UNLEASHED

Unleashed by Emily Kimelman
Book 1 of The Sydney Rye Mysteries series
Narrated by Sonja Field
Genre: chick flick crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Unleashed:

The Sydney Rye series of mysteries features a strong female protagonist and her rescue dog, Blue. This series is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don't mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome, rollicking good mystery!

When the series begins Sydney Rye is named Joy Humbolt. She does not like people telling her what to do, so it comes as no surprise that she was just fired from her last job. When she buys Charlene Miller's dog-walking business on Manhattan's exclusive upper east side, it seems like the perfect fit: Quiet environment, minimal contact with people.

But then one of her clients turns up dead, and Charlene disappears. Rumors say Charlene was having an affair with the victim — and of course, everyone assumes Joy must know where she is. Joy begins to look into the crime, first out of curiosity then out of anger when there is another murder and threats start to come her way.

When police detective Mulberry is assigned to the case, Joy finds a kindred spirit — cynical and none-too-fond of the human race. As they dig deep into the secrets of Manhattan's elite, they not only get closer to the killer but also to a point of no return. One last murder sends Joy Humbolt hurtling over the edge. Her only chance of survival is to become Sydney Rye.

Source: Info in the About Unleashed was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34219190-unleashed on 22/02/2019.

My Thoughts:

This is a soft chick flick crime fiction. So don't expect any hard boiled crime anything. The plot is good for a chick flick but not twisty or substantial enough for a true a crime fiction. And while we get our HEA (happily ever after) it left one main thread hanging. Which I think will be answered in subsequent books, I guess. The first chapter of the next is provided at the end of this book, so we know that the next book starts exactly where this book ended. Which gives a feel of just one big book chopped up into sections. I guess it is, for this series. At first I thought that this book has supernatural elements, but nope! Just pure chick lit crime fiction. So much like the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovitch.

This is my first Sonja Field listen and I like the way she reads. Her voice is also not aggravating to the ears. Kudos to the narrator!!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 4.5
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Meet The Author

About Emily Kimelman:

Emily Kimelman not only writes adventure, she lives it every day. Embodying the true meaning of wanderlust, she's written her Sydney Rye mysteries from all over the world. From the jungles of Costa Rica to the mountains of Spain, she finds inspiration for her stories in her own life.

While living under communist rule in the former Soviet Union, the KGB sprinkled her with "spy dust", a radioactive concoction that made her glow and left a trail they could follow. She was two.

She was destined for amazing things after that, and she continues to find adventure to inspire characters like the badass Sydney Rye.

Download the first Sydney Rye Thriller, Unleashed, for FREE on all major ebook platforms and join the adventure!

www.emilykimelman.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | pinterest | goodreads

Meet The Narrator

About Sonja Field:

Sonja is an American voice and accent coach based in London.

After graduating with a BFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon, Sonja worked for several years as a professional actor in theaters across the U.S. She then obtained an MFA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.

She has coached both students and teachers at Eton College, The National Opera Studio, the Royal College of Music, and professional theatre productions in London. She has worked with professionals across industries: from civil servants in Leeds, to founders of successful Silicon Valley start-ups, to Broadway performers.

Sonja has taught voice and accents at drama schools such as Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, ALRA, London College of Music, and E15.

In addition to coaching, Sonja is a professional voiceover artist and audiobook narrator.

www.sfvoiceandaccent.com | facebook | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The different formats of this book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

FAITHLESS IN DEATH

Faithless In Death by JD Robb
Book 52 of the In Death series
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Genre: scifi crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Faithless In Death:

In the new Eve Dallas police thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling author J. D. Robb, what looked like a lover's quarrel turned fatal has larger — and more terrifying — motives behind it...

The scene in the West Village studio appears to be classic crime-of-passion: two wine glasses by the bed, music playing, and a young sculptor named Ariel Byrd with the back of her head bashed in. But when Dallas tracks down the wealthy Upper East Side woman who called 911, the details don't add up. Gwen Huffman is wealthy, elegant, comforted by her handsome fiancé as she sheds tears over the trauma of finding the body — but why did it take an hour to report it? And why is she lying about little things?

As Eve and her team look into Gwen, her past, and the people around her, they find that the lies are about more than murder. As with sculpture, they need to chip away at the layers of deception to find the shape within — and soon they're getting the FBI involved in a case that involves a sinister, fanatical group and a stunning criminal conspiracy.

Source: Info in the "About Faithless In Death" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138105-faithless-in-death on 17/08/2021.

Buy Link(s):

 

Re-Read/Listen Review:

This is another typical "only Lt. Dallas knows who the perpetrator is" kinda book. That is a little tiring. But, this being a JD Robb book, it is still a good read.

As I was listening to Peabody working on her PPC to run Merit Andrew Caine, in Dallas's DLE Urban while Dallas drove on the way to Cop Central, Samsung's GalaxyZ Fold3 5G came to mind. This story is supposed to be futuristic. Science fiction. When the first book in this series came out in 1995, it was futuristic enough. Now, though, it does not feel futuristic anymore. It feels contemporary. The PPC is here. The science is no longer fiction.

Susan Ericksen is as wonderful as ever!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (13 hrs & 42 mins listening time)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

CONNECTIONS IN DEATH

Connections In Death by JD Robb
Book 48 of the In Death series
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Genre: scifi crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Connections In Death:

Homicide cop Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband, Roarke, are building a brand-new school and youth shelter. They know that the hard life can lead kids toward dangerous crossroads — and with this new project, they hope to nudge a few more of them onto the right path. For expert help, they hire child psychologist Dr. Rochelle Pickering — whose own brother pulled himself out of a spiral of addiction and crime with Rochelle’s support.

Lyle is living with Rochelle while he gets his life together, and he’s thrilled to hear about his sister’s new job offer. But within hours, triumph is followed by tragedy. Returning from a celebratory dinner with her boyfriend, she finds Lyle dead with a syringe in his lap, and Eve’s investigation confirms that this wasn’t just another OD. After all his work to get clean, Lyle’s been pumped full of poison — and a neighbor with a peephole reports seeing a scruffy, pink-haired girl fleeing the scene.

Now Eve and Roarke must venture into the gang territory where Lyle used to run, and the ugly underground world of tattoo parlors and strip joints where everyone has taken a wrong turn somewhere. They both believe in giving people a second chance. Maybe even a third or fourth. But as far as they’re concerned, whoever gave the order on Lyle Pickering’s murder has run out of chances…

Source: Info in the "About Connections In Death" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40122012-connections-in-death on 16/02/2019.

My Thoughts:

After all these years I am still a fan of this series, lows and highs and all. We didn't see any Bella in this book, which is a disappointment... I've also been waiting to see who got the facefull of blue dye, the chocolate thief finally revealed, in this book. But the only mention of it is when Roarke gave Eve some chocolates and she suspected it was her stash. I hope it gets revealed in the next book.

This instalment of the In Death series, it is not a "big bang" kind of story like the Icove Agenda. But more of a soft, everyday policing kinda feel, but still has very good outcome for society.

I've been noticing lately that the last few books in this series has Roarke getting involved with Eve's work more and more. In this book, he is beside her almost all the time now. Not that I am complaining. It is just getting me worried that this might not be good for the series. Hopefully, I am worrying for nothing. JD Robb is an accomplished writer after all...

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (13 hrs & 25 mins listening time)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

KILLING PRETTY

Killing Pretty by Richard Kadrey
Book 7 of the Sandman Slim series
Read by MacLeod Andrews
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback, ebook, & audiobook  

About Killing Pretty:

Someone has tried to kill Death — ripping the heart right out of him — or rather the body he's inhabiting. Death needs Sandman Slim's help. He believes anyone who can beat Lucifer and the old gods at their own game is the only one who can solve his murder.

Stark follows a sordid trail deep into LA's subterranean world, from vampire-infested nightclubs to Weimar Republic mystical societies. Along the way he meets a mysterious girl — distinguished by a pair of graveyard eyes — as badass as Slim; she happens to be the only person who ever outwitted Death. But escaping her demise has had dire consequences for the rest of the world... and a few others.

Source: Info in the About Killing Pretty was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23213849-killing-pretty on 27/06/2016.

My Thoughts:

The thing I like so much about this series is, other than the bad-ass-ness that is, is the real-ness of the world building. I can so totally believe that god is broken into little pieces of himself. Like he gave birth to himselves by breaking up into smaller parts of him. He can't grow anymore bigger so he broke up. Totally believable. I mean at some point in his life, he can't get any bigger than he already is. So maybe the next logical step in his evolution is to give birth to himselves. And so appealing to me because that would explain so many shit in the world. This is one of the many reasons why I am such a fan of this series. I also kinda really like the idea of an anti-hero who kicks ass! :)

This book also have the most solid plot in the entire series that I could remember. Investigating a murder with a twist, nice plot! Ok, so there never was much of a plot in any of the books in this series, but this one got more than the others. But, for some reason, I find this book really slow... and I could not find the reason why because the story telling quality is as good as it always has been... maybe it's me being slow. I think another factor contributing to this book being slow is the fact that the introduction to the main plot is very long. As in, half-the-book-worth long, of introduction. That gets tiring...

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 2.5
Pace = 2
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Sandman Slim Series:

The Author
	Richard Kadrey is a writer and freelance photographer living in San Francisco, best known for his Sandman Slim novels. His newest novels are The Everything Box, released April 19, 2016 and The Perdition Score (Sandman Slim, #8), released on June 28, 2016.
richardkadrey.com | facebook | twitter | goodreads | amazon | tumblr

The Narrator
	MacLeod Andrews is an actor and voice actor in Los Angeles He is a Company Member of Rising Phoenix Rep theater company in NYC
macleodandrews.com | facebook | facebook actor/narrator page | twitter | goodreads | instagram

FTC Disclosure:
This book, in all its formats, were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.