12/14/09

Do You Know "Whodunit"?



I enjoy listening to audio books when I’m driving, and am especially intrigued by mysteries, thrillers, legal fiction, medical drama and such.

Perhaps, as my son tells me, I should be listening to non-fiction and trying to learn something, expanding my horizons.

But I like what I like. In fact, I like these books so much that sometimes it’s awfully difficult to get out of the car when I get home. I’ve been known to sit in the car just to do a little more listening.

Several days ago, I had to drive a few hundred miles. The book in which I had been thoroughly engrossed came to an end. I didn’t have another new one with me, but did have one that I had listened to a couple of years ago. It’s “The Motive” by John Lescroart.

On cassette tapes instead of the usual CD’s, the unabridged book consists of 10 tapes and provides about 14 hours of listening.

So, thoroughly bored without a new book available, I decided to “re-listen.” I figured that once I got to a part that I recognized and that reminded me about the end, I’d stop listening.

The beginning sounded vaguely familiar; it started with a double homicide in San Francisco.  I listened to side one, then side two of the first tape. By the end of that first cassette, I was remembering parts of the book, but what I couldn’t remember was the ending, as in “Whodunit?”

So I listened to the second tape. I was thinking maybe the culprit was Catherine. As I continued to listen, I couldn’t rule out Catherine but I thought of other possibilities that seemed somewhat familiar: son Bill, ex-wife Teresa, the mayor, daughter Mary. Then I started thinking that perhaps it was someone not even related to the politically connected man who was one of the victims.

But as I continued to listen, going through the third tape, then the fourth, then the fifth, I couldn’t understand why in the world I couldn’t remember the ending. Most of the book was sounding quite familiar.

So, I persisted. I hadn’t listened for several  hours so far to give up on the ending. Next was the sixth, then the seventh, the eighth, and on to the ninth.

It’s when I finished the ninth tape that I realized why I didn’t remember the ending: I didn’t even have tape number ten! I never heard the ending the first time!

Now I’ve listened to 9/10 of a book twice – and still don’t know “whodunit.”

4 comments:

Sandee said...

You know...I can see you sitting out in your car in front of your home just listening to your tape. I really can see you doing that. I've done it too.

Find tape #10 so you can figure out whodunit.

Have a terrific day. :)

kayerj said...

rats! you'll have to find the book and read the last few chapters.

Patricia Rockwell said...

Sherry,
Being a fellow audio book and mystery lover, I wish I could help, but I've never read "The Motive"--not even 1/10 of it!

Garrett and Allison Reed said...

Sherry...3 things....1) There is so much fun info on your blog, that i can't find where i am supposed to go to get to amazon. 2)the photohunt: undesirable post makes me laugh b/c i remember the first time you posted it (additionally, i could provide you with some undesirable photos of myself with multiple chins) 3)I'm deeply offended that I am not on your list of blogs you like to read...you really should be getting to know Harrison's future wife a little better :)

 
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