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Title: The Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Subtitle: A Debutante Dropout Mystery, Book 2

Author: Susan McBride

Narrator: Amy McFadden

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-13-15

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 38 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

In the second installment of Susan McBride's Debutante Dropout mystery series, Dallas heiress Andrea Kendricks must expose a high-society assassin...before she becomes the killer's next target.

Website designer and high-society rebel Andrea Kendricks would never have gotten involved with ego-in-pumps lifestyle hostess Marilee Mabry if it weren't for the underhanded machinations of Andy's upper-crust mama. But thanks to Mother Cissy, Andy's donning designer duds to attend a launch party at the intolerable domestic diva's new Dallas TV studio - and she's on hand to witness the celebration site go up in flames!

Then Andy finds Marilee's daughter, seemingly lifeless. Even though iron-willed Cissy isn't about to let her social calendar be upset by minor inconveniences like arson and possibly murder, her sometime-sleuthing daughter's got a more pressing engagement - namely, hunting down the culprit behind some very foul play.

But there are more than a few nasty messes tucked away in the Mabry closet - and a craven assassin who has the Big D elite quaking in their cowboy boots may soon be burying Andy in hers!

Members Reviews:

Amy McFadden is the perfect narrator

Amy McFadden is so perfect as Andy Kendricks. She has the voice that makes me feel I want to be best friends with her. She even thanks the reader for listening and she seems very sincere about it. The story line is another great one of the debutante drop out Andy, who is so emphatic. She cares about people and their problems and truly tries to help them. She enlists help from her socialite mom Cissy Kendricks, her boyfriend a lawyer, and others to help the ignored daughter of a Martha Stewert like tv maven.

Thought it was a great cozy mystery fun story

I would recommend this if you are in the mood for a fun easy listen, the characters are entertaining

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Title: A Body at Bunco

Subtitle: A Myrtle Clover Mystery, Book 8

Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

Narrator: Judy Blue

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-21-15

Publisher: Elizabeth Spann Craig

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover has never heard of the dice game Bunco. Regardless, she steps in as her daughter-in-law's sub and reluctantly puts her game face on.

Bunco turns out to be child's play. But when a body is discovered, Myrtle realizes another game is afoot. Before long, she's playing cat and mouse with the killer.

Can she track down the murderer before the game is up? Or, with the killer playing hard to get, will it end up being "no dice"?

Members Reviews:

Funny

Mrytle is one of my favorite characters in a cozy mystery. She is spunky, smart and unstoppable. I can't wait for the next book to be available on audible.

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Title: Bum Steer

Subtitle: Blanco County Mysteries Book 9

Author: Ben Rehder

Narrator: Robert King Ross

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-03-15

Publisher: Benjamin Michael Rehder

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

After a young woman and a bull are found dead in a dark pasture, Blanco County game warden John Marlin is asked to assist with the investigation. Was it a case of rustling gone wrong? Or maybe a prank turned deadly? Marlin hopes the woman's boyfriend can shed some light on the situation, but he's nowhere to be found. Is he on the run or did the woman's violent brother take matters into his own hands? Marlin and a special investigator - an old flame from his college days - join forces to see past the bull and discover the truth.

Members Reviews:

Please please please bring back Jonathan Davis!

Got hooked on series when Jonathan Davis was the reader. The current reader, RK Ross, just does accents. Davis brought characters to life. This book another fun story from Rehder. All the fun and nuance ruined and lost by the reader.

Narrator does not serve Rehder well

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

In print yes not audible

What other book might you compare Bum Steer to and why?

Any Rehder book. Sharp funny.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He makes the law enforcement officers sound slow and stupid

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

No

Any additional comments?

None

Great book in a fun series!

What did you love best about Bum Steer?

Enjoyed the return of familiar and fun characters. Can never guess where these books are going.

What about Robert King Rosss performance did you like?

Narrator did a fantastic job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Book kept me occupied while working out. Made my workout time fly by!

Great Fun Read - Awful Narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of Bum Steer to be better than the print version?

Go Print... Ben Rehder always offers up a fun read with great characters and Bum Steer is no exception. However narrator Ross makes the characters sound inane and stupid.

What did you like best about this story?

The Blanco County series is always a trip home for me...

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Blanco Texas is a hour from Austin but narrator Ross makes these folks sound like silly hillbillies. The character voices sound like parodies of Captain Kirk, Bob Dylan and southeastern hillbillies. The females especially sound absurd with breathy voices and extended vowel pronunciations that no one from Texas uses.. Bring on a narrator that "talks Texan"

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Title: Hostage

Subtitle: Detective Jason Strong Clean Suspense, Book 11

Author: John C. Dalglish

Narrator: James Killavey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-04-15

Publisher: John C. Dalglish

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Jason and Vanessa are back with a new case and a big problem. They have a body but can't find the suspect, who may turn out to be another victim. Only through solid detective work will they come to understand the magnitude of the situation and how many more are suffering through the experience of being hostages.

Members Reviews:

Simplistic little suspense novella

I've liked the books to which I have listened in this series. Hostage suffers from a weak plot.

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Titel: Der nasse Fisch (Gereon Rath 1)

Autor:: Volker Kutscher

Erzähler: Sylvester Groth

Format: Abridged

Spieldauer: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 06-15-15

Herausgeber: Argon Verlag

Bewertung: 4 von 5 von 4 Stimmen

Kategorien: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Tanz auf dem Vulkan: Gereon Rath, neu in Berlin und abgestellt bei der Sitte, erlebt eine Stadt im Rausch und in Angst vor einer kommunistischen Revolte. Der junge ehrgeizige Kommissar schaltet sich ungefragt in die Ermittlungen der Mordkommission ein und stößt in ein Wespennest.

Mit diesem Roman beginnt eine sensationelle Serie, mit der Kutscher den Kriminalkommissar Rath durch das Berlin der 20er und frühen 30er Jahre und mitten in die politischen und gesellschaftlichen Umbrüche der Zeit schickt.

©2007 Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Köln (P)2009 Argon Verlag GmbH, Berlin

Mitglieder Bewertungen:

A Krimi set in Berlin in 1929

It is a police story with a thick cover in a Berlin setting in 1929. It has a Stieg Larsen feeling for the urban geography of Berlin, its streets, its night life, its dialect, its social milieu. Kirschner paints a good plot rich with characters in a late Weimar Republic climate of political and social forces. It could be more realistic....life in the fast lane in Berlin, in midnight clubs and restaurants would have expensive, rent should a burden, salaries pinched but , on the other, limits on modern life in Berlin do show through for the lower middle class of the police. The rich story telling of the detective story, however, did not quite come to a resolution that reaches a higher literature, rather it took a tv series like ending.

Amazing...

Amazing narrator! I cannot stop listening to this German original. Not sure if it is just the story, the way it is told, or both, but I cannot stop.

Spannend

Could not put it down,very interesting to read about pre war times in Berlin.

Amazing

This book is amazing. There's no other book that captures the athmosphere of Berlin in such a captivating way.

This is a must read !

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Title: Underdog

Subtitle: A Melanie Travis Mystery

Author: Laurien Berenson

Narrator: Jessica Almasy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Welcome to an elite Connecticut kennel club where shocking secrets gnaw at the best of the breed and competition has a sharp - and deadly - bite. As if raising her son Davey, training her rambunctious Poodle Faith for the show ring, and grooming fellow handler Sam Driver for romance aren't enough, Melanie Travis's entre into the exclusive Belle Haven Kennel Club has been met with a grisly murder. Unfortunately, the only witnesses to the crime were the victim's startled pair of Beagles. And they aren't talking - Melanie hadn't intended to do any serious snooping, what with coping with the unexpected arrival of an ex-husband out to get joint custody of the son he's never known. In need of some serious distraction, she's off to sniff out dangerous secrets - only to discover that everyone at Belle Haven has something damning to hide.As the shocking truth slowly comes to light - and her own domestic drama moves center stage - Melanie finds herself eager to put the bite on a dogged killer who's desperate enough to strike again.

Critic Reviews:

"A story as controlled as a well-behaved dog on a lead." (Publishers Weekly)

"Don't make me sit up and beg. Read this book today." (Dorothy Cannell)

Members Reviews:

Narrator pacing is just a little to fast

Is there anything you would change about this book?

If I could play this audiobook at .90 speed, it would be perfect. The narration pacing seems really rushed, like the narrator can barely breathe. The narrator doesn't have a vast range: the one African American character sounds exactly like the white main character. Actually I also though the narrator sounded really young and squeaky. But that could just be me. I've just finished listening to Grover Gardener read all the Andy Carpenter mystery, and this is very very different from his narration.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

No. narration was too rushed.

Story good - narrator awful

Would you listen to Underdog again? Why?

Yes, I often listen to or read books more than once.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Underdog?

Not exactly a "moment" - I enjoy the knowledgible way the dog world is depicted and Aunt Peg's character is a hoot.

How could the performance have been better?

Get another narrator! This woman's voice is high, "little girlish" and irritating and way too fast. I've never before had to put an audiobook on a slower play speed.

Any additional comments?

I will continue to enjoy the book series in spite of the narrator.

Fun and entertaining

This was a very good cozy mystery. It has well developed characters, a charming setting, and a mystery with enough twists and turns to keep the plot moving at a fast pace. I can't wait for the next one.

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Title: Bryant & May - The Burning Man

Author: Christopher Fowler

Narrator: Tim Goodman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-15

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 96 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

A banking scandal has filled the city with violent protests, and a young homeless man burns to death after being caught between rioters and the police.

But all is not as it seems; an opportunistic killer is using the chaos to exact revenge. Arthur Bryant and John May soon find their investigation taking an apocalyptic turn as the case comes to involve the history of mob rule, corruption, punishment, and the legend of Guy Fawkes.

Critic Reviews:

"One of our most unorthodox and entertaining writers." (Sunday Telegraph)

Members Reviews:

A Mystery Masterpiece

Mr. Fowler has done it once again, producing his most intricate and engaging book in this fabulous series. Bryant & May captured my heart and mind from the first novel.These are my favorite books in this genre ever! If you want a read that reaches out from the pages and pulls you into the story, The Burning Man is right up your alley. The characters are hugely multidimensional and interesting - and not only Bryant & May. Their cadre of colleagues, superiors, friends, consulting oddballs and others are never given short shrift by the author: they emerge as the essential glue that holds the plot together. Twists and turns abound - just when I thought I had figured things out, I was surprised. Love this quality about Mr Fowler's writing. I admit to sobbing at the end. Please, please, please don't let this be the last in this brilliant series. I will be truly heartbroken if it is.

Another Fantastic Bryant and May Book

Any additional comments?

I Love this whole series and have listened to all the books several times. Such a quirky British detective series with London being the back drop to all the adventures of the peculiar crimes unit. Tim Goodman does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life and I am feeling a bit wobbly and bereft tonight as I finished the burning Man . If You haven't tried this series the books are stand alone but I would recommend reading them in order .

Don't make this the last Bryant and May!!

As a listener to the wonderful audio performances of this series, I am hoping that there will be more! Without spoiling it for others, upon finishing this book just now it seemed possible that there may not be. Dear Christopher Fowler, please, please, please write more. The characters are wonderful. The quality of their conversations and their astute observations on the lunacy of modern life are non-existent in any other writer's work. Where will you readers go to find such spot on social commentary in the guise of fiction if this series doesn't continue? I sometimes find myself repeating sentences played on my phone during a run so I can remember them to share with others because they so perfectly assess a modern social issue. This particular book was brilliant in that regard and I am hopeful more will follow with the same cast of characters that I adore.

Loved the performance but...

Would you try another book from Christopher Fowler and/or Tim Goodman?

Tim Goodman is excellent!!

Would you recommend Bryant & May - The Burning Man to your friends? Why or why not?

This is the second book I have purchased by Christopher Fowler. The narration is excellent. I also love the bits of historical facts, makes the story even more interesting. Why I will not purchase another is the political push that is included.

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Title: The Four Last Things

Subtitle: The Simeon Grist Mysteries, Book 2

Author: Timothy Hallinan

Narrator: Keith Szarabajka

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 04-17-15

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Edgar Award finalist Timothy Hallinan continues his six-book Simeon Grist series with this white-knuckle mystery - a must-listen for fans of Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels.

Simeon Grist knows LA inside and out - the sex for sale, the chic seductions, every rip-off from City Hall to Venice. So when he's hired by a Hollywood recording company to shadow one Sally Oldfield, suspected of embezzlement, Grist discovers she's entangled in the Church of the Eternal Moment - a million-dollar religious scam built around a 12-year-old channeler and the voice of a man who has been dead for a millennium. When Sally turns up dead, Simeon knows he's become the next target of a very flesh-and-blood entity waiting in the back alleys of sin and salvation. Grist may get a brutal look at the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell - revelations he could definitely live without.

Members Reviews:

This was a great story!

For awhile, this book seemed almost timeless -- the main character seemed so 1950's "hard-boiled" detective and a lot of the general descriptions seemed to be post WW-II Los Angeles. Only later is there mention of more recent (1970-1980) dates, which may have been unnecessary. The timelessness could have served well.

A church organization as the antagonist gave opportunity for discussions among the characters about the nature of religion. This was mostly not too heavy-handed (I only skipped forward once). I kept thinking that maybe there was supposed to be a parallel to Scientology.

The sadistic descriptions were held to a minimum and there weren't too many deaths, though there were lots of well-described fights. D. Smif was a great comic relief.

I really liked this book and look forward to another book by this author!

Not bad, but not as good as Junior Bender

I like Mr. Hallinan's books, having read all of his Junior Bender series. There are a lot of similarities between Simeon Grist and Junior: both operate in LA; both are detectives of sorts; both are smartasses; and both are funny. For some reason, however, I found this book less satisfying than the Junior Bender ones, and, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure exactly why. it seemed to bog down in the middle for me, and I'm not sure if that was me or the book. Be that as it may, either I or the book snapped out of it, and the first part of the book and the last make up for the middle in my opinion, although I can't give it a top rating. I'll give Simeon Grist #2 a try and see what I think, but I can recommend this one. although not whole-heartedly.

Hallinan aims high as he provides his own take on L.A. noir

The first book in the Simeon Grist series to be published, the Four Last Things shows author Hallinan's potential and is a worthy resident in the neighborhood of L.A. mysteries. Let's face it -- there are countless L.A. crime and mystery novels out there. However, the author gives us a sufficiently offbeat protagonist who is intelligent, caring and armed with witty observations -- about life in general and in Los Angeles, in particular, even in the face of daunting and sometimes grim situations.

Crazy & Fraudulent Religion

I enjoyed this book and learned some interesting things from it.

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Title: Murder on the Champ de Mars

Author: Cara Black

Narrator: Carine Montbertrand

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-06-15

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 32 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Paris, February 1998: Aimee Leduc has her work cut out for her - running her detective agency and fighting off sleep deprivation as she tries to be a good single mother to her new bebe. The last thing she has time for now is to take on a personal investigation for a poor manouche (French Gypsy) boy. But he insists his dying mother has an important secret she needs to tell Aimee, something to do with Aimee's father's unsolved murder a decade ago. How can she say no?

The dying woman's secret is even more dangerous than her son realized. When Aimee arrives at the hospital, the boy's mother has disappeared. She was far too sick to leave on her own - she must have been abducted. What does she know that is so important it is worth killing for? And will Aimee be able to find her before it is too late and the medication keeping her alive runs out?

Set in the seventh arrondissment, the quartier of the Parisian elite, Murder on the Champ de Mars takes us from the highest seats of power in the ministries and embassies through the city's private gardens and the homes of France's oldest aristocratic families. Aimee discovers more connections than she thought possible between the clandestine Gypsy world and the moneyed ancient regime, ultimately leading her to the truth behind her father's death. After all, for Aimee, murder is never far from home.

Members Reviews:

I did not like at all...

I have read all her books. I was excited for this one to come out and pre-ordered it. I was so disappointed. She covers the same ground AGAIN. I am so tired of Aimee and her father...she has drug this storyline around since book one and it is worn out....get over it and move on, and yes I have lost a parent, in fact 2 in 14 months, so I know what it is like, but really move on. And the back story of her baby and baby's father...ugh....just hated this book and probably will not purchase her next one. Sorry.

Good stories but...

I love all things French and I've read several books in this series. Overall, the stories are interesting and I like the way the author references specific locations and local customs. What bothers me is that story lines and characters are not consistent. I expected to see a series that unfolded as we grew to know Aimee's character from book 1 through book 14. I didn't read the books exactly in order but it's sort of confusing. Her father is dead in the early books, then he's back in book 14. Aimee meets Renee in book 14 but then I find that she's already in business with him in book 12. She's a private detective, then in later books she's thinking about possibly becoming one... Just not sure if/how the author has planned these stories.

Also, I just received Murder on the Champ de Mars in the mail today. Poor packaging/shipping, the book arrived all bent up. I think a new book should start out looking new!

Good But A Few To Many Holes...

I have enjoyed the Aimee Leduc series from the start, I expected a better understanding of the events that led to Aimee's fathers death, I felt there are still to many loose ends, and honestly, I am not even sure I understood the role her God father played, is he a good guy or a bad guy? So much seems to be blamed on corruption of the higher ups, and corruption in the past which is left a bit vague.

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Title: Motive

Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Narrator: Jeff Harding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-10-15

Publisher: Headline Digital

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Alex Delaware returns in a thrilling new case, featuring one of the most devious murderers ever conceived by New York Times No.1 bestseller Jonathan Kellerman.

Even hundreds of closed cases to his credit can't keep LAPD police lieutenant Milo Sturgis from agonising over the crimes that don't get solved - and the victims who go without justice. Victims like Katherine Hennepin, a young woman strangled and stabbed in her home. A single suspect with a solid alibi leads to a dead end - one even psychologist Alex Delaware's expert insight can't explain.

The only thing to do is move on to the next murder case - because there is always a next one. This time the victim is Ursula Corey, a successful, attractive divorcee who's been gunned down - not a robbery but an execution, a crime that smacks of simple, savage revenge. And along with that theoretical motive come two strong contenders for the role of suspect: the dead woman's business partner/ex-husband and her divorce lawyer/secret lover.

But just as Alex and Milo think they're zeroing in on the killer, a bizarre new clue stirs up echoes of the unsolved Hennepin murder. And the discovery of yet another crime scene bearing the same taunting signature raises the spectre of a serial killer on a mission, whose twisted method is exceeded only by his manipulative and cunning madness.

Members Reviews:

Reliable and predictable........

What was one of the most memorable moments of Motive?

The lack of memorable moments.

Which scene was your favorite?

Anything with Milo the detective in it. He's the only character with a fleshed out personality and Dr Alex Delaware acts as an good foil for the detective.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

everywhere and nowhere

Any additional comments?

Not up to the standard of Kellerman's past stories in the series. Too much going on that was never developed and seemed to be added just for padding. Maybe Dr Delaware is due for retirement.

Good but guessed it

Good performance, guessed who it was half way through though. Not predictable but managed to work it out. For a series bases around a psychologist not particularly in depth psychological analysis.

Good but not great

Good as always but not one of his best. Unfortunately, there were quite a few leaps and assumptions pulled from the air and not based on much. There was also less story than usual, but having said that, John Kellerman's medium is by far still one of the best around.

The real low was the narrator. Whatever happened to the excellent John Rubenstein? I'm afraid that the voices for both male and female characters really ruined the story for me.... Most of the men were shouting everytime they opened their mouthes and the women were even worse. They were made to sound nasally, aggressive,bored and whiney all at the same time. Quite an achievement actually....

I'm a huge fan, so I really wanted to love it, but the weak plot, the lack of charm or depth in any of the characters (both the regulars and the newcomers) and the irritating narration made this one score a below par 2.5 to 3 for me

good story -weak ending

initially the story is interesting but towards the middle and end it loses its way and tapers off to an anti climax.

Never disappointed.

I loved it Alex and Milo at their best. Can't wait for the next installment.