What’s In a Name by Terry Odell

What's In a NameNarrated by Pamela Almand

I’ve heard it said that the truth will always come out, no matter how hard you try to hide it. What’s In a Name does nothing to prove this saying wrong.

Kelli Carpenter works as an environmentalist. She protects nature from large developers who seek to tear it apart. Even more importantly, this work allows Kelli, a woman of many secrets, to live her life largely alone. She wants no involvements, romantic or otherwise.

Kelli has been on the run for many years. She’s done everything she can to make sure no one can link her to her former life and the crime she once committed. When we first meet her, Kelli seems certain she’s in the clear. However, the arrival of a stranger shows her just how wrong she is.

Blake Windsor is no private detective. He’s never been good at the cloak and dagger routine. Even so, he finds himself posing as a handyman, hoping to find out if Kelli is really K.C. Wallace, a woman his boss knew years ago. Blake has no idea why his boss wants this information. He just does what he’s told, even though he’s much more comfortable in a boardroom than he could ever be in the wilderness.

Once he’s spent some time in Kelli’s company, Blake is convinced she isn’t the woman his boss thinks she is. Still, something compels him to continue his deception. He’s intrigued by and attracted to Kelli, despite the fact that she does all she can to keep her distance from him.

Kelli’s instincts are screaming at her to get away from Blake. She doesn’t know why, but she’s sure he’s not who he pretends to be. She allows him to stay, since doing otherwise would put her project in jeopardy.

When someone makes an attempt on Kelli’s life, she immediately goes on the run taking Blake with her. Not sure why she doesn’t just leave him behind, she doesn’t want to even consider the way he makes her feel. That part of her life is over and, if she isn’t careful, her life will be over altogether, something she’s determined to avoid at all costs.

Narrator Pamela Almand is new-to-me, as is author Terry Odell. Unfortunately, I must admit to being slightly underwhelmed by both of them. Although Odell crafted a gripping storyline, I found quite a few repetitive phrases. For example, I can’t count the number of times she talks about someone’s eyes grabbing someone else, and she made very, very sure I knew that Kelli smelled like soap and shampoo. I got that the first time. I don’t like it when authors try to hammer concepts into my head, and I sometimes felt like Odell was doing this.

Almand is a very good reader of general narrative. However, I found her ability to bring Odell’s characters to life lacking. It was very difficult to tell the characters apart, even the hero and heroine. For much of the book, Kelli and Blake are alone together. Their conversations sounded like someone was talking to themselves. Almand’s voice didn’t change when Kelli or Blake spoke. It’s like she has one default character voice, and that’s all she uses. Needless to say, I was grateful for dialogue tags.

I did enjoy the way Almand allowed me to see Kelli and Blake’s attraction for one another blossom into something much deeper. Since much of this was done through the characters’ thoughts, there was no need for changes in pitch or accent. She could simply read along, sometimes speeding up or slowing down, depending on the scene. When she reads Blake’s feelings for Kelli, her voice softens and slows a bit. When the two of them have sex for the first time, Almand is spot-on in terms of their feelings of joy and intensity. As long as no one is actually talking, she did well.

I’m wondering if I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been narrated by someone else, someone better able to bring life to the characters. Dialogue is a huge part of the audiobook experience, and Almand simply couldn’t deliver. I was left feeling a little cheated. I wanted to like the characters but, since I wasn’t able to really get to know them, I found myself feeling disconnected from them. They didn’t seem real to me.

As I said before, What’s In a Name has a compelling plot, and plenty of surprises to engage the reader. Odell isn’t a master of her craft by any stretch of the imagination, but there was enough going on to keep me interested. Personally, I’d recommend reading this one in print if you’re able. I think you’ll be more satisfied that way.

Shannon


Narration:  C

Book Content:  B

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  Escalated fighting

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Publisher:  Terry Odell

 

What’s In a Name was provided to AudioGals for review by the author.