This heartfelt audiobook about four friends who are seeking revenge is a must-listen. Kasey, smoothly voiced by Mela Lee, returns to her small town for the first time since high school. She's haunted by the truth of her mother's death. Ada, portrayed confidently by Erin Bennett, is now married with kids. Rosemarie, whose upspeak is delivered by Kamali Minter, is balancing an open relationship. Caroline, voiced softly by Sarah Beth Goer, just married the town's richest bachelor, Trey. When Trey's abusive behavior sends Caroline to the hospital, the other girls decide they've had enough of a justice system that protects privileged citizens while leaving women to suffer. Police interviews are voiced by Julian Thomas and Traci Odom. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Goodbye Earl: A Revenge Novel
Narrated by Mela Lee, Kamali Minter, Sarah Beth Goer, Erin Bennett, Traci Odom, Julian Thomas
Leesa Cross-SmithUnabridged — 12 hours, 26 minutes
Goodbye Earl: A Revenge Novel
Narrated by Mela Lee, Kamali Minter, Sarah Beth Goer, Erin Bennett, Traci Odom, Julian Thomas
Leesa Cross-SmithUnabridged — 12 hours, 26 minutes
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Overview
Taking inspiration from the infamous, empowering song,*Goodbye Earl follows four best friends through two unforgettable summers, fifteen years apart.
*
In 2004, Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline, and Kasey are in their final days of high school and on the precipice of all the things teenagers look forward to when anything in life seems possible . . . from falling in love, to finding their dream jobs, to becoming who they were meant to be.
*
In 2019, Kasey has returned to her small Southern hometown of Goldie for the first time since high school-and she still hasn't told even her closest friends the truth of what really happened that summer after graduation, or what made her leave so abruptly without looking back. Now reunited with her friends in Goldie for a wedding, she's determined to focus on the simple joy of being together again. But when she notices troubling signs that one of them might be in danger, she is catapulted back to that fateful summer. This time, Kasey refuses to let the worst moments of her past define her; this time, she knows how to protect those she loves at all costs.
*
Uplifting, sharp-edged, and unapologetic, Goodbye Earl*is a funeral for all the “Earls” out there-the abusive men who think they can get away with anything, but are wrong-and a celebration of enduring sisterhood.
Editorial Reviews
05/01/2023
Cross-Smith’s lackluster latest (after Half-Blown Rose) follows four lifelong friends as they reunite for a wedding and conspire to put a stop to abusive men. Wealthy Ada Plum’s younger sister is getting married in Goldie, their small hometown in an unnamed Southern state. For the occasion, Ada’s friend Kasey Fritz returns from New York City for the first time in 15 years, long after the tragic death of Kasey’s mother and abuse she endured from her drug-running stepfather, Roy Dupont. Though Kasey is engaged to a kind man in New York, she feels a tug toward her old beau Silas Castelow, who’s now a cop. Rounding out the friend group are Rosemary Kingston, who’s back from Seattle, harboring a dark secret about herself, and Caroline Foxberry, a baker who stayed in Goldie and has recently married Trey, a rich local man known for his bad manners. After Trey beats Caroline badly enough to put her in the hospital, the besties conspire to kill him. As the plot ramps up, the author develops a parallel story involving the summer of 2004, when the foursome talked about killing Roy to protect Kasey’s mother. Cross-Smith’s villains are cartoonishly evil—the men, plus Trey’s coddling mother—and though the friends’ motivations are understandable, the story nonetheless feels contrived. Readers will be disappointed. Agent: Kerry D'Agostino, Curtis Brown and Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (July)
"I can’t help devouring Leesa Cross-Smith’s prose like it's candy, with turns of phrase so unexpected and delightful, so uniquely her own, that I just want to chew and chew them. Filled with charming characters and beautiful details, Goodbye Earl makes murder as delicious as cherry pie."—Rufi Thorpe, author of The Knockout Queen and The Girls From Corona Del Mar
“Ideal summer reading . . . Cross-Smith’s incredible, easy voice will make your skin crawl one moment and give you goosebumps the next, then smooth out your frazzled emotions with a contented, sunshiny vibe two pages later.”—Associated Press
"Deliciously devilish."—Good Housekeeping
"Channeling the spirit of the Dixie Chicks song of the same name, Goodbye Earl . . . is an ode to the sanctuary that is female friendship and all that it endures, and all the ways it makes your life better and your heart bigger."—Shondaland
"Readers of relationship fiction who want the lighter side of dark dealings will find much to enjoy."—Booklist
"A top pick for anyone who loved “Bad Sisters” on Apple TV+."—Parade.com
"A big-hearted novel of friendship, small-town solidarity and, as listeners of The Chicks will no doubt intuit, revenge . . . the grit is enough to shock you, and the heart is enough to warm you."—BookReporter.com
"[A] rollicking summer beach read . . . delivers its sweetest message of revenge."—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"A celebration of enduring sisterhood."—BrooklynDigest.com
PRAISE FOR LEESA CROSS-SMITH
“Leesa Cross-Smith’s richly vivid prose pulls you in and transports you to Paris. Sharp-edged and sexy, Half-Blown Rose is an utterly intoxicating story of love, betrayal, and loyalty.”
—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising
“With Half-Blown Rose, Leesa Cross-Smith has given us a brilliant, sexy, funny masterpiece. Reading her stunning prose is a full-blown experience. Within the deeply intimate worlds she conjures, she captures love, lust, and longing with such emotional intricacy and verve, I’m fairly certain I read this entire book with my hand pressed against my heart.” —Deesha Philyaw, author of National Book Award 2020 finalist The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
"Leesa Cross-Smith is a consummate storyteller."—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author
“By far the most exhilarating and sexy American-in-Paris story I’ve ever read. Leesa Cross-Smith’s Half-Blown Rose is smart, intriguing, and pure delight.” —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers
“This Close to Okay hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control.”—Raven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster
"Leesa Cross-Smith writes the way many people wish they could: ferociously, tenderly, and with a tremendous amount of heart."—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things (on So We Can Glow)
Leesa Cross-Smith is a consummate storyteller.
Leesa Cross-Smith writes the way many people wish they could: ferociously, tenderly, and with a tremendous amount of heart.
I can’t help devouring Leesa Cross-Smith’s prose like it's candy, with turns of phrase so unexpected and delightful, so uniquely her own, that I just want to chew and chew them. Filled with charming characters and beautiful details, Goodbye Earl makes murder as delicious as cherry pie.
This Close to Okay hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control.
This heartfelt audiobook about four friends who are seeking revenge is a must-listen. Kasey, smoothly voiced by Mela Lee, returns to her small town for the first time since high school. She's haunted by the truth of her mother's death. Ada, portrayed confidently by Erin Bennett, is now married with kids. Rosemarie, whose upspeak is delivered by Kamali Minter, is balancing an open relationship. Caroline, voiced softly by Sarah Beth Goer, just married the town's richest bachelor, Trey. When Trey's abusive behavior sends Caroline to the hospital, the other girls decide they've had enough of a justice system that protects privileged citizens while leaving women to suffer. Police interviews are voiced by Julian Thomas and Traci Odom. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
2023-05-09
A group of friends have their bonds tested during two challenging summers 15 years apart.
In 2004, Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline, and Kasey (who affectionately refer to themselves as RACK) are graduating from high school in a small Southern town. Each is mired in concerns for the future, first-time loves, and tumultuous family situations: Rosemarie and Kasey have plans to move away, while Ada and Caroline plan to stay in Goldie and open businesses together. Fifteen years later, the four are reunited in Goldie for the first time since then, as Kasey has finally returned home from New York for a wedding, which forces her to confront the reasons she left abruptly after her mother’s death in 2004 as well as her unresolved feelings for her first love even though she’s engaged to a man in New York. But her friends are keeping secrets of their own: Rosemarie is dealing with cancer and balancing her emotions for her two lovers; Ada’s mother is addicted to painkillers even as Ada is trying to hold on to her perfect marriage; and Caroline is in an abusive marriage with the son of the town’s richest family. The four women must relearn how to be honest and revive their unwavering support for each other when one of their own is gravely injured. Cross-Smith has crafted a dense story of devoted friendship against the backdrop of an overwhelming number of minor characters. The rotating third-person perspective combined with the amount of exposition makes it difficult for a compelling central story to rise to the surface, and once it finally does, the tension is too easily resolved, without the seriousness of violent events ever being fully recognized.
An unbalanced novel restlessly forces a happy ending.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940176928570 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Hachette Audio |
| Publication date: | 07/03/2023 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 951,217 |
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