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The Boy That Never Was

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The Boy That Never Was

By: Karen Perry
Narrated by: Roy McMillan, Gerry O'Brien, Christopher Ragland, Niamh Daly
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About this listen

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Boy That Never Was by Karen Perry. Read by Gerry O'Brien, Niamh Daly, Christopher Ragland and Roy McMillan.

You were loved and lost - then you came back...

Five years ago, three-year-old Dillon disappeared. For his father Harry - who left him alone for ten crucial minutes - it was an unforgivable lapse. Yet Dillon's mother Robyn has never blamed her husband: Her own secret guilt is burden enough. Now they're trying to move on, returning home to Dublin to make a fresh start. But their lives are turned upside down the day Harry sees an eight-year-old boy in the crowd. A boy Harry is convinced is Dillon. But the boy vanishes before he can do anything about it.

What Harry thought he saw quickly plunges their marriage into a spiral of crazed obsession and broken trust, uncovering deceits and shameful secrets. Everything Robyn and Harry ever believed in one another is cast into doubt. And at the centre of it all is the boy that never was...

The Boy That Never Was is a deeply atmospheric and masterfully crafted tale of love and loss that will chill you to the bone. Fans of Rosamund Lupton and Sophie Hannah will fall in love with this debut from Karen Perry.

©2014 Penguin Audio (P)2014 Penguin Audio Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction Marriage

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Editor reviews

" The Boy That Never Was is that powerful thing, a beautifully written mystery driven by its exploration of the characters' innermost hearts'' (Tana French)"A truly remarkable novel... Written in a captivating, lyrical style and brilliantly structured, the story grips your heart from the first pages and simply never lets go" (Jeffery Deave)"This is a debut novel that will catch fire" (Nelson DeMille)
All stars
Most relevant  

What made the experience of listening to The Boy That Never Was the most enjoyable?

I never quite knew which way the story was going, so the twists and turns always came as a surprise. I was willing certain things to happen, and I didn't always get what I wanted.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harry - he's a man haunted my his loss, and that drives him to an obsessive degree.All of the characters were very strong.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favourite?

All of the narration was good, I particularly like the narrator who read the part of Robyn.

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

The ending, when we finally find out what happened to Dillon, and the result of that discovery.

Any additional comments?

An excellent book. I would highly recommend it.

Powerful story

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What did you like most about The Boy That Never Was?

The characters were very compelling. Each had his or her flaws, but their actions and the reasons behind them were entirely understandable. Whilst the circumstances were very unusual, I felt I understood why things developed in the way they did. The three narrators did a great job.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I enjoyed feeling that I knew what had happened in the past, and then the dawning realisation that I was mistaken! The author managed the events in a masterful fashion.

Any additional comments?

The ending was a bit of a mystery to me. I wonder if I missed something?

Masterful Storytelling

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Where does The Boy That Never Was rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best.

What did you like best about this story?

Read by three or four excellent performers, each brings their perspective to the story.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favourite?

Robin.

Any additional comments?

Only a slight niggle - the volume level of Robin's chapters is a bit louder than the others so I had to adjust the sound - but don't let that put you off a really good story.

Loved this story

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I tried very hard to get into this book but it just kept moving away from my attention span - the narrators were excellent but I just could not concentrate on the characters and their story

I wanted to finish it!

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Very enjoyable listen with a great twist - I was trying to work it out but it beat me !

Great book

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What made the experience of listening to The Boy That Never Was the most enjoyable?

Listening to the two characters develop the story from different perspectives

What other book might you compare The Boy That Never Was to, and why?

It is quite stand alone in my experience - can't think of anything it really compares to off hand

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Can't really say without a spoiler - but I enjoyed most of the book

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

As above - can't really say without a spoiler

Any additional comments?

This kept me changing my mind about events all the way to nearly the end - excellent!

Excellent

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I’m so glad I read this book. I thought I had seen or read it before but I hadn’t. Then whilst reading it I realised that I had seen a series, I think on BBC1, that started very similarly, but definitely was not the same.

This was a real page turner and I read (okay listened to it) over 2 evenings. Loved every second of this book.

Loved every second

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

Yes Excellent story and performance

What did you like best about this story?

Kept me guessing all the way to the end

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favourite?

All

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Cry but also kept me enthralled all the way through

Any additional comments?

Excellent

Enthralling

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A slow burner but I persevered, the twist was good, however I think it dragged out far too long to make it worth the read/listen. It was okay, but I’d not read again

Decent narration, slow burner

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Any additional comments?

Beautiful narration brought the characters to life as they each told the story from their view point. The story was a little slow and improbable in places and I think I might have given up without the skill of the narrators.

Beautifully narrated.

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