Montana

By: Gwen Florio

Narrated by: Caroline Shaffer

Foreign correspondent Lola Wicks is livid. She's been downsized from her Kabul posting. Her editor reassigns her to a stateside suburban beat formerly the province of interns. When she arrives in Montana for some R&R at a friend's cabin, her friend is nowhere in sight.

Anger turns to terror when Lola discovers her friend shot dead. She can't get out of Montana fast enough, until she finds that she can't get out at all. She's held as a potential witness, thwarting her plan to return on her own to Afghanistan to write the stories she's sure will persuade her editors to change their minds.

Her best hope lies in solving the case herself. But the surefooted journalist who deftly negotiated Afghanistan's deadly terrain finds herself frighteningly off-balance in this forgotten corner of her own country, plagued by tensions between the locals and citizens of the nearby Blackfeet Nation.

Lola's lone-wolf style doesn't work in a place where the harsh landscape and extreme isolation compel people to rely upon each other in ways she finds unsettling. In her awkward attempts at connection, by turns touching and humorous, Lola forms a reluctant alliance with a local reporter, succumbs to the romantic attentions of a wealthy rancher, and fences warily with the state's first Indian candidate for governor, the subject of her friend's final stories.

Initially pretending interest to glean information, Lola comes to truly care about the people she meets in Montana, only to miss the warning signals that her own life is in danger.

Even as she unravels her friend's terrible fate, Lola Wicks joins many Americans in learning the hard lessons of a fraught economy - that circumstances change in a flash, that formerly overlooked places and people can hold deep value, and that in the end human bonds matter so much more than fleeting career success.

©2013 Gwen Florio (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Well Worth the Credit

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

Yes. An all around enjoyable book

What was one of the most memorable moments of Montana?

When Charlie told Lola that he 'really liked' her

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Lola is a tough newspaper reporter who has been to Afghanistan. The narrator's voice was gentle...I had a hard time picturing this hard boiled journalist with such a gentle voice.

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

The last sentences of the book brought tears to my eyes.

Any additional comments?

This book is kind of a slow mover...kind of like life in Magpie, MT.I almost gave up on it a few times but then something would happen that would draw me back in. I liked Lola's interaction with Bub, the dog, and Spot, the horse.

Excellent

I think you will really enjoy this novel. it's not heavy, an adventure, moving, about a woman who acts with strength and compassion but not over the top. Gives a good sense of struggles in rural communities, especially native lands.

Great reporting, flat characters

Montana is well written with colorful descriptions and an interesting plot; it was evident that the author was an excellent journalist. However, I found the characters to be flat and unbelievable. While disappointing, this book did make me want to visit Montana.

Better research needed

The story was ok but the characters were a series of cliches strung together. Did the author even visit northern Montana before she wrote this? The accents adopted by the narrator had no relationship to the people speaking. I was glad when this one ended.