard to turn away.

Although I liked the first person narration by the unreliable Delta Dawn, I was less than thrilled with the overall audio performance which was read by the author. The tone seemed wrong and unfortunately took away from my overall enjoyment of this one. 

Thanks go to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to download this audio at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review.  If you enjoy a crazy, creepy story, you might enjoy the print or eBook.

RATING:  3.5/5  

19 comments:

  1. I'm always a little wary when a book is narrated by the author.

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    1. I know as more often than not it's a disappointment for us listeners.

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  2. Thrillers are beloved these days, so I imagine this one will find a wide audience.

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    1. I love to mix things up so always enjoy a good dose of these kinds of stories

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  3. I've got this book waiting in my NetGalley account. Hoping to get to it soon--it sounds good.

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  4. Replies
    1. Not too many authors do well reading their own work. Exceptions have been Trevor Noah and Bill Bryson.

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  5. Every time I read this character's name Delta Dawn it makes me think of that Tanya Tucker song. :)

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    1. I'm not sure I could stick with this one but may end up giving it a try.

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    2. Can't sing the praises of the audio but the print may work better.

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  6. Ha..."entertaining in a deranged sort of way." Now, there's an endorsement. LOL

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    1. I can't recommend the audio but the craziness here would make it a page turner for many readers.

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  7. Authors are often not the best readers of their own work. I wonder if reading it would have helped.

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  8. I remember Helen Reddy singing a song called "Delta Dawn" and that's the first thing I thought of when I read the name of the character. But this character seems like a very different Delta Dawn!

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  9. Oh this sounds good and seriously creepy! I will have to look for the print copy. Every once in awhile I come across a narrator who just absolutely doesn't work for the book and it's hard to get passed that.

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  10. too bad the narration by the author didn't work. This sounds like a sinister one!

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