Acts of Violet, Margarita Montimore
Acts of Violet, Margarita Montimore
10 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Acts of Violet
A Novel

Author: Margarita Montimore

Narrator: Alejandro Antonio Ruiz, Amy McFadden, Brittany Pressley, Dan Bittner, Fred Berman, Hillary Huber, Johnny Heller, Katharine Chin, Ramon de Ocampo, Suzanne Toren

Unabridged: 11 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/05/2022


Synopsis

"A multicast presentation of a novel with this many disparate narrative elements could easily become chaotic, so it is testament to the narrators’ talents and Montimore’s brilliant plot structure, compelling characters, and sharp, often hilarious prose that listeners are instead treated to an absolutely delightful audiobook, essential for all contemporary fiction collections."- Library Journal

This program features unique sound design and is read by a multicast that brilliantly weaves together the narrative elements, the podcast episodes, and the documents within the story.

From Margarita Montimore, the author of GMA Book Club pick and national bestseller Oona Out of Order, Acts of Violet is a dazzling and twisty new novel about a famous magician who disappears, leaving her sister to figure out what really happened.

Nearly a decade ago, iconic magician Violet Volk performed her greatest trick yet: vanishing mid-act. Though she hasn’t been seen since, her hold on the public hasn’t wavered. While Violet sought out the spotlight, her sister Sasha, ever the responsible one, took over their mother’s salon and built a quiet life for her daughter, Quinn. But Sasha can never seem to escape her sister’s orbit or her memories of their unresolved, tumultuous relationship. Then there’s Cameron Frank, determined to finally get his big break hosting a podcast devoted to all things Violet—though keeping his job hinges on an exclusive interview with Sasha, the last person who wants to talk to him.

As the ten-year anniversary approaches, the podcast picks up steam, and Cameron’s pursuit of Sasha becomes increasingly intrusive. He isn’t the only one wondering what secrets she might be keeping: Quinn, loyal to the aunt she always idolized, is doing her own investigating. Meanwhile, Sasha begins to experience an unsettling series of sleepwalking episodes and coincidences, which all lead back to Violet. Pushed to her emotional limits, Sasha must finally confront the most painful truths about her sister, and herself, even at the risk of losing everything.

Alternating between Sasha’s narration and Cameron’s podcast transcripts, interspersed with documents that offer a tantalizing peek at Violet herself, Acts of Violet is an utterly original, propulsive story of fame, deception, and forgiveness that will make you believe in magic.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

About Margarita Montimore

Margarita Montimore is the author of The Dollhouse Academy, Acts of Violet, Asleep from Day, and Oona Out of Order, which was a USA Today bestseller and Good Morning America Book Club pick. After receiving a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College, she worked for more than a decade in publishing and social media before deciding to focus on the writing dream full-time. Born in Soviet Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn, she currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and dog.

About Brittany Pressley

Brittany Pressley is an Audiofile Earphones award winning narrator in NYC. She has recorded over 100 titles and has received several nominations for American Library Association's annual list of Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults. She is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and voice actress. Her voice can be heard on national and international TV and radio commercials as well as several animated series and video games. She is a proud graduate of Columbia University.

About Dan Bittner

Dan Bittner has narrated dozens of audio books and has starred on stage and on the screen, in movies such as Men in Black, Adventureland, and the Producers: The Movie Musical. He has also appeared onstage as Macbeth Malcolm and Sherlock Holmes in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has narrated popular audio books such as The Eleventh Plague, Hero, and Forever.

About Fred Berman

Fred Berman is a five-time winner of the AudioFile Earphone Award for Audiobook Narration and the recipient of the 2013 Audie Award for narration in Spy the Lie. He has read a number of audiobooks for young listeners, including Judy Blume’s Soupy Saturdays with The Pain & The Great One and Andrew Clements’s The Last Holiday Concert. He has also narrated the audiobooks for Robert Kirkman’s popular series, The Walking Dead.Berman is an accomplished actor of both the stage and screen as well, performing on Broadway as Timon in The Lion King and off-Broadway in Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and King Lear. On television, Berman has had roles on NBC’s hit series Smash as well as All My Children and Law and Order. He lives in New York City.

About Suzanne Toren

Suzanne Toren has over 30 years of experience in recording.  She won the American Foundation for the Blind's Scourby Award for Narrator of the Year in 1988, and AudioFile magazine named her the 2009 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture.  She is also the recipient of multiple Earphones Awards. Her many credits include works by Jane Smiley, Margaret Weis, Jerry Spinelli, Barbara Kingsolver, and Cynthia Rylant. AudioFile also raves, “Toren brings a distinguishing warmth and power to her narrations. Her talents extend to both fiction and nonfiction, and in her recording career of 30-plus years she has given listeners heart-wrenching memoirs, lively history, engaging light fiction, and involving mysteries.” Toren also performs on and off-Broadway and in regional theatres.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Melissa (Semi-hiatus for Work) on June 29, 2022

So disappointed. What I liked: I was intrigued by the story from the beginning. It's the story of magician Violet Volk, who disappeared mid-act ten years previously, and no one knows what happened to her, not even her sister Sasha. Podcaster Cameron Frank is exploring the circumstances surrounding he......more

Goodreads review by Nilufer on January 30, 2025

Black smoke coming out from my overcooked brain cells: can you smell it? Nope, only people I have meeting right now who stare at me when I secretly read the last chapter of the book can smell it! ( I always mix pleasure with business and reading is my one of the best pleasures) I’m a little dizzy,......more

Goodreads review by Darla on June 22, 2022

I had high hopes for this one. The title is clever and I looked forward to the audiobook with its stellar cast. And it was a fabulous production. The combo of podcast and other media like emails and text messages with the narrative from the past and present was compelling. What happened to Violet Vo......more

Goodreads review by Jacob on September 27, 2022

About halfway through, I remember thinking to myself "my rating is going to depend a lot on what we find out about Violet's disappearance." And it does. This story has a lot of moving parts and some complicated relationships. The core relationship is between the missing Violet and her sister Sasha. T......more

Goodreads review by Heather Adores Books on January 26, 2023

3.75⭐ for originality I am a big fan of magicians, so I was excited for this one. Violet is a famous magician that mysteriously vanished during an act. Was it intentional or did something sinister happen? Now it's the 10 year anniversary of her disappearance and people want answers, well most people.......more


Awards

  • Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year
  • Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year