The Murders at Astaire Castle - Review & Narrator Interview

Hola Readers,

Today again I am back with another review. The murders at Astaire Castle is a book in the Mac Faraday series written by Laureen Carr. This book is slightly different from the other books in the series. The story follows Mac Faraday acquiring the Astaire Castle. Mac is particular on solving the murder mysteries and the ghost stories surrounding the castle. 

Out of all the books in the Mac Faraday series, I like this book so much. Author has tried to experiment with the mix of genres and at the same time stayed true to the crux of the series. All we expect in a series involving a detective is solving the mysteries and all other things that given are value addition. Detective mystery set in a spooky environment. What makes it even better is not just the Ghosts and werewolf but rather the ghost from the past that haunts people. This is something really worth reading if you want a complete reading experience but handling it interestingly without getting lost is quite a task. Kudos to Lauren for that. 

If you are starting the series you should check with the other books to know who is Mac Faraday, but trust me once you know him, you will love this book. 

I listened to the Audiobook of The Murders at Astaire Castle. I got a chance to interview the narrator of this story Dan Lawson. Here is the excerpt of the interview. 

Me: What is your favorite genre to narrate and why?

Dan Lawson: Hmmmm...I enjoy so many genres. If I could narrow it down to two, I'd say young adult and thrillers. They use totally different skill sets. With young adult you've got to bring a lot of energy and a ton of variation. young listeners can get distracted if you don't hole their attention from the start. It challenging and fun to create those types of characters. With Thrillers you get to lead the listener through a labyrinth of drama and keep them on the edge of their seat!

Me: What is the challenging part of narrating a book?

Dan Lawson: It changes with each book. I narrated a book once that was said in the Republic of Georgia.  I did extensive research on the pronunciations of character names and locations. Make over a dozen male characters with Slavic accents sound distinct was tough. But that is actually one of the things I enjoy most about audiobooks. I learn so much along the way.

Me: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Dan Lawson: I am literally all over the map when it comes to the novelists I enjoy. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dean Koontz, Bill Bryson, George R. R. Martin, Willa Cather, Michael Chabon, Cormac McCarthy...This list could go on for a very long time.

Me: Have you had the chance to narrate a novel for an author you admire?

Dan Lawson: Not yet, but I recently started working with Tantor, and several of my favorite novelists have had audiobooks produced by them.  In fact a friend of mine and an amazing fellow narrator is indirectly responsible for putting Tantor on my radar. I was on Audible.com looking at books by L.E. Modesitt Jr., and noticed that my pal Kyle McCarley had narrated a few novels of his.  

Me: How much time does it take to record an audiobook?

Dan Lawson: It varies, but each hour you're listening to takes between three to six hours to produce.  So a ten hour audiobook might take anywhere from thirty to sixty hours to produce.  

Thanks to iRead book tours for organising this and providing me an ooprtunity to interview the narrator.