Heather O’Neill is an author and narrator who resides in Canada.
I’ve listened to 3 of her narrated works so far, and loved each one. There is Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch. See the above audio excerpt. I just recently re-listened to this one.
The characters are full-bodied, even the no-so-nice characters, and Heather does great Irish and Australian accents. I just love listening to her voice.
I probably never would have picked up this book, although it’s become one of my favorite stories, except that I knew Heather was the Narrator.
The first story I heard from Heather was The Cry of the Icemark, by Stuart Hill. More my style as fantasy fiction, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Then there was The Likeness, by Tana French. A murder-mystery, once again only picked based on Narration. This is not my favorite genre, even though it’s still better than…should I say it…Romance.
Ugh! Don’t get me wrong, romance can be great, I just find that they tend to really over-do everything in romance novels. TMD – Too Many Details, for my preference.
But back to Heather’s narration, both of these stories were great. I’ve yet to try one of Heather’s works that I didn’t truly enjoy. While she does not have as many Narrated works as others listed here on NarrationZone, she has also authored some award winning books of her own.
The most well known of her written works is Lullabies for Little Criminals. I will warn you although this is written about a 13 girl named Baby, there are drugs, gangs, abuse, and more, so it’s not a ‘children’s book’. There is an Audio version that is narrated in part by Heather O’Neill and Miriam McDonald.
I haven’t tried this one myself because it sounds a bit dark for my tastes, but if you have, or if you do read the book or listen to the audio version, I would greatly appreciate hearing what you think about it. See below for more listening options.
Heather is 4 out of 4 in my Narrator rating scale, and one of my current top 10!
As always, from my home to yours, Happy Listening.
Heather O’Neill sample work –
Blessed Are the Cheesemakers , Sarah-Kate Lynch
The Cry of the Icemark , Stuart Hill
The Likeness , Tana French
Magdalen Rising: The Beginning , Elizabeth Cunningham
Bright Dark Madonna , Elizabeth Cunningham
The Minister’s Daughter , Julie Hearn
The Great Unexpected , Sharon Creech
Abroad , Katie Crouch
Artemis , Philip Palmer
The Dead Hour , Denise Mina
The Girl With Glass Feet , Ali Shaw
The Passion of Mary Magdalen , Elizabeth Cunningham
Life As I Know It , Melanie Rose
38 Reasons I Want to Marry My Boyfriend , Lynn Enright
The Old Jest , Jennifer Johnston
Child of the Prophecy: Sevenwaters, Book 3 , Juliet Marillier
Red-Robed Priestess , Elizabeth Cunningham
Field of Blood , Denise Mina
The Forgotten Waltz , Anne Enright