#narrator #landonbeach #scottbrick #bloodrelations #jonathanmoore #davidcolacci #lovebetrayalmurder #adammitzer #brianhutchison #bronsonpinchot #elizabethevans #nevercominghome #hannahmarymckinnon #alexwyndham
Here’s hoping the year 2023 has blessed you with many reasons to give thanks. Whether your reasons for thanksgiving are life-changing or as simple as the end of hurricane season – my perennial favorite, may your heart be filled with gratitude as we all move forward into the Christmas season. Many times my reasons for being grateful are the talent and creativity of the authors and narrators of the audiobooks I listen to. November’s books are quite a mixture starting with a book, appropriately enough, entitled Narrator. You’ll learn a lot about the recording process while listening to a compelling storyline. Next we’ll explore that disquieting world where people who should know better try to figure out how to live forever in Blood Relations. If you’ll remember, we decided in September that wasn’t such a good idea, and I doubt this offering will change your mind. Because you’ve been thoroughly educated in audiobook narration and DNA experimentation in books one and two, it’s now time for the totally creepy psychos to present themselves in Love Betrayal Murder, closely followed by Never Coming Home which is not my usual palate cleanser but does feature a lovable psycho who will leave you with a smile on your face. Now aren’t you curious about that one????
Narrator
By Landon Beach
Narrated by Scott Brick
What could be a more appropriate title for an audiobook included in my monthly reviews than Narrator? Author Landon Beach begins by dedicating this book to an award winning real-life narrator, Scott Brick, who just happens to be the narrator of Narrator, and I’m going to promise not to use the word “narrator” again. Shawn Frost has reinvented himself as an artist when his career as an actor and playwright is destroyed by his drug addiction. With the support of family, friends, and therapy, he is experiencing success in his audiobook performances and finds himself in the running for a prestigious Audie award. This is where everything implodes for Shawn once more and the psychological thriller aspect of the book kicks in. Shawn is kidnapped and forced to read his captor’s book which is about – you guessed it – an audiobook performance artist! But wait! Who is this mysterious kidnapper, and what is his or her end game? Why Shawn? There are many twists and turns as we navigate this book and you won’t feel confident about the ending until the final moments. Scott Brick’s performance is impeccable and, in the course of listening, you will hear many details about what the world of those who give us so much joy by reading to us is like – their preparation, their environment, their work habits. If you are one of those people who loves knowing how things work, this is the book for you.
Blood Relations
By Jonathan Moore
Narrated by David Colacci
Are you one of those people who loves reading or listening to books that totally creep you out? If so, I highly recommend Jonathan Moore’s Blood Relations. Do you ever think about donating eggs or sperm to a fertility clinic or offering up your DNA for research or experimentation? Or what about cloning if that were possible? Would you want there to be another you? PI Lee Crowe is that type of character who is the antihero of many of my favorite detective stories. He is a lawyer-fallen-from-grace who is now a PI helping practicing lawyers win their cases. When he discovers a body on top of a Rolls Royce while working on one of these cases, he finds himself in the middle of a bizarre investigation to discover who the corpse really is and how she got to be who she is. All will be revealed in due time, but not before Lee is swallowed up in the shady world of science that has run amok. David Colacci uses his considerable skills to help you navigate a storyline that will make you say “hmmm” the next time you see someone’s Doppelgänger!
Love Betrayal Murder
By Adam Mitzner
Narrated by Brian Hutchison, Bronson Pinchot, & Elizabeth Evans
If you enjoy traveling those long and winding roads that define a good legal thriller, then you are going to find all the elements you love in Love Betrayal Murder. You have an illicit affair, a wronged husband, a bunch of misogynistic good ole boys, a murder, and, obviously, a gripping court case. Top this smorgasbord off with “it coulda been the husband, it coulda been the lover, or it coulda been a random stranger because it’s New York City.” The only sympathetic character in this melodrama is a 4-year-old girl, and we are pretty sure she is innocent of any wrongdoing. This book qualifies for that title “nail biter.” Is the wrong person going to be found guilty? Is the guilty person going to go free? Is a parachute character going to drop down out of the sky and be convicted? Remarkably, my favorite character was the trial judge. Author Adam Mitzner blessed him with some of the best lines in the story. Love Betrayal Murder is the second book I’ve listened to recently where I was totally fooled as to the identity of the villain. Are writers getting more clever, or am I slipping? As to the villain’s motivation … that is one of those things that requires pondering long after the last lines are read. I’m not sure why three narrators were necessary, but Brian Hutchison, Bronson Pinchot, snd Elizabeth Evans each performed well and did nothing to detract from the author’s storyline.
Never Coming Home
By Hannah Mary McKinnon
Narrated by Alex Wyndham
Never Coming Home is a book I really liked, sort of loved, and changed my mind about several times before it tumbled to a conclusion. I had an opinion about how things would turn out about half-way through. And I was half-way right. That’s the point where author Hannah Mary McKinnon started messing with me and her other readers and listeners. Lucas Forester has a beautiful, rich wife, and he wants to get rid of her so he can inherit her money. Simple enough, right? Wrong! It’s just not that easy to get rid of someone even if you’re willing to pay, especially if you have a murky past, a passel of enemies, and your intended victim has a family who is not averse to hatching a plot of their own. Never assume you know what’s going on with this family or with Lucas or that you even know what the real motive is for this crime. In fact, never assume that you know there is a crime and what it is! I was skeptical about Alex Wyndham’s narration initially, but as the story progressed, I realized his semi-psycho, light-hearted delivery of Lucas’s character and the grisly events is perfect. If you choose to listen, you can get back to me on who you think the real psychos are in the story!!
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