Discover Popular Authors Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

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Title: Hardball

Author: Sara Paretsky

Narrator: Susan Ericksen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-22-09

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 363 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

Chicago's unique brand of ball is 16-inch slow pitch, played in leagues all over the city for more than a century. But in politics, in business, and in law enforcement, the game is hardball.

When V. I. Warshawski is asked to find Lamont Gadsden, a man who's been missing for four decades, a search that she figured would be futile turns lethal. Old skeletons from the city's racially charged history, as well as haunting family secrets - her own and those of the elderly sisters who hired her - rise up to brush her back from the plate with a vengeance.

To complicate matters, Petra, a young cousin whom V.I. has never met, arrives from Kansas City to work on a political campaign. It does not take long for the high-spirited yet likable Petra to win over V.I.'s affections. When Petra goes missing after a break-in at the office, V.I. is determined to find her beloved cousin.

As the search to locate Petra becomes more desperate, V.I. is also having difficulties tracking down Lamont Gadsden. Unable to catch a break, she learns that a nun who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., has died before she can reveal crucial evidence. V.I. herself almost dies in a blazing fire, and new information has emerged about her father's role in a politically and racially charged trial almost 40 years ago. Afraid to discover that her adored father might have been a bent cop, V.I. takes the investigation all the way to its frightening end.

©2009 Sara Paretsky; (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Members Reviews:

Weak Start, Strong End

The first five hours of this audiobook find VI mawkishly wallowing in her memories. It's so boring I almost stopped listening. I'm glad I didn't. The book picks up steam in the sixth hour and Part Two speeds along in a satisfying manner. The ending was so good I even shed a tear, so I'm glad I persisted. But those five hours are just about half the book, and that's why, despite the stellar second part, I gave it three stars.

Perhaps more ardent fans of VI than I, won't find the first part as boring as I did.

The narrator is just OK. She uses the same voices for several characters, making it hard to understand who is saying what. Her voicing of Uncle Peter's temper tantrums grates on the ears.

I don't recommend this as a first read in the VI Warshawsky series.

So-so narrator and one AWFUL new character

I think there are two books here -- the one that includes Vic's obnoxious, terminally perky, lying cousin Petra, whom everyone else adores (shades of All About Eve?) and the blissful portions of the book when Petra has disappeared (we hope never to return). I found the first part of the book so tedious, and then when Petra disappeared and Vic actually got to do some great investigating, I remembered why I love this writer and this series. The narrator only accentuates the novel's flaws -- her Vic is either calm or shrilly furious, with no nuances. Petra is a whiny Valley Girl, her father roars all the time (that may be how the character is written, but it's like being screamed at) and Lottie -- who must be in her 70s or 80s and is European -- sounds as young as Vic with an American accent.

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Title: The Arms Maker of Berlin

Author: Dan Fesperman

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-04-09

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

Key documents are still missing, however, and Nat believes Gordon has hidden them. The FBI agrees, and when Gordon is then found dead in jail, the Bureau dispatches Nat to track down the material, which has also caught the interest of several dangerous competitors. Following a trail of cryptic clues left behind by Gordon, and assisted by an attractive German academic with questionable motives, Nat's quest takes him to Bern and Berlin. His path soon crosses that of Kurt Bauer, an aging German arms merchant still hoarding his own wartime secrets. As their tales - and Gordon's - intersect across half a century, long-buried exploits of deceit, devotion and doomed resistance begin working their way to the surface. As the stakes rise, so do the risks.

Here is Dan Fesperman's most thrilling, unexpected, and satisfying novel yet.

Members Reviews:

Interesting read

Fesperman always mixes a bit of history in with his mysteries and this is no exception. This story takes place both in the present and in those difficult times in WWII Germany and Switzerland. The WWII scenes felt more believable than the current ones, but worth the read. The action was good and the tension palitable.

Ioved the book, hated the reader

This is a great story, well written. The reader tries to be too dramatic for my tastes. I almost gave up twice (because of the reader) but glad I stuck it out.

Could not make it to the end

What would have made The Arms Maker of Berlin better?

I am not sure if this was a good story or not - I could not listen to Dick Hill's mannered reading anymore. If you listened to him as Wallander, then you will hear the exact same tone, intonation, and style for every character in this book.

Good stuff

This was my first Dan Fesperman book. It perhaps lacks the edginess of, say, John Le Carre's best spy-thriller books, particularly in the denouement, but it is nevertheless very well written with an intriguing plot and likeable and well drawn characters; I certainly will be tempted to try the author's other books. Dick Hill' narration captures the author's tone brilliantly, his judgement of pace is perfect and he draws the characters just right - a very enjoyable audiobook.

An absolute must!

This books starts of a little slow but after a few minutes you are hooked and just want to listen and listen and listen. The narration is superb and I now intend to listen to other books by this narrator. I did not want this book to finish whilst at the same time needing to know what happens. I am not going to give away the plot but this is a book I would highly recommend and would give it 100 stars if such a rating was availble.

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Title: The Genesis Code

Author: John Case

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-28-09

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 168 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

In a suburb of Washington, D.C., Joe Lassiter's only sister and her young son have been killed in a sudden fire that engulfs their home. The police believe it was arson; they soon discover that mother and child were brutally murdered before the blaze was set.

As Lassiter tries to find out why they were killed, he comes to believe others may have been murdered in similar fashion. And still more people may die if he cannot discover the elusive connection that links the innocent victims together.

Critic Reviews:

"You'll probably guess what's behind the murders of mothers and their very young sons long before investigator Joe Lassiter does, but that shouldn't spoil your enjoyment of this exciting and thoughtful new thriller that mixes science and faith in with its action. Lassiter's own sister and beloved nephew are among the victims, who were all patients at an Italian fertility clinic run by a doctor with some unusual ideas about DNA. Why this catches the attention of a dangerous religious order, and whether Lassiter can save one surviving woman and child from their wrath, should take up a good part of your night." (Amazon.com review)

Members Reviews:

Not bad, but not great, either

The ending won't come as a shocking surprise, because you'll figure out why people are dying about an hour into the book, but regardless, I enjoy John Case's writing, so I give it three stars. A perfectly credit-worthy listen, if you have a credit going stale.

Better than DaVinci Code

Excellent narration by Dick Hill. The writing is much stronger than "DaVinci Code", and avoids the cliche-filled dialogue that plagues the suspense genre (e.g. "First to Kill"). This book came out in 1995, so many technologies weren't around ... kinda neat to look back a little bit.

Amazing Audio Read!!!

It is amazing how a book written close to 20 years ago can be so good and not dated. This story was fast pace and never had a dull moment. I also loved how it was able to close up all the loose ends without needing a part 2 or 3 like so many books these days. I highly recommend this book and will purchase his other book too!!! Better than Dan Brown, and I like Dan Brown. After, experiencing this book, I think John Case clearly leads the pack!!!

Just ok. The narrator put me asleep sometimes.

The story read like a manual at times. Not sure if it was the narrators fault or the stories. Either way it wasn't the page turner I was hoping for and expected.

A solid listen

The book was a little better than I expected it to be. The comparisons to Dan Brown are inevitable; this is a far better-written book. The premise was decent enough, though you won't be the least surprised by the big reveal at the end. In fact, you'll be rolling your eyes wondering why Joe Lassiter can't add two and two.The last few chapters are kinda jammed with new characters and action, making me think the pacing was a little off... I'd like to have met a couple of those characters slightly earlier. (And the names of the two major characters introduced at the end are almost a bad joke, but it works fine really.) Dick Hill does a very good job with his narration, as usual, though frankly I might have made a different choice for such an accent-heavy book (not Hill's strong suit, in my opinion).

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Title: Gone For Good

Author: Harlan Coben

Narrator: Tim Machin

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-11-08

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

Will has tried to get on with his life in the intervening years. He has a beautiful new girlfriend, Sheila, and a job working with the homeless. But when his mother reveals on her deathbed that Ken is still alive, and shortly afterwards Sheila disappears, the cracks start to show in his landscape again. But it is only when he finds that Sheila herself is wanted for a savage double-murder that his life actually starts to fall apart...

Members Reviews:

OK but not outstanding

I loved the first third of this book. It caught my imagination and I found myself wanting to listen late into the night to find out what happened. The narrator was pretty good too, not over-doing the accents, and making the main "bad guy" really quite creepy. I was really looking forward to the anticipated slow-burn climax which left me surprised. Sadly I began to find myself rolling my eyes at the overly soppy, frankly cringe-making romance which made up a significant part of the middle and last third. I also found the main character very irritating towards the end of the novel; their constant references to themselves being a weak, spineless individual didn't endear them to me at all by the end, I found myself nodding and agreeing with them, growling at my speakers " yes, I know you are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, I don't need you to tell me so... again". The climax was just too convenient. It felt a little bit like the author was trying to smash five different storylines into one novel and in doing so, left it all a bit muddled, unsubstantiated and... well, just convenient. Like the "long lost cousin from Outer Mongolia" appearing in the last chapter of a cheap airport read and explaining away all the strange happenings. After the hugely promising start, I was left feeling dissatisfied and irritated. It's put me off other Harlan Coben books if I'm honest as I don't want to be left feeling let down again!

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Title: A Case of Exploding Mangoes

Author: Mohammed Hanif

Narrator: Paul Bhattacharjee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-07-08

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is the story of one such plane. Why did a Hercules C130, the world's sturdiest aircraft, carrying Pakistan's military dictator General Zia ul Haq, go down on 17 August, 1988?

Was it because of: mechanical failure; human error; the CIA's impatience; a blind woman's curse; generals not happy with their pension plans; the mango season? Or could it be your narrator, Ali Shigri?

Teasing, provocative, and very funny, Mohammed Hanif's debut novel takes one of the subcontinent's enduring mysteries and out if it spins a tale as rich and colourful as a beggar's dream.

Members Reviews:

Time Capsule

I was a kid growing up in India when Pakistan's president Zia Ul Haq was killed in an airplane crash, and the event was a huge news item of the time. I still have the echoes of that news somewhere in my back pocket. Finding this book was brilliant on that front but I noted that even if I was not aware of the whole incident I'd had enjoyed the book equally because the book is written with excellent pace and great character development.

The narration gives soul to the book and makes is unputdownable. An excellent little piece of work.

Starts well but then drones on and on

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The last few chapters are unnecessary and seem to indicate the author's inability to end the story.

Any additional comments?

Hilarious otherwise. Its rare to come across a book that makes you laugh.

An absolute pleasurable presentation of facts wrapped in humour

The narrator gave life to the characters with as pert performance of accents, tone, language, idiosyncrasies of character and personalities.

The author was very good at the military terminology and representation of the characters to their real life personalities. I say this because many of these were known to my parent's personally and I lived in Pakistan at the time.

Some of the sexual details of two characters, I found to be in bad taste.

whatever happened to blind Zenab?

Would you listen to A Case of Exploding Mangoes again? Why?

I never listen to books more than once

What did you like best about this story?

I could feel the heat of the sun and the tension in the air. great story, well told well read. I want to visit Pakistan now!

What does Paul Bhattacharjee bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you had only read the book?

His voice and accent fitted the story and enriched my experience

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The very surprising love scene...no spoilers

Any additional comments?

I am still captivated by the story one week after finishing it, it made my trips to work in the car fly by

Splendid

Entirely believable tale of Pakistani life under the first post-colonial military rule, written from the perspective of the leader and a lowly member of the military who has reason to bear a grudge. A beautifully written, gently and cleverly funny story.

The narration was pitch perfect for the characters and for the pace and style of the writing.

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Title: The Best Revenge

Author: Stephen White

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-02-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 100 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

FBI special agent Kelda James is a hero, a woman who, as a rookie agent, made a choice, saving one life by taking another. Now Kelda is hiding from the world a secret pain that is gradually crippling her body - and she has turned to Alan Gregory to help her be free from the prison of her pain. Then Kelda refers a patient to Gregory, who is terrifyingly dangerous to them both.

Tom Clone served 13 years on Colorado's death row for a crime he claimed he didn't commit - until an FBI agent dug up evidence that set him free. The agent's name: Kelda Jones. With both Kelda and Clone telling him their innermost secrets, Alan Gregory becomes the one person who can piece together an extraordinary puzzle - of two unsolved violent deaths of vulnerable women, of a man who may be innocent or may be very lucky, and of the strange, fatal attraction between two people trapped in a horrific plot to get revenge - at any price.

Members Reviews:

Starts good, ends in insanity.

Not even close to Stephen White's earlier books in quality -- characters are so muddled, everybody so confused, it's hard to tolerate. Bad cops, bad FBI agents, then good cops, mysterious men living alone in the forest, with menace everywhere, and everyone -- most certainly including Dr. Gregory himself -- making so many stupid decisions that you start to wonder how he managed to survive this long.

Oh -- and that shtick where Dr. Alan Gregory carries on and on and on ... and on... about what he can, or should, disclose about his patients? When either they or someone else is in deep doo-doo? Geez, that's getting old. We get it, Dr. Gregory. No need to detail your anguished mental processes ad infinitum over the matter every single time. It's starting to reek of "filler".

This story line was a problem for narrator Dick Hill, too -- who, as one of the audiobook industry's old stalwarts, should know better. There's one character who -- trying not to disclose a spoiler of any kind, here -- is attacked by bees, and is stung all over, including inside his mouth, which renders his speech muffled, incomprehensible and in general, hard to understand. Unfortunately, this character also shouts a lot. The problem is, Hill seems to feel the need to read these parts with absolute accuracy -- or at least what we assume a character like that WOULD sound like, with a bee-stung mouth. It becomes painful to listen to -- on and on, this horrible mutilated voice, shouting things it's difficult to understand. All of this consumes at least 45 minutes of the book, then on and off again to the end. This isn't the first time Hill did this -- he used that same "horrible mouth injury" voice in one of the Lee Child books, too, "A Wanted Man", I think. I almost had to turn it off there, too. It's just very unpleasant to listen to.

Narrators should exercise some common sense, it seems to me. There should be some balance between letting us know that a character is injured, without making the voice so painful to listen to that it scorches the ears. Dick Hill, at least in these two books, is giving us way too much accuracy. It doesn't help the books he's reading, it makes it hard to tolerate.

Best advice, for Best Revenge? Skip it, stick with the earlier Stephen Whites. When he's good, he's very very good.

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Title: Catch Me When I Fall

Author: Nicci French

Narrator: Anne Flosnik

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-27-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 41 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

But that's only one side of Holly. The other takes regular walks on the wild side and is making reckless mistakes.

When the two sides of Holly's life collide, her world quickly spirals out of control. She thinks she's being stalked, that someone is trying to extort money from her, and that threats lurk around every corner. Soon the people closest to her are running out of patience...

But are her fears due to paranoia and illness, or is the danger real?

And if Holly's judgment and mental health are not sound, who will catch her when she falls?

Members Reviews:

Unpleasant protagonist

Didn't finish this one. The female protagonist is so unpleasant that I just couldn't spend any more time with her.

Another ' must listen ' story by Nicci French

Would you consider the audio edition of Catch Me When I Fall to be better than the print version?

n/a

What did you like best about this story?

I like the characters , their development and how the authors present them, as if we are listening to them, inside their heads

What about Anne Flosniks performance did you like?

Ms Flosnik is excellent. Fantastic work on various character voices.

Any additional comments?

I would like to give this story a 4.5. It is not as fantastic as Secret Smile. Still, Catch Me is highly recommended.

Diappointing and very irritating

I've enjoyed a number of the Nicci French writing-partnership's books but was disappointed by this one. I only carried on listening because it was the only book I had on my iPod on a long walk and I like to listen to audio books as I go. I can suspend belief to a certain extent in crime/thrillers but this book just has too many assaults by different men on the "heroine"; her behaviour is too extreme; the descriptions of her psychiatric assessments are risible and the writing of the dialogue is so clunky with hundreds of superfluous uses of "she said", "he said" that I found very irritating and spoiled the flow of the story. I must have listened at least 150 audio books and this is one of the least enjoyable. Not recommended.

Exellent gripping story

Very good audio book. Gripping plot. Love the way the first half is told by one character , the main character Holly, and the second half by someone else, as this gives a totally different perspective and even reality to some of the events described in first half. I wont spoil the plot for those that dont know this story by revealing any more here!

Having read the book many years ago wasnt sure how it would work as audio; it works well. I couldnt stop listening to it!

Narrator is good on the whole, definatley reads female characters better than male ones in my opinion. Male ones can sound a bit stiff and robotic.

The description of Hollys accelerating mental decline is very sympathetic.

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Title: Darkside

Author: P. T. Deutermann

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-04-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 308 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

Julie's father, Ev, an Annapolis graduate who is now a professor there, fears his daughter will be blamed by the "Darkside" - the bureaucracy that wants to protect the academy at all costs from scandal. Then there's another death, and the beautiful grounds and impregnable traditions of Annapolis are revealed as the hiding place for a relentless predator who can no longer control an impulse to kill.

Critic Reviews:

"Deutermann's latest - a tense mystery set in and around the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis - is sleek, sharp and scary." (Publishers Weekly)

"Hill is at his best when voicing the sinister musings of the monster no one suspects." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Darkside is worth your credit

What was one of the most memorable moments of Darkside?

The ending - WOW!!!! This was totally unexpected!

What about Dick Hills performance did you like?

The entire narration was Excellent as always. Dick Hill is one of my favorites.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending, I was dumbstruck.

Any additional comments?

I hesitated on this book for a long time because of some of the negative comments that were left. I guess it everybody's own taste but I thought this was absolutely fantastic and will probably listen to this one again.

Talk about edge of your seat!

This was THE most exciting audio book I've yet heard.

The narrator Dick Hill, even though not the best I've heard at producing distinctly different voices for the various characters, his level of intensity throughout the story in general was excellent.

The story...hmmm, well, since I was in the Navy myself, was very interesting.

This audio book was so intense, it kept me up nearly all night because I couldn't turn it off.

Engaging

Darkside is an exciting trip into what one can only hope is mostly fictional version of the Naval Academy. The reader is taken to a fictional (again one hopes) worst case scenario of all of the rules, regs and traditions of the academy applied to effect deceit, cover-up and CYA. I found it very entertaining and engaging. It was hard to turn off!!

Darkside

The Naval Academy life, history, philosophy, is a good read, especially for anyone unfamiliar with that environment.

Very enjoyable murder-mystery story and reader.

Not bad, Not bad at all...

I found Darkside to be quite enjoyable, although I would not say it was great. It DOES paint a detailed picture of life at the Navel Academy and the philosophy that drives it. While the author admits to having taken some liberties with the underground features of the institution, he has done a fine job of describing and illustrating his intriguing story. The real surprise does not appear until the very end of the book. For some it will be a good ending, while others may find that it was a bit dark. However, like all murder mysteries, that darkness is inherent in the subject matter, so be prepared. It caught me completely off guard and changed the tenor of the entire tale. The narrator, Dick Hill, did a grand job. I will be looking for his name in other books. There is little here to NOT like, and a great deal to enjoy, so I would recommend this book to others without hesitating.

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Title: The Chardonnay Charade

Subtitle: A Wine Country Mystery

Author: Ellen Crosby

Narrator: Christine Marshall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-05-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

As the search for Georgia's killer escalates and grows more puzzling, Lucie crosses swords with her attractive but bull-headed winemaker, Quinn Santori, and confronts her own unwelcome feelings of jealousy over his new romance and job prospects. Then the suicide of a young vineyard worker appears to wrap up the murder investigation - or does it?

Critic Reviews:

"A highly satisfying new series." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

wishing there was more

I routinely listen to the lighter, "cozy Mysteries" as I putter in my garden, clean my house, cook and run my kids around. I love real true crime also but find it harder to follow if I can't fully concentrate on the story. With this being said, I really tried to like this story more because my husband and I go to Napa

once a year to gather our wine!! This story was just okay-- It didn't really ever pull me into the storyline. The characters weren't very strong and the plot, while interesting, just was missing something- - it wasn't meaty enough. I found my mind wandered and I would have to re-listen to it-- not a good sign. Other than lightly touching on vineyards and winemaking, the location could have been anywhere. I feel bad about saying this as I don't want to disrespect the author- I was just never hooked.. and I waited to get hooked- that's why I hung in there almost until the bitter end. I listened to about 4/5ths of it and just didn't really care how it would end so I stopped.

Slow Southern comfort-but nice

Southern accents, bits of history and several plot components make this a good cozy mystery. Not fast paced, but enjoyable.

If you can get past the narrator

I have listened to others in the series. This one is not the best one. I have a hard time with the narrator. Her very unnatural accent grates on my nerves. She also should have checked on some of her pronunciations before she started. I will continue to finish the series because they are easy uncomplicated stories that I can listen to while I am doing something else.

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Title: Ham Bones

Author: Carolyn Haines

Narrator: Kate Forbes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-29-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 56 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

Brisk as a mint julep on a hot summer afternoon, Carolyn Haines' best-selling mysteries, starring sassy Southern belle turned P.I. Sarah Booth Delaney, hook fans and have been honored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts. When a big New York theater production comes to Zinnia, Mississippi, murder takes center stage - and Sarah, it turns out, is the star suspect.

©2007 Carolyn Haines; (P)2007 Recorded Books

Members Reviews:

beginning of the decline

I've always been a voracious reader, and I try to reduce my spending on books by setting up alerts to notify me when the price goes down on books by authors I like. I'll then read the entire series including books I've read in the past. One of the authors I was tracking was Carolyn Haines. I'd read the first seven books in her Sarah Booth Delaney series in paperback, and was looking forward to revisiting those books as well as reading the more recent ones that I'd purchased. Well, the first six didn't disappoint. The southern charm and feistiness of the characters was as good as I remembered. I didn't enjoy this one as much. It was OK, but the killer's motivation was a stretch, and I didn't like the change in the SB/Coleman relationship. I then read the next four because I already owned them. I'd devoured each of the first ones in 1-2 sittings, but I found myself putting the later ones down after just a few minutes. It took me 4 days to read Bones of a Feather (#11). One thing that can be a problem when you read a series in a short period of time is that you pick up on errors and inconsistencies which I always find annoying. There weren't a lot, but the description of how SB acquired her dog was wrong in two different books. Also, a big part of one of the later books is the fact that SB can barely cook, but she was a great Southern cook in the earlier books. (I didn't grow up in Mississippi, but I come from a Southern family, and the cooking descriptions always brought back memories.) More importantly, though, is the writing became somewhat formulaic with the same phrases used to describe characters in book after book, and SB comes across as whiny and somewhat inept instead of strong and feisty. Also, the mystery plots become somewhat absurd. Once I find an author I like I rarely quit reading his or her books, but I'm not planning to rush out to buy #12 anytime soon.

An Awesome Series

The Sarah Booth Delaney series is absolutely awesome! The books are interesting with great storylines. I have read through nine books in the series and can hardly wait to start the next one. I love Carolyn Haines style AND, a biggie for me, is that there are no grammatical errors. The books come alive and I feel like Sarah, Tinkie, Jitty, and others are my special group of friends. With all the self-published books on Amazon, it is so wonderful to find an author who knows the art of writing. It is without hesitation that I wholeheartedly recommend the Sarah Booth Delaney books as I am sure that many of you will share my feeling about the author and her characters. Once I am finished with the series, I am going to jump into other books by Ms. Haines.

Great book, as usual, from this author.

I love all her books! This is a good one; I definitely recommend it.

Could not put this one down!

I am enjoying reading this series in order, and this might have been the best so far.