3.17/5 Stars Harry Starke Books 10, 11, 12 by Blair Howard

September 30, 2021August 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, suspense Blair Howard, Harry Starke, Tom Lennon

Narrated by Tom Lennon

Individual Ratings:

3/5 stars 10 Caloway Jones

3.5/5 stars 11 Emoji

3/5 stars 12 Hoodwinked

*possible spoilers in discussion

Summary:

Caloway Jones: Somebody’s out to kill Harry and his friends.

Emoji: A killer haunts a college campus and plays games with the police.

Hoodwinked: Harry’s on a mission to prove his best friend isn’t a killer

Additional Comments:

Content Warning: I generally listen to clean stuff, so I’ll include a content warning up front. If you removed the curse words, the book would be missing about 3 hours. If you removed the sex references as well, you’d be missing about 8 hours. Somewhere in there, you have a mystery. I think. If you took out alcohol references as well, heck, we’d be down to 3 hours.
This is my first exposure to this author and the character. They’re okay. I’d probably give another set a go if the chance arose, but I could also do without and be fine.
The son of a crazy rich dude thing is okay.
Side characters: Kate’s cool. The rest are just furniture, or horny furniture in the case of Amanda.
They’re very different mysteries. Harry Starke leads a charmed life. The stories have a bit of a hardboiled detective shading. Harry’s the best of the best PI’s.
The mystery conclusions are somewhat frustrating, even though Harry always gets his man, so to speak.
- Caloway: Really. The person used to throwdowns goes toe to toe with the bad guy and loses, then the person who never handled a gun ever saves the day?
- Emoji: So, bad guy wins then decides to play a game with Harry to give him a sporting chance … and thus, loses.
- Hoodwinked: I kind of like this twisted ending. That’s a redeeming quality. But I’m sensing a theme here. Yet again, the bad guy wins, hands down… then shoots him mouth off and Harry wins.
Overall, they’re not bad stories, but what keeps them from being good or even great is that the conclusions rely very heavily on the bad guys being incredibly dumb. I get it, criminals can be stupid, but these particular ones spend the whole book running circles around the cops … then, when they’re home free, blather about it and lose.
The Caloway Jones conclusion was highly unsatisfying because the author spend 5+ hours building up this woman to be the best of the best, and she flubs it by playing silly games. Yeah, yeah, contract and so forth. If she’d really wanted him to suffer, she would have planted a bullet in his wife’s skull then gone after the friends one by one.
The narration was fine until the man tried to tackle a Jamaican accent and ended up sounding vaguely Irish. I do play stuff fast, but I honestly thought Kate’s last name began with K something. Lost that “g” somewhere.
Kate’s an interesting character. I liked the interaction b/t her and Harry in the second story. I see that she has her own series. That could be interesting. I’ll give those a go if the chance arises.
The first-person narration style was okay, but it got annoying because Harry’s not a very reliable narrator. He says a lot of things like “but you don’t need to know that” and “where was I.”

Conclusion:

I’m kind of torn. There’s a lot of potential, and the author is decent at describing things. The mysteries themselves are fairly formulaic. The characters keep things interesting. If you don’t mind excessive cursing and rampant references to sex, check it out.

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Many of my 50 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

2.5/5 Stars Great Classic Westerns by Ambrose Bierce, Joaquin Miller, Bret Harte, Zane Grey, and Max Brand

September 29, 2021September 16, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western Ambrose Bierce, Bronson Pinchot, Joaquin Miller, Mark Twain, Meredith Mitchell, Richard Waterhouse

Narrated by Bronson Pinchot, Meredith Mitchell, Richard Waterhouse

Run Time: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Genre: Westerns

Summary:

A collection of classic Westerns.

Additional Comments:

It felt like a lot of these were incomplete.
Having three different narrators fit the fact that the stories were way different from each other.
I don’t feel like I gained anything by hearing these tales.
Most were completely forgettable.
I couldn’t name one character from the book. I know there were several. I maybe recall one or two but it’s only as the sad lady who had a misunderstanding.
Performances worked. All narrators did well with their respective tales.
The first tale kind of blithered on. Not sure why I didn’t just file this under DNF and move on.

Conclusion:

I’m a fan of Westerns, but this got boring.

*Audible plus read.

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Many of my 55 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

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4.5/5 Stars Mr. Darcy’s Christmas by Barbara Silkstone

September 28, 2021August 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish Barabara Silkstone, Karen Krause

Narrated by Karen Krause

Run Time: 3 hrs and 7 mins

Genre: Fluffy romance, British

Summary:

Lizzie almost gets run over but a stray dog of sorts saves her. The dog is traveling with a scruffy little girl. Lizzie and her sisters take the street urchin to Mr. Darcy’s place to get out of a storm. The next day, they plan to have a lovely Christmas eve with the street urchin’s family, a rather large collection of kids.

Additional Comments:

Light, fluffy romance.
This one can be read without the previous and likely subsequent stories in the series. It’s a re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice. Still baffles me the amount of spinoffs that okay story has generated.
Darcy’s still a saint, but this round, Elizabeth is holding him at bay because she wants to start a dog psychology business all on her own.
Thank heavens she doesn’t mention she’s Doctor Bennett every 3 seconds like she did in the first book. That was super annoying. If you have to stress it that much, nobody gives 2 shakes of a dog’s tail, get over yourself.
Georgiana’s still sweet and naïve. Wickham’s not mentioned at all, thank goodness.
Caroline Bingley is a twit and mean spirited to boot.
Jane and Charles are still moon-eyed.
Derby and Squire – Darcy’s dogs – are still adorable.

Conclusion:

This isn’t a deep thinker. If you’re into light, fluffy Christmas cheer sorts of romantic comedies, this should fit the bill fine.

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3.25 Cold-Blooded by Carlton Smith

September 27, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Nonfiction, True Crime Carlton Smith, Paul Heitsch, true crime

Narrated by Paul Heitsch

Run Time: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Performance 4 stars, story 2.5 stars.

Summary:

This is a rambling account of stupid people. Rich, stupid people.

Additional Comments:

This is one of my first forays into true crime as a genre. My tenure here might be short. This was kinda boring.
I think it could have unfolded in about 4 hours, tops.
The author goes on major tangents that have zip to do with the murder. I don’t need to know the history of Reno to get to the murder mystery here.
Once upon a time, there was a sleazy, charismatic lawyer named Larry who had a drinking problem and a weakness for women and no ability to learn from past mistakes. Wife one, understandable. Wife two. Okay, okay, we all make mistakes. Wives 3-5?? Like yo, don’t get married unless you want to get taken to the cleaners, again.
Wife 5 for Larry was a doozy. She was a petty criminal turned big time by bigger opportunities. She won’t go down as the world’s smoothest crook. If fraudulent check writing were an Olympic sport, she’d at least make it there.
About an hour in to the actual story of Larry’s history (so about 5 hours into the book), I’m like, wow, this guy’s criminally dumb when it comes to his personal life.
Lauren and Sarah weren’t much more sympathetic as characters. Their life choices went from bad to worse. In that sense, it’s just kind of sad.
The tone of the story was so matter-of-fact that nobody came off as even remotely somebody you could root for. The cops were glossed over.
The performance was fine, though with 2/3 of the main people being women, it kind of would have made more sense to hire a lady to do the narration.
This book pretty much gives shady lawyers their bad reputation. Ambulance chasing personal injury lawyers just looking for a payday and cooking their own books.

Conclusion:

It’s really, really difficult to feel sorry for these people. Any of them. The book would have been much better if it focused some on the cops and their pursuit.

About the only life lesson in here is to avoid sleazy law offices like a plague.

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4/5 stars Shadow Harvest by Emily Kimelman

September 25, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, thriller Emily Kimelman, Sonja Field, Sydney Rye, vigilante justice

Narrated by Sonja Field

Run Time: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Genre: Thriller, vigilante

Summary:

The Sydney Rye series probably should be read in order. This is book 7. It can be read as a standalone. I basically did, since I’d read book 6 about 5 years ago. They’re good mindless thrillers.

Sydney travels to China with her faithful companion, Blue, to find Merrel who went to see a lady friend.

Additional Comments:

Sydney and crew, including Blue, are vigilantes. They take out the bad guys in the name of justice. They’re not as fun as the Leverage crew, but they have a similar agenda. Be bad guys to be good guys.
It’s a standard thriller. First half is all setup, but eventually, we get to the action.
The title actually has to do with the story! You have no idea what a rarity that is these days.
Governments being shady, not that far-fetched.
Sydney’s drama with Dan is kind of disappointing, but that’s a very small part of the story.
Merrell doesn’t get much page time.
New guy is an interesting addition.
Tech guy was just kind of there for the ride.
The random murder wasn’t really solved, that’s disappointing but probably lends to credibility.
There’s little sense of closure because there are distinct threads that lead to the next book. That’s a cheap tactic to try to get you to buy the next book. That’s why I like omnibus titles. Would the mystery with Deklan make me buy something else, well no but I’m sure it works for some people.
Content Warnings: Some violence. There are a few hard curses.

Conclusion:

Sydney Rye’s not exactly an angel, but she’s got some definite ideas on right and wrong and heaven help you if you’re on the wrong side of that.

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4 stars Mad Dog by Andrew Beery

September 24, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, scifi Andrew Beery, Dave Cruise, scifi

Narrated by Dave Cruise

Series: Boneyard Dog #2

Run Time: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Genre: scifi

Summary:

The plot’s the same as about a gazillion other scifi stories, with some subtle changes.

Additional Comments:

Admiral Jeremy Ryker’s clone is off in space fighting to save humanity.
Narration style is charming and definitely not serious. That keeps things interesting.
Performance was just as good as the first story. I don’t remember much about the first book, but it was decent. I found some voices used highly annoying, but given the text, I’m not sure the narrator could have made it less annoying. The words had to have been written in a halting manner.
Some allusion to sex, but nothing described and no curse words.
Decent world-building.
Typical save the human race sort of plot. Teleporting was new. Not much is explained about that but there is a book three. It wouldn’t surprise me if that came back in a big way.
Light scifi. Oh, there are alien races and space battles, but they’re more realistic than most space jockey stories. One smack and your ship’s pretty much toast.

Conclusion:

A worthwhile light scifi story you don’t have to think about too hard, just enjoy the ride.

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3.45/5 stars Empress Wu Zetian by Laurel A. Rockefeller

September 22, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical, Nonfiction historical, Laurel A. Rockefeller, nonfiction, Richard Mann

Narrated by Richard Mann

Run Time: 1 hr and 5 mins

Genre: nonfic, historical

Summary:

Wu Zhao is the woman who went from low-level concubine to trusted confident of Emperor Taizong. Got that from the back cover copy. This is a very short history. It was not clear in the story that she was 14 at the time she was married off to the emperor. I think the back cover copy stretches the truth a bit from the presentation in the book. It didn’t seem like she climbed the ladder, the emperor was like “yo, you want to be my trusted confidante and secretary? These other jerks only want power” and she was like “yup.”

Additional Comments:

She’s presented in very favorable light here. The account kind of glosses over a few things like her ordering the death of pretty much anybody who didn’t agree with her utopian, very progressive ideals. And stealing power whenever she needed to because she could run the country better than anybody else.
Lady’s got grit, gotta give her that.
She also behaved exactly like those she fought against, having male concubines of a sort. Excuse: everybody else is doing it. Awesome, there’s who we should hold up as the moral paragon.
The reforms she wanted were great. It probably moved the country many leaps and bounds forward, but the greater good theory of excusing bad behavior just doesn’t fly.
I haven’t read many of these, but this was the better of the two.
The author’s views definitely flavor the telling.
The main message is twofold: positions should be given out based on merit not wealth and prestige already inherent to certain families and anything men can do, women can do.
I think the point the author is semi-burying under a rug of heaping praises is that power corrupts. Even in the name of doing good, power corrupts.

Conclusion:

If you can get around the very heavy-handed slant of setting this woman up for sainthood, it’s a decent story of a strong lady.

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4/5 Stars The Lady in the Coppergate Tower by Nancy Campbell Allen

September 21, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy Elizabeth Knowelden, Nancy Campbell Allen

Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden

Series: The Steampunk Proper Romances

Run Time: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Summary:

Hazel Hughes meets an eccentric uncle who happens to be a Count and super rich and mysterious. She’s also got a sister she only sees in visions and the mirror. Sam MacInnes is a handsome doctor whose station is far above Hazel’s. She works for him as a medical assistant of sorts. (She’s a healer with perfect recall.)

Additional Comments:

– The worldbuilding aspects were cool. It’s a place with magic and mystery, fantastic tech, yet stuck in a time with bored rich people with oddball rules of courtship.

– It got boring. I had it playing at 2.3 speed for the most part, but sections still managed to drag. I know the worldbuilding took some time, but the story’s essentially in 3 sections. The first is terribly slow and hardly worth slogging through except for those gems about the world. The second is skippable when they’re on the submarine to Romania. The third is shorter but interesting. There’s finally some action.

– The Coppergate tower thing doesn’t kick in until the very end, which is fine. I’m glad there was a tie-in.

– The romance was so-so. The only thing holding them back from each other was a disparity in station and that got remedied in the first third of the book.

– The mystery of what the Count wants and so forth was predictable.

– The book had awesome narration. Would definitely listen to the narrator again.

– I found the book on audible plus. Wouldn’t have checked it out otherwise.

– There was a part at the end I had to yell at the character. She’s a flipping healer.

Conclusion:

The odd aspects of the book were cool. The “normal” portions dragged, a lot.

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4 stars Hitch and John by Roger Erickson

September 20, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western clean western, J. Rodney Turner, Roger Erickson

Narrated by J. Rodney Turner

Run Time: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Summary:

This story picks up where the last one left off. It’s like a mini-peek into the life and times of frontier life through rose-colored glasses.

Additional Comments:

It’s clean western. Not the most exciting story I’ve ever listened to.
It’s easy to lose track of who’s who because there are a lot of characters.
Good guys are typically good. Bad guys typically wind up dead real quick.
If the bad guys are slow or childlike or somewhat innocent, they’ll be reformed by the heroes.
There’s no real sense of danger here.
Even the 6 year olds can shoot a grizzly bear dead without blinking.
Everything’s reported so matter-of-factly that you’re 3 minutes on before you realize there was danger.
The characters are still charming. Everybody’s practically a saint.
The telepathy thing is sort of interesting. Definitely different for a Western. I like that it was used as a convenient way to make phone calls.
The good guys seek to right wrongs wherever they go. There’s a wholesomeness to it.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for action-packed Western, look elsewhere. If you want a glimpse of utopia frontier style, give it a go.

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3.5 Stars Gertrude Gumshoe: Slam is Murder by Robin Merrill

September 20, 2021September 16, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery Darlene Allen, Gertrude Gumshoe, Robin Merrill

Narrated by Darlene Allen

Run Time: 4 hrs and 29 min

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Summary:

Since people aren’t dropping dead in her hometown, Gertrude convinces Calvin to take her to Portland to a Poetry Slam that has had 2 mysterious deaths.

Additional Comments:

Calvin has the patience of a saint.
I liked the little side mystery about the food stamp card.
I enjoyed that Gertrude got to know Andrea a little better.
The side things were more interesting than the main mystery this round. Gertrude’s driving test was nerve-wracking.
Darlene Allen doesn’t have a huge range of voices but she’s perfect for Gertrude and has very nice reading instincts. You can tell if a male or female character is speaking.
Clean read.
The conclusion didn’t seem like Gertrude did anything.
Her poetry was amusing.

Conclusion:

These are mindless cozy, fluff pieces. Light-hearted and good to stick between more intense, crazy murder mysteries and thrillers. The whole series is fun.

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