#tropicdescent #natevancoops #scottbrick #greatbigbeautifullife #emilyhenry #juliawhelan #blank #zibbyowens #sharonfreedman #thehoneymoon #shaliniboland #clarecorbett
I debated for a while over what sort of listens I wanted to include for the month of May. Should I do Beach Reads? No, it’s not quite beach season. Should I do military themes since the month includes Memorial Day? I’ve already done that one a couple of times, so, no to that. Should I do new releases? There are a lot of intriguing titles that have just come out. What about debut novels? Those can be great successes or they can be flops. Should I just stick to what I know best – the creepy, terrifying, inexplicable world of psychological thrillers? Too many choices bring you the assortment for this month: the second book in a new series with a former Blackhawk pilot as the protagonist represents the military theme, a new release by a favorite author followed by a debut novel fill those two slots, and, of course, there is the requisite tale where the psychos come out to play.
Written by Nate Van Coops
Narrated by Scott Brick
Our hero, Luke Angel from Tropic Angel, is at it again. He can’t seem to live a routine life and engage in his air transport business without getting into some kind of trouble. This time he is on a routine flight with his buddy Tyson delivering supplies to an island in the Bahamas when he is diverted by a call to assist with a plane that has gone down. What he finds when he locates the plane is a dead pilot and an injured passenger. This drama is just an introduction to what he finds as he further assists with the downed plane. We have famous people, rich people, and unscrupulous people and, as Luke finds himself reluctantly drawn into the island dynamic, the biggest discovery remains to be found. Sunlit Island isn’t just another beautiful tropical island but the center of a very lucrative and diabolical business for the previously mentioned unscrupulous people. As with author Nate Van Coops‘ first book in this series, there is a lot of humor and there are some fascinating characters. There are also plot twists and an unexpected ending. Scott Brick’s performance keeps the action moving and the characters intriguing. Tropic Descent is a great follow-up for book #1 Tropic Angel.
By Emily Henry
Narrated by Julia Whelan
Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson are both writers, and Margaret Ives is one of the last survivors of an iconic family. Margaret led a life of celebrity before the death of her equally famous musician husband at which time, Margaret vanished from public life amidst rumors and speculation. Now, for some reason, she has forsaken her reclusive lifestyle and may want to tell her story to either Alice or Hayden. Hayden is a very serious Pulitzer Prize winning biographer and Alice is a journalist for Scratch, a very non-serious tabloid. Margaret agrees to give each of them a month’s trial after which she will choose the one to write her book … but there’s a catch: the two writers are bound by an ironclad NDA which prevents them from sharing information with each other about their interviews. Problematic? Maybe. Not only is Margaret herself a puzzle, but is she giving the real story to either of the writers? Problem two is Alice and Hayden like each other. A lot. And problem three is will they be able to salvage their budding relationship when Margaret chooses one of them to be her biographer? Great Big Beautiful Life is Emily Henry at her best with a captivating storyline, a sweet romance, and enough twists to rival any thriller. Of course, the icing on this audible cake is Julia Whelan’s narration. Go to the beach, if you can, and take this one with you!
By Zibby Owens
Narrated by Sharon Freedman
I’m not one of those snooty people who only reads or listens to bestsellers (some of the worst books I’ve read were promoted as bestsellers) or books by well-known authors or familiar authors. I love a good debut novel … I’ve even loved a few mediocre debut novels for their creativity and courage in subject matter. Blank by Zibby Owens is a debut novel, and even though there were times when “new author” screamed from the pages, I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, it was original, and most of all I really wanted the very best outcome for the characters. Pippa Jones is suffering from the bane of any author’s existence – writer’s block. It doesn’t help that she’s a debut author hoping not to be a one-hit wonder. When another writer promotes a new book with the exact plot Pippa was about to use for her second book, she lapses into a funk. With no plot, no ideas, and a publisher breathing down her neck, will the seemingly unusable title suggested by her 12-year-old son be her salvation? Is her entire life about to implode along with her career? Sharon Freedman is a new narrator for me, and I found her performance to be just right for Ms Owens characters. Blank is definitely a month’s end palate cleanser I wish I had listened to after The Honeymoon!
By Shalini Boland
Narrated by Clare Corbett
I know I’ve said this before, so please indulge me as I repeat myself … you absolutely will not know how The Honeymoon ends until THE END. Oh, it’s not so much that it’s shocking, surprising, or mind-blowing. It’s that Shalini Boland seems to decide every few minutes that this or that ending would be better and just does a total flip flop! I love an agile mind that can turn on a dime and change everything you thought you knew about a storyline. Stella and Austin have overcome every obstacle in their relationship and have finally embarked on the perfect honeymoon after the perfect wedding. Can you imagine your new husband just vanishing on the first night of your honeymoon? Can you imagine finding that the man you loved and thought you knew has a secret life? Can you imagine how you would feel to discover that a long term relationship has been a total lie? Maybe my years of being engaged with psychos has made me jaded, but I often find myself siding with the bad guys, and sometimes the biggest mystery in psychological thrillers is figuring out exactly who the bad guys are! Keep your mind open as narrator Clare Corbett shares Stella’s inner most thoughts while she navigates the “then” and the “now” in this twisted tale. As I said before, you won’t know the end until the end.
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