The female narration is poorly cast.

The story seems interesting, and I really like George Newbern, the male narrator. But the female, who is supposed to be his femme fatale younger wife, sounds like she could be his mother instead. She is in at least her late fifties and probably older, and her voice has a slight croak to it. This is so distracting, and the female perspective so crucial to the book, that I simply can’t continue with the story. I really want to, but it pulls me out of it the moment she begins to speak. I don’t understand why such a casting decision was made.

It makes it even worse that when George Newbern does his wife’s voice in his sections, she comes across as what she is supposed to be: a younger woman who is collected, self-assured, and confident in her ability to seduce. Then the female narrator starts again, and the wife is suddenly aged by 30 years and given a totally different personality that doesn’t remotely fit. So really, you know things are bad when the MALE narrator does a better version of this character than the female narrator.

She might be great in other roles, but in this case, this narrator was not a good choice.