The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).
Kindle freebie on February 8, 2018 (currently on Audible it says free for a limited time, but on Amazon it is $26.24 as of writing this post ??)
Overall rating 3.73 with 2,681 ratings and 428 reviews
West Cork by Sam Bungey, Jennifer Forde
Published by Audible on February 8, 2018
Genres: Mystery
Length: 7 hours, 52 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Audible, Libro.fm
This much we do know: Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered days before Christmas in 1996, her broken body discovered at the edge of her property near the town of Schull in West Cork, Ireland. The rest remains a mystery.
Gripping, yet ever elusive, join the real-life hunt for answers in the year’s first not-to-be-missed, true-crime series. Investigative journalist, Sam Bungey, and documentarian, Jennifer Forde, guide listeners through the brutal, unsolved murder and the tangled web of its investigation, while introducing an intricate cast of characters, a provocative prime suspect, and a recovering community whose story begs to be heard.
West Cork began life as a series of podcast episodes which became an Audible book. It is a true crime, non-fiction story about a death which happened there right before Christmas 1996. A French woman died in Ireland with the main suspect being an English man. With all those nationalities, there are some different styles and accents.
The information is presented in a logical and mostly chronological order. There is no definite conclusion. I was uncomfortable with the complete lack of forensic evidence or any verified evidence beyond circumstantial possibilities. The police investigation didn’t seem very well coordinated in an objective, timely procedure. I’m not sure if that is related to the problems in a remote area, cultural issues. or lack of information.
There is a West Cork: Aftershow which released earlier this month, also as a free update of about 31 minutes. It is an interview of the authors. discussing what has occurred in the past 3 years, since the original podcast. I enjoyed the presentation but found the lack of closure frustrating.
Narration:
This story was told by the two authors with a number of clips of others speaking. It was uneven because the clips were all different, as people differ. I liked it. I listened at my usual 1.25x speed. Some of the speakers were from England or Ireland or France and had unfamiliar styles for me so I had to listen well. It kept me focused to understand everything.
Listen to a clip:
These are only Kindle freebies I get, or ones through author newsletters which anyone can sign up and get for free. I don’t include things like Kindle Unlimited or Prime Free Reading (I do have it). Both Tantor and Audible have occasional free audios (to anyone) and I do include those. Since I one-click on 1-2 freebies a day or probably at least 5 a week, I came up with this feature to make sure I start reading them.
So I have thought about doing a Thrifty Thursday Challenge someday. For now, what I think would be fun is if you have read and reviewed a freebie, link to your review (Goodreads, blog, facebook or wherever) below.
Add your review link here:
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- 🎧 Lightning in Her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland @poet_raquelvgil #MarcellaBlack @AceRocBooks@BerkleyPub@PRHAudio#LoveAudiobooks - October 10, 2024
- Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima @margmizu @crookedlanebks - October 8, 2024
- Sunday Series: Joe Pickett by CJ Box @cjboxauthor #DavidChandler @RecordedBooks#SundaySeries #LoveAudiobooks - October 6, 2024
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2018 Audiobook Challenge
- 2018 New Release Challenge
I love free books and this sounds good. Thanks for sharing!
It is different and that’s good. Who wants to read the same thing over and over. It’s a different style / genre. It started life as a series of podcasts. And free audios aren’t as common as Kindle freebies. But June is audiobook month so I got a head start.
I have this audio, and look forward to listening to this. Free books are great, but free good reads/listens are even better!
Don’t forget to also grab the aftershow for free which just became available this month! It’s a nice addition.
oh it could be interesting there and I confess that it’s the first time I hear about it
It’s true and it has been available free. If it still is free I recommend it!
I grabbed this one when it was free but haven’t listened to it yet. After reading your review, I wonder if I will be bothered by the lack of closure. I hope to find out someday. I actually thought about challenging myself to read only books I already had or acquired for free for a year (I have more than enough to keep me busy) but my daughter told me that I would only be setting myself up for failure and she is right. Nice feature!
I like a solution but I’m not too bothered. I chose this to do as June is audiobook month. I try to do 1-2 freebies a month depending on what other things I think I have to have.
I saw this on youtube one time and thought it sounded fascinating and different, glad to see you liked it so much especially for a free book
I did like it. It was unique. It started as a podcast so it isn’t quite like other audiobooks.
West Cork sounds like an interesting mystery! Excellent review on it.
How do you find out about Audible freebies? I love listening to audiobooks myself.
Tarissa
http://inthebookcase.blogspot.com
Do you have an audible account? I sign up for all the emails they have. The deals aren’t always there however. Sometimes I find out about them on Twitter or when I go into Audible. The other source is thru Slickdeals.net I have an Audible deal alert. I try to post these on my facebook page when I see them and other deals. I post reviews on the blog; blog posts, deals, cover reveals and cute memes on the facebook page.