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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Audiobook Promotions …

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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)

Beyond Broken Pencils by Julie C. Gilbert

August 30, 2021August 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, literature, suspense Curt Bonnem, Julie C. Gilbert, school shooting, tragedy

Narrated by Curt Bonnem

Run Time: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Summary:

Ian Colt strolls into his high school with a deadly plan to take out as many people as he can. It’s a strangely familiar American tale of a kid unleashing his inner demons on his classmates and teachers. Who are the heroes? Who is the villain? How do people react?

Additional Comments:

I’ve worked in suburban high schools for about 15 years now. Thankfully, this story isn’t drawn from personal experience, but hopefully, it has enough truth to help bring up the topic in a safe environment for discussion.
By far, this isn’t my cheeriest tale. I usually feel weird saying I hope people enjoy it because “enjoy” isn’t really the right word.
The book has a rather large cast because schools have a lot of people. If you have the ebook version, you’ll see the list of friends and fans who had their names added to the roll call as it were.
Generally, words come quickly for me, but I remember this story fighting me a bit. Several stories since the pandemic have fought me, but this one was always different and finished well before the pandemic.
Although Ian plays video games and even makes a miniature game of shooting certain people for “bonus points” he awards himself, I’m not blaming video games for gun violence. A lot of people—including me—play games without turning into gun-toting psychos who shoot up their schools. Over the years, the games change, but kids are mostly the same. It would be unrealistic to think Ian doesn’t have some interaction with video games.
What causes gun violence? Oh, probably many things. Bandying around blame won’t fix society’s failures.
What’s the solution? There’s probably not one solution, but it can help to talk to kids and people in general. People have to learn better coping mechanisms than bury your pain until you explode.
Curt Bonnem’s performance worked out well for the story.

Conclusion:

I don’t usually write tragic tales, but here, I made an exception. If you want a happy ending, this isn’t the correct title for you right now. If you want as close a peek into this sort of tragedy that I can give you, give it a go.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Never Again by Julie C. Gilbert

August 13, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, drama, suspense Jarret Lemaster, Julie C. Gilbert

Narrated by Jarret Lemaster

Run time: 2 hrs and 37 mins

Summary:

Alana Adams catches her boyfriend, Nathan, kissing another woman. To Alana, that’s a deal breaker, so she promptly dumps Nathan. Her best friend, Jacob, cheers. Things should be bright, cheery, and perfect, but they’re not. Nate starts stalking Alana.

Additional Comments:

This story started as a Kindle Worlds tale. I modified it to get it to become its own thing.
I meant for it to be a series, but currently, it’s the first and only in its series. Originally, another Kindle Worlds spinoff tale, Money Makes it Deadlier, was part of this series. However, that not only became its own thing, it exploded into a 10 book series of novellas featuring FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek. Perhaps one day, I’ll get to return to some of these characters and explore where life takes them.
Anybody familiar with my work knows I write a lot about kidnappings. Stalking is another matter entirely. This might be my only story featuring that. I’m not opposed to writing more on the subject, but it is kind of a creepy one to tackle.
Jarret’s performance hit many high points perfectly. The general tone throughout the writing edges toward light-hearted, despite the weighty topic.
I don’t usually include trigger warnings, but if you can’t handle some creepiness, maybe try one of my other tales.

Conclusion:

It’s a relatively short story about a girl being stalked by her ex.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars: Baby Bailino by Dina Santorelli

September 6, 2020August 15, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, suspense, thriller Daniel Penz, Dina Santorelli, mystery, thriller

Narrated by Daniel Penz

Run Time: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Summary:

Don Bailino breaks out of prison to protect the woman he loves and her child, who is also his child (a consequence/result of Jaime’s rape).

Additional Comments:

Apparently, this is book 2 in a trilogy. Took me about 4 years to finish it. I typically review for a list of clean reads, so when I heard 4 fbombs in the first hour or so, I quit. But I kept it around because I felt it was well written.
Jamie’s relationship with Bailino is super weird. A touch of Stockholm Syndrome.
Sound engineering on the book – not quite effects but synthetic treatments to simulate phone calls and the like was excellent.
The conversations are natural, sometimes crude, often humorous.
Content Warnings: a lot of curse words; there’s talk about and even memories of a rape that occurred before the book opened
The conversations between the old mafia guys are crude but hilarious.
I like that there isn’t always a magic shield on all characters. They can feel pain and even die on occasion … keeps things interesting.
Narrator was a good pick for the book, even if not all the transitions were completely seamless.

Conclusion:

If you can look past crude language and a bit of violence, it’s a decent book.

Audiobook Promotions …

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33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
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

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Def US codes for this one, but not on AU. Find me on FB)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

5/5 Stars: Louise’s Blunder: A 1940’s Spy Thriller by Sarah R. Shaber

July 26, 2020July 14, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical, suspense, thriller Jenny Hoops, Louise Pearlie, Sarah R. Shaber, WWII

Narrated by Jenny Hoops

Run Time: 6 hrs and 35 mins

Summary:

Government girl Louise Pearlie gets blackmailed into investigating a co-worker’s mysterious disappearance.

Additional Comments:

The excerpts from the 1943 Guide to Hiring Women are hilarious.
Louise is a great character. She’s intelligent but not impossibly smart. She’s savvy, but not perfect. She makes mistakes but not ones that are unfixable.
It’s kind of like a clean, adult Nancy Drew story. The old school ones. There’s a formula but it works.
Of course stuff takes some suspension of disbelief, but it’s still enjoyable.
Probably better where it is in the series, but fine as a standalone as well. Somehow, I ended up getting book 4 first, but I intend to listen to the others.
Content warnings: It’s an excellent piece of historical fiction. The main character’s views on Blacks, women’s rights, etc are progressive, but people still walk around using the word Negro and such. If that’s gonna give you hypoxia, go read something else. There are a few curse words used appropriately.

Conclusion:

Excellent entry in what’s probably a very good series. Don’t know about the others, this is my first time trying them. Glad I did.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 34 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
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

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Audiobook Reviews: 3.5/5 Stars Memories Lost by Jessie Cal

July 23, 2020July 14, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, romance, scifi, suspense Emma Faye, Jessie Cal, romantic suspense, scifi

Narrated by Emma Faye

Run Time: 5 hrs and 16 mins

Summary:

Mia’s amnesia after a car accident dominates much of her life. She’s sleepwalking, getting headaches, and having strange memories.

Additional Comments:

It’s kind of similar to a fantasy book in that literally anything could happen because you’re not sure if she’s remembering real stuff or fake stuff throughout about 80% of the book. That’s going to thrill some people (because of the ability to throw in twists) and annoy the heck out of others (because it seems like a waste of time to be reviewing false memories).
Honestly not sure why it’s billed as romantic suspense. It’s more like a mild psychological thriller. Can’t discuss that too much without headed straight into spoilers.
Sense of closure: Pretty much nonexistent. It might as well end “to be continued.” If you intend to continue, awesome. If not, you’re probably going to be annoyed. Don’t try it if you just want a standalone story.
Characters 3/5: Mia’s a mess. That makes her a sympathetic character you want to comfort one minute and somebody you want to shake the next minute. Most others are a tad stock until the twists. (The husband. The mysterious stranger. The best friend. The evil dude. Etc)
Pros: There are some great twists.
Cons: There’s a genre jump straight to scifi, which can be interesting, but can also tick off people who go into it wanting one thing (romantic suspense) and getting another (scifi). Was recently watching a youtube series by a fantasy writer who talked about the promises and payoffs. Here promises and payoffs don’t pan out as expected. While most people will be like “oh, that’s weird” and move on, it’s going to polarize the others.
Performance 4/5 stars: I had the story playing at 2.5x so I didn’t experience the full effect of the performance, but I still enjoyed the character variation.

Conclusion:

If you want romantic suspense, probably not the book for you. If you enjoy twisty series stuff that kind of jumps genres, you will likely really enjoy this.

Audiobook Promotions:

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

4/5 Stars: Silence in West Fork by Lakota Grace (Pegasus Quincy Book 5)

April 26, 2020April 24, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, suspense Amy Otteson, Lakota Grace, Pegasus Quincy

Narrated by Amy Otteson

Run Time: 8 hrs 41 minutes

Summary:

Shepherd’s daughter, who goes by Thorn, is the prime suspect in her boss’s murder. It’s up to Peg to keep the troubled teen safe and find the real killer before the shady detective in charge pins the murder on her out of convenience.

Additional Comments:

You could experience these books in any order, but they are a tad more satisfying together.
The performance is decent. You can tell males from females, though not everybody has a distinct voice. Be aware of that if it’s important to you.
The cast is mostly same as the other Pegasus Quincy books. This being the 5^th book, you don’t learn many new tidbits about the leading lady, but the lovable dog, Reckless, has slightly more page time.
These are relatively clean mysteries. You may find a curse word here and there, but nothing that would make me give a particular warning about. Same for violence. There’s very close to none, which is a tad strange in a mystery/suspense book. Still, it works with the whole small-town vibe.
The twists and turns in the plot aren’t Earth-shaking, but they keep things lively. They also give a sense of realism to the books. Sometimes, life throws curveballs and elk.
Thorn’s kind of a brat, but she didn’t annoy me as much as the side characters in the 4^th book in this series. Ben kinda annoyed me this round, but I think he’s designed that way. It’s part of his charm.

Conclusion:

Peg Quincy won’t ever go down as the world’s smartest, fastest, or hottest detective. Still, she’s honest-ish, hard-working, and a good lady to have on your side in a pinch. Check out all her earlier adventures too.

Audiobook Promotions:

Spirit’s Bane (Guardian Angel Files Book 1) – fantasy
Kindred Spirits (Guardian Angel Files Book 2) – fantasy
Violence in Vegas (Eagle Eyes Book 1) – not relisted yet; mystery
Rescue in Reno (Eagle Eyes Book 2)
Danger in Dallas (Eagle Eyes Book 3)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Check out my other titles available on Audiobooks Unleashed:

Beyond Broken Pencils – contemporary, literary
Shadow Council Combo (Books 1-4) – mystery; no more US codes
The Individual titles are available but not yet listed on an ad site
SC 1: Money Makes it Deadlier
SC 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter
SC 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos
SC 4: Treachery Makes it Tense
Short stuff:
Innova – Christian Dystopia
The Golden City Captives – short fantasy
Fatal Interest – short mystery/thriller

Eagle Eyes – mystery thriller

Scratched Off – mystery, thriller; FBI agent vs serial killer, more intense than Shadow Council/Eagle Eyes

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy

The Collins Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 1, Christian mystery
The Kiverson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 2, Christian mystery
The Davidson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 3, Christian mystery

Other titles:
5 Steps to Better Blurbs – for authors
5 Steps to Better Audiobooks – for authors and narrators
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – for chem students

4.45/5 Midnight Reckoning by Rebecca Deel

March 24, 2020March 18, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, contemporary, romance, suspense Kristina Fuller Yuen, Rebecca Deel, romance, suspense

Narrated by Kristina Fuller Yuen

Run Time: 8 hrs 58 mins

Summary:

Sophie Valero doesn’t quite fit in with the Valero clan, but she is a retired cat burglar. Her sister stole something and now Sophie needs to find it to get the bad guys to back off. Micah Winter is a secret service agent who blames Sophie’s family for his brother’s death. Now he has to protect her from the mysterious people after her and the known enemies after him.

Additional Comments:

If you read the official blurb, you have essentially read the entire book.
It’s very much a typical romance book plot (ridiculous and far-fetched) but still fun.
The baby’s origin is storybook bizarre.
The switch from “I don’t like you” to “I can’t live without you” is super quick.
Clean romance. Pretty sure it sticks to foot massages and deep kisses. Though I will say a few of those foot massages have very awkward timing and locations…. middle of an investigation in a stranger’s office, not the right time.
Well performed. Characters were distinguishable and likeable.
The setup part and investigation unfolded in a meandering fashion.
The dialogue sounded realistic but repetitive, very very repetitive.

Conclusion:

If you are a fan of either the author or the narrator, you will probably like this. If you enjoy clean romance or romantic suspense you may also enjoy this.

Audiobook Promotions …

Were on Audiobookcrave.com (which just went under). Ones with links are relisted at Audiobooksunleashed.com.
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry
Spirit’s Bane (Guardian Angel Files Book 1)
Kindred Spirits (Guardian Angel Files Book 2)
Violence in Vegas (Eagle Eyes Book 1) – not relisted yet
Rescue in Reno (Eagle Eyes Book 2)
Danger in Dallas (Eagle Eyes Book 3)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Check out my other titles available on Audiobooks Unleashed:

Beyond Broken Pencils – contemporary, literary
Shadow Council Combo (Books 1-4)
The Individual titles are available but not yet listed on an ad site
SC 1: Money Makes it Deadlier
SC 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter
SC 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos
SC 4: Treachery Makes it Tense)

Eagle Eyes – mystery thriller

Scratched Off – mystery, thriller; FBI agent vs serial killer, more intense than Shadow Council/Eagle Eyes

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy

The Collins Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 1, Christian mystery
The Kiverson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 2, Christian mystery
The Davidson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 3, Christian mystery

Other titles:
5 Steps to Better Blurbs – for authors
Innova – Christian Dystopia
The Golden City Captives – short fantasy
Fatal Interest – short mystery/thriller

4/5 Stars: Peril in Silver Nightshade by Lakota Grace

January 9, 2020December 25, 2019 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, suspense Amy Otteson, Lakota Grace, Pegasus Quincy

Pegasus Quincy Book 4

Genre: Small town police drama

Length: 8 hrs, 53 min

Narrated by Amy Otteson

Summary:

Peg Quincy’s got some job troubles, but she hangs on by being the Family Liaison Officer (FLO) and picking up odd jobs for a PI friend and a former lover-it’s-kinda-awkward friend.

Additional Comments:

The blurb talks solely about Silver Delaney. She takes up about 1/3 of the book. Peg gets a third, and her friend gets a third. I kinda wish Peg had more page time this round, but that’s neither here nor there. To understand the intricacies of the mystery, it’s good to have the other perspectives.
I want more page time for Peg’s grandfather too.
I enjoy the fact that not everything is peachy keen in Peg’s life. That makes her more realistic.
Unfortunately, I also didn’t like Silver Delaney or the fact that she gets away with being a liar, a thief, a con artist, etc. She had a rough upbringing. For some reason, this is the second book I’ve heard recently that uses that card for explaining somebody’s less-than-admirable behavior.
Amy Otteson’s performances get better with each book. She’s settled into the character nicely. She doesn’t have great range of voices b/t books, but within each book, you’ll never have a problem telling who’s who.

Conclusion:

I’m sure poor Peg will have many more adventures. If you’re looking for small town police procedurals, you can’t go wrong with Pegasus Quincy. The stories can be read out of order, but they’re probably better in order.

Associate links to follow…

Note: I’m starting to use a few ad sites for audiobooks, so codes are disappearing quickly.

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything. That will change very soon.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.

Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.

Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.

Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.

Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Movie Reviews 4/5 Stars: Cold Pursuit

February 25, 2019February 22, 2019 Julie Gilbert Movie Reviews, suspense, thriller Cold Pursuit, Laura Dern, Liam Neeson, revenge, Tom Bateman

*Spoilers will be after the Ads

Summary:

Liam Neeson plays Nels Coxman whose son Kyle gets killed because of a drug thing he probably wasn’t even involved in.

Additional Comments:

– It reminded me of Bad Times at the El Royale. (More on that later.)

– Liam Neeson often plays these sorts of characters. One man vs. the world sorts of tales.

– Random – I feel like I’ve seen Tom Bateman (Trevor “Viking” Calcote) before, but I totally can’t remember where. I checked his Rotten Tomatoes page and still come up blank. Weird.

– Emmy Rosum plays Kim Dash, a young, idealistic cop in the small town.

– Humor 4/5 stars: Their humor is dark but hilarious at times.

– Story 4/5 stars: It’s a pretty straightforward story, but they manage to throw in a few twists and heart-tuggy moments.

– I enjoyed the fact that it didn’t rely on curse words to carry the dialogue. Little moments mattered to the plot too. That was cool to see.

Conclusion:

It’s worth seeing eventually. Not sure it’s a “must see in theaters” type flick, but if you like twisty tales of revenge with murder and mayhem as part of the package deal, this is for you.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

Free Kindle Reading App<iframe style="border: none;" src="//rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?o=1&p=12&l=ur1&category=kindlereadingapps&banner=1P3YWVYE8G217EXN4182&f=ifr&lc=pf4&linkID=f01aa285daaa206ccf8013117f7ae99a&t=juliecgilbe05-20&tracking_id=juliecgilbe05-20" width="300" height="250" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no">

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Spoiler Section:

– What made it feel like Bad Times at the El Royale? Well, they weren’t afraid to kill off characters. I also think they made some of the same directing choices in terms of how they told the story.

– The way they chose to show who died was awesome. It’s a little cross or symbol that represents them well with their name and nickname on a black screen. I laughed out loud when the credits page rolled up with “In order of disappearance.”

– This is definitely a movie where you’re going to lose track of the body count.

– Viking’s obsession with health and correcting the dude’s grammar was kind of funny.