{"id":33914,"date":"2018-09-15T22:50:53","date_gmt":"2018-09-16T02:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33914"},"modified":"2018-09-15T22:54:04","modified_gmt":"2018-09-16T02:54:04","slug":"review-of-the-empty-grave-by-jonathan-stroud-read-by-emily-bevan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33914","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Empty Grave, by Jonathan Stroud, read by Emily Bevan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Empty Grave<\/em><\/p>\n

by Jonathan Stroud
\nread by Emily Bevan<\/p>\n

Listening Library, 2017. 12 hours, 41 minutes on 10 compact discs.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Ah! Another chance to enjoy the fifth and final book in the Lockwood & Co.<\/em> series! Yes, listening to the book on CD is even more fun than reading it yourself. <\/p>\n

Of course the reader\u2019s accent helps you get into the mood of this alternate-reality London. And hearing it read slows you down so you can savor the story. (The books are hard to put down, but sometimes I had to simply turn off the car, shut off the CD, and go to work.)<\/p>\n

I still say that these books make outstanding family listening \u2013 once your children are old enough to handle some seriously spooky events as well as people seriously trying to murder our heroes besides the incidental life-or-death danger they face routinely.<\/p>\n

For the plot, I refer you to my review of the written book<\/a>. I\u2019m here to say that the audiobooks make them even more enjoyable \u2013 though it\u2019s hard to believe that\u2019s even possible, because they\u2019re so good in the first place.<\/p>\n

I have liked my approach to the whole series \u2013 devour each book as quickly as possible as soon as it comes out. Then, when I can get my hands on the audiobook, enjoy it again, savoring it a bit more slowly and catching some details I didn\u2019t notice the first time.<\/p>\n

(And that reminds me! I noticed a tiny, tiny flaw while I was listening! At the end, there\u2019s a rapier fight between Lucy and the powerful woman who\u2019s been running London. Well, the woman kicks off her heels when she starts fighting \u2013 but we\u2019d already been told there were shards of glass all over the floor. If she had done that \u2013 then as the two move around the room fighting, she would have cut her feet and given Lucy a big advantage. But that\u2019s the very first quibble I\u2019ve found in these books.)<\/p>\n

jonathanstroud.com<\/a>
\nbooksontape.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/empty_grave_audio.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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