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The Marriage Lie cover art

The Marriage Lie

By: Kimberly Belle
Narrated by: Johanna Parker
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Summary

Everyone has secrets.

Iris and Will have been married for seven years, and their marriage is as close to perfect as it can be. But on the morning Will leaves for a business trip to Florida, Iris' happy world comes to an abrupt halt. Another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board, and, according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers.

Grief stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. Why did Will lie about where he was going? What is in Seattle? And what else had he lied about?

As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to find out what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she receives will shock her to her very core.

©2016 Kimberly Swaak-Maleski (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Marriage Lie

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Gave up

I very rarely give up on a book/audiobook but had to make an exception for this.

Irritating narration made it worse but the main flaws were in the bland, stereotyped characters, sprinkled with lazy tropes about race and sexuality (black men are good at running, she knew the brother was gay before he did... ETC!), coupled with the ‘twist’ I saw coming a mile off.

I couldn’t empathise at all with first-person perspective character Iris because she was too annoying and somewhat stupid. On occasion this can be an excellent device (e.g. Wuthering Heights) but I don’t *think* that was intended here.

I was so bored I couldn’t be bothered to find out how it ended. I also couldn’t take any more of this narrator’s attempts to do male voices- apparently all men speak like they’re waking up from a drug-induced coma. Bad attempts at character voices really push me out of the story. Better not to bother - just read the story in your own voice.

Not for me. The first audiobook I’m going to try and return.

8 people found this helpful

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Narrator killed the story

I could not get past chapter 1. This maybe is a good read but it certainly does not make a good listen!!

2 people found this helpful

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Pathetic heroine, poor delivery of excellent plot

never in the history of any book I have read, have I ever thought the heroine to be so pathetic and hard to like. The delivery is whining and weak and ruins the audio version. One I wish I'd read in book format. Ruined by the style of narration.

2 people found this helpful

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Absolute tosh

Load of waffle with weak story And unoriginal twist. Disappointing at best wouldn’t recommend sorry.

2 people found this helpful

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Interesting but

The book is ok - interesting, and enjoyable until towards the end like if the author didn’t know what to do with it
The person reading the book have a very very annoying voice
Ok book but I wished I hadn’t bothered

2 people found this helpful

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  • Lu
  • 23-08-22

Dreary plot, dreary narration.

I've tried starting this book half a dozen times but it's too boring. This is yet another book that is narrated in soft, Midwest cooing that is ignorable and just annoying.

1 person found this helpful

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excellent read with good twists and fab ending

I adore audible catalogue and as this was free I decided to listen to it as I love thrillers. It was totally different to the psycho-thrillers I'd normally enjoy, but I really liked it. The narrator was really good. The ending was really great, someone in another view had said something about the last two lines - and I was pleasantly surprised. I'll definitely look out for more books by the same author.

1 person found this helpful

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Worst narrrater

This book could’ve probably been a good read, but for the narrator, the voice was all wrong for the story, it was more suited to a sexy steaming novel than this kind of story. I will be making sure that I don’t listen to anything with this narrator again …sorry but I have to tell the truth. Even when I heard it from the first minute I couldn’t stand the sound of her voice the Story average, so glad it was free as I would’ve been really disappointed if I had paid for this

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Gripping (at times)

This was a tough listen. Really gripping and thrilling in parts, but dragged a lot. Sadly the performances let this down too, every accent was slow and no difference in characterisation. I only hung on to find out how it would finish, which I am glad I did because it was completed really well,

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A bit predictable

It was a good story if a little predictable. It’s really surprising how dated it is now, but as it was published in 2016 I should expect that!

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  • Wendi
  • 07-09-17

W.....T......F..... Seriously....?!

Before I get into the story (which started off kind of cool and kept my interest until the last quarter of the book), I just have to say- this narrator was THE WORST narrator I have ever heard. Period. There is no comparison. She literally made every 'guy' voice sound like a stoner from 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High.' Every single guy sounded like Spicoli. It was almost to the point of being comical, but I was mostly just annoyed.

The plot- kind of cool- I can see why someone would want to know what happens next. However, what ends up happening is so incredibly stupid and unsatisfactory and frustrating that it ruins all of the good parts.

Kimberly Belle isn't a cliche writer either. She uses fresh symbolism and biting sarcasm, with original similes and empathetic characters. But, it's like she decided she didn't want to write an ending to this book and just cut it off abruptly.

I wont listen to another book she writes. I am too disgusted with her denouement.

Don't put yourself through the narrator, save some patience.

-Wendi

179 people found this helpful

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  • JenniferLOVESThrillers
  • 19-03-18

My Least Favorite Book in the World!

IF YOU LIKE DANIELLE STEELE OR LOVE STORIES WITH ANNOYING CHARACTERS AND TERRIBLE NARRATORS GET THS BOOK.

NO SPOILERS! I had a seething anger listening to this story. It was beyond painful listening to this story and the only reason why I finished was because I was hoping she would die. The author goes on and on with these long rambling tangents throughout the book about how in love Iris is with Will. WE GET IT, MOVE ON! It was like listening to a 12-year-old girl crushing on someone.

The narrator was horrible!!!! She tried to do a southern accent yet she was 1000% New Jersey. At certain points, it seemed she didn’t even bother trying to fake a bad southern accent and was straight up Jersey. Also, half the time she is using this whispery, waify, weakling voice... SO ANNOYING! Lastly, the main character is a psychologist so the narrator should learn how to pronounce "sociology."

Overall, the main character was an idiot and the dumbest psychologist ever! it was painful to be stuck in her head. There was NO suspense, NO thrills, NO Mystery! Anyone with half a brain would figure out the plot right away. This book is marketed under "CHIK LIT" yet online describes this book as a psychological thriller. The book claims to be a great book for anyone that loved “Girl on a Train” or “Gone Girl” which is utter nonsense. I have listened to both and the “Marriage Lie” doesn’t qualify as a psychological thriller. This book should be in the “romance” section.

I'm getting my credit back.

105 people found this helpful

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  • amazonian
  • 24-02-17

Putrid

The main character in this book would have to be severely retarded to make the storyline even slightly plausible. The narrator is hideous (especially her version of a mans voice). I cannot believe I bothered with this giant bowl clogger.

40 people found this helpful

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  • Drwo
  • 12-03-17

Possibly Ruined By Narration

What did you like best about The Marriage Lie? What did you like least?

The plot lines are there - and perhaps in reading it, this book would seem less disjointed and more compelling. Iris losers her husband in a plane crash - a flight to Seattle when she thought he was heading to a conference in Orlando.

So much of this book, at least in the listening, is taken up with Iris's emotions. She cries, she wails, she vomits, she screams and yells. The author creates drama far too great in situations far to banal.

This is really a cozy mystery attempting to be a thriller - had I not been in the car on a road trip without much opportunity to download something else, I would have abandoned this one after about an hour.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Meh

How could the performance have been better?

This narrator did not have the vocal range necessary for this.

Was The Marriage Lie worth the listening time?

NO!

32 people found this helpful

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  • Brian A
  • 20-02-17

Ridiculous

This is without a doubt the most ridiculous book I've ever read. How it got so many good reviews I'll nvr understand. The narrator is awful also. Do not waste a credit. You've been warned.

28 people found this helpful

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  • Jennifer Jongeneel
  • 24-01-17

Hated it

I don't even really know where to start. Unrealistic plot. Overly whiny and naive main character who also had no growth throughout the book. Horrible narrator who used an awful fake southern accent at time, other times she just spoke normally (for the same character). Introduced characters who implied they'd have more of a part of the book yet disappeared. Frustrating read and waste of a credit.

27 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Paula
  • 22-01-17

Just a Middling Story --Long & Trite at Times

This book didn't quite captivate me -- perhaps because it just sounded like a whiny, good-wifey person trying to figure out what her husband had done to their marriage throughout most of the story. Of course, she found out -- although the finding out was tedious and somewhat contrived it seemed to me. In the end, the whiny wife got her revenge -- but it wasn't a satisfying ending to the story at all. It just seemed that two evil, immature people found each other and made a mockery of marriage. If I could do it over, I wouldn't spend the time or money.

26 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Dawn H.
  • 08-09-17

Not worth the credit.

As a therapist, I'm actually offended they could make the main character so naive and stupid when it comes to seeing signs/issues with her husband.
Even worse is the non stop day in day out puking and sickly feelings, no eating, etc. anyone living as she described would be hospitalized.
Although the ending was a bit of a surprise (not necessarily in a good way, and frankly, too abrupt), the rest of it was a predictable lackluster attempt at suspense that just didn't leave me surprised or even invested in the character.
While I forced myself to listen through to the end, I only did so to find out the ending, not because this was a great book.
And the narrator? Just awful. The fake southern accent about 3% of the time, the universal and unlistenable male voice... just awful. She definitely tried her best, but it just didn't do the trick.
3/10, wouldn't buy it again.

17 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • HailtoTheVictors
  • 22-03-17

Mostly engrossing but not a shocker

A good listen. A somewhat lightweight "suspenseful thriller". But I figured out who the culprit was and what was going on pretty early on. I'm not giving myself credit. I'm just saying it's easy to figure out. Mostly enjoyable nonetheless. Although when the narrator went into the other voices it was a bit annoying. Like, oh she's doing the male voice now.i guess that can't totally be avoided but still annoying. I love thrillers, and I will not listen to this book again, like gone girl which I can listen to time and again. Not bad but not great. Fire the narrator.

15 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Medina King-Harris
  • 19-09-17

disappointed

the change in the male character voices were terrible and they all sounded like the same character.

13 people found this helpful