Dervla McTiernan, What Happened to Nina? (Harper Collins 2024; audiobook by Audible, performed by Kristen Sieh, Stacy Glemboski, Lisa Flanagan, Robert Petkoff, George Newbern, Jenna Lamia and Preston Butler III)
I used to read to the Emerging Artist on long car journeys. Then my voice started failing, and for a couple of years we’ve been trying podcasts and audiobooks, with mixed results.
What Happened to Nina worked like a charm. For a start, each of seven characters narrates at least one chapter, and each character has their own reader, so there is plenty of vocal variation. More significantly, the book reads like a television show: locations are established efficiently, introspection is minimal, dialogue and action are pacy, motivations straightforward. Perfect for listening to when part of your mind is on the passing scene. (I know there are people who do their serious reading this way. I’m not disciplined enough for that.)
I’ve read and enjoyed two of Dervla McTiernan’s previous books, The Rúin (link is to my blog post) and The Good Turn. They’re both police procedurals set in Ireland, and apart from the mystery to be solved in each of them, what I enjoyed was the sense of place, and the Irish ness.
In What Happened to Nina? there is no mystery. Twenty-year-old Nina narrates the first section, and then goes missing. The reader can guess the what, who, why, where, and pretty much how right from the start, and becomes quite sure within a couple of chapters. The novel is interested in how the disappearance is dealt with by the other characters, especially her parents and the parents of her boyfriend, who is also the chief suspect. As they gradually discover the truth, there are two harsh surprises, but no real twists. And though the logistics are carefully plotted, the Vermont environment doesn’t come alive, and the dialogue, while recognisably American, has a generic feel to it. (That’s no criticism of the readers/performers, who are universally excellent.)
So yeah, this is OK. It feels to me that it’s written with a possible US TV adaptation in mind. If that happens, it could be a successful series. I might watch it.
Me fail? I fly! 
Aaagh! I can’t understand the adulation for Dervla McTiernan! I read The Ruin and found it almost incomprehensibly messy, jumping from scene to scene and dropping characters altogether. The only thing I can agree on is that it had a very strong sense of place, with its Irishness so clear and believable.
I am also careful about what I choose for my audiobooks and don’t choose anything where I want to linger over the language. I’m currently listening to Anthony Horowitz which is perfect for holding my interest but letting me drive.
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I did enjoy The Rúin, Kathy. I don’t remember the messiness. I like your phrase, ‘linger over the language’. The other thing you can’t do with an audiobooks is put your own voice on it, which is what I miss most. The only Anthony Horowitz I’ve read is a couple of excellent children’s books. I’ve put him on our potential audiobooks list
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The Horowitz appears to be the first in a series. Very postmodern but enjoyable for all that. I agree with you about putting your voice into an audiobook but almost without exception the ones I’ve listened to have been extremely well read. I miss being able to go back and recapture a phrase or paragraph.
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This reminds me of Jon McGregor’s Reservoir 13. About a girl who goes missing, and how life goes on afterwards as it must, but it is achingly sad.
Did you ever read The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor? That’s about a girl who goes missing too.
In one of these, I won’t say which in case you read them, the girl turns up, and that’s a whole ‘nother tragedy.
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Two more books for the TBR list – thanks, Lisa.
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And then there is Room by Emma O’Donoghue told from the POV of the missing girl, and as you say, being found again is a whole ‘nother tragedy.
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PS That’s not giving anything away by the way…
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I agree! I loved the earlier Irish novels, but this one was competent but underwhelming. Written for the US market as you say.
It reminds me of that other Irish crime writer living in Australia, Adrian McKinty. His Sean Duffy novels were fabulous, but then he went for the money and wrote The Chain, set in the US. It made him a fortune, good for him.
Now that they’ve both made it, they could set their next novels in Australia. Which wouldn’t make them any money but would be nice for their loyal fans 😄
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I haven’t read any of the Seán Duffy novels, Kathy. (Autocomplete added that diacritical mark, and I can’t say it’s wrong ) I’ll keep an eye out for his early ones. You can’t really blame writers for going where they’ll earn a decent living, but you can mourn
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If a book is set in America, it’s an immediate turn off for me. I wonder why she hasn’t set one in WA yet 🤔
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I know what you mean, but I’m guessing you don’t mind when, say, Elizabeth Strout does it. There are also cases where writers have transplanted their stories to a specific US location when publishers in their home country weren’t interested. The Man Who Loved Children is an example: I read it with a weird double vision – Chesapeake Bay (I think) on the page and the ghost of Sydney Harbour hovering.
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Yes, that Christina Stead novel was weird… most of the time I was imagining that family in Sydney, and then suddenly there would be some minor detail that derailed my imagination.
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I’m glad it wasn’t just me
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Hmmm … I honk Mr Gums bought this with a book voucher the other day as he’d enjoyed The ruin, but this doesn’t really sound up his alley. Still, we have travelled through Vermont so it will be interesting to see what he says about that.
We’ve tried audiobooks while driving, but lately I’ve been doing podcasts. It’s hard to find a book that’s just the right length. I have tried some audiobook short stories. They can work.
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The Emerging Artist has pointed out that I managed not to mention a key feature of the book, the role of social media in muddying the waters. O guess the internet is the main ‘place’ in the book. I’m interested to hear what Mr G thinks
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I “honk”! I think you know what I meant.
And thank the Emerging Artist for her enhancement of your comments!
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I didn’t even notice the honk. So much for my self esteem as a copy editor
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My self-esteem as a copy editor has long gone Jonathan. I once prided myself on it too (it wasn’t my career but my mum
did it, and I did a lot of family essays etc…) Now though I suffer from inattention and too much (misplaced) reliance on the devices to get it right!
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Haha! It’s amazing how much we rely on autocorrect even while we mock it.
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