On the surface, this podcast seems like it would be right up my alley.
A snowed-in dinner party during which guests are murdered, one by one, ala Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None?
Sign me up!
And then… I listened.
My biggest problem was with the narrator. I’m already not a fan of narrators in fiction podcasts, but some I’ve listened to make it work.
Not this one.
It seemed to me that the narrator had more lines than the voice actors. (This may or may not be accurate, as I didn’t actually count the lines.)
That left me feeling like I was getting talked AT rather than being brought into the story. (“Show don’t tell,” anyone?)
Here’s an example:
Narrator: The two women went to the kitchen.
<The two women have a conversation.>
Narrator: The door opens, and the maid is standing there.
<Maid says a line.>
Compared to other podcasts:
One character would say to the other, “Psst. I need to talk to you. Come to the kitchen.”
Then, the sound design takes you into the kitchen instead of the narrator.
See how that keeps you in the story? And how less choppy it is?
That’s why I’m not a fan of narrators in fiction podcasts. But if you like that style, or don’t mind having a narrator escort you around the story, this podcast may be right up your alley.
April 2020 Issue
