ONE BAD APPLE

One Bad Apple by Blake Valentine
Book 1 in the Trent Rivera series
Narrated by Lee Beddow
Genre: military veteran thriller / crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About One Bad Apple:

Trent Rivera is an ex-soldier torn between dropping out of society and trying to atone for his past sins. His home: a dilapidated campervan. His companions: Rosie (a tabby cat), and the ghosts of his past.

When he arrives in the picture-perfect seaside town of Saltmarsh Cove, he’s intent on avoiding people.

But Trent Rivera doesn’t go looking for trouble. It finds him…

A journalist has disappeared. A violent biker gang is operating with impunity. And, everywhere he looks, it seems darker forces are at play. Soon, Rivera finds himself embroiled in battling a brutal organisation whose reach stretches far and wide.

There are many of them, and only one of him.

Will he be enough?

Source: Info in the "About One Bad Apple" was taken from amazon on 10/06/2025.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

The theme of this book is not new. It has been around the block a few times already. Like Lee Child's Jack Reacher which started with the Killing Floor. John Corwin's Amos Carver series which started with Dead Before Dawn. Robert Enright's Sam Pope series which started with The Night Shift. Nathan Burrows's Preacher series which started with The Preacher. Cameron Curtis' Breed Thriller which started with Danger Close. All ex-military. All hard-ass. All vigilante justice.

Or maybe I am just reading too many military veteran thriller/crime fiction.

The thing I like about Lee Child's Killing Floor is that he explains things and so it makes sense to the reader. It does not matter whether it's true or not, just so long as it sounds plausible to the reader. Like for example, Lee explained away the head-butting action. I do not know if it is true that head-butting someone is easier than it looks, or not. But the way Lee explained it sounded plausible to me. And that kind of writing hooked me up to the Jack Reacher series. I know that Safia has lots of tentacles and people working for her. So, it could be that it is one of these many tentacles who told her about Rivera being in Saltmarsh Cove. However, it was not stated in the story as to who. It probably wasn't Hakeem because in chapter 44, the narrative said that "the two men's appearance matched the descriptions he'd been given exactly". The two men being Spice and Grizzly, because Hakeem's specific instructions were to take out these two. And then the text message from Safia to take out Rivera too, came. So, where did Safia got the information that Rivera is in Saltmarsh Cove?

I really do not like this kind of holes in the story. So, even though I like the story telling quality, I am not sure about following this series or this author...

This is not my first Lee Beddow audiobook and I do not like his slight singsong kind of reading. However, once you get immersed into the story the singsong disappears from your ears. So, it is not too bad.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (8 hrs and 23 mins listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Trent Rivera Series:

 

Meet The Author

About Blake Valentine:

Blake Valentine is the author of the TRENT RIVERA MYSTERY SERIES. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked in the music industry as both performer and producer before moving into various roles in education. He has lived in Osaka, Japan and San Diego, California, and now resides on the south coast of England with his wife, 2 children, and a cat.

www.blakevalentine.com | facebook | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Lee Beddow:

Lee Beddow has been in and around audio recording for nearly forty years. He started with his own studio, AbbeySound, a music recording facility that he set up when he was eighteen. The studio is situated in a former convent, and AbbeySound currently resides in what was once the nun's dormitories!

For many years, teaching was Lee's regular work, but he continued to do voice-over work. Now, he has decided to make his voice and production skills his focus. Lee can narrate scripts, audiobooks, master the audio with correct levels, chapter marks and spacing, as well as produce bespoke music for authors that want that extra touch in their productions. He has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks, with many series utilizing his ability to mimic lots of both British and world accents, with work ranging from mysteries and sci-fi to comedy and all-action thrillers, plus children's, romance, and instructional titles.

Lee is married to Jackie with two children, James and Holly, and an American Cocker Spaniel called Reuben.

abbeysound.org/audio | facebook | linkedin | goodreads

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

HIS PERFECT CRIME

His Perfect Crime by Alex Sigmore
Book 1 in the Emily Slate series
Narrated by Nicole B Dolen
Genre: crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About His Perfect Crime:

Deep in the woods lies a box, buried where no one would find it. But someone has…

FBI Special Agent Emily Slate is no stranger to tragedy. After losing her husband three months ago, then botching the biggest case of her career, she’s barely escaped a full suspension. Determined to get her life back on track or die trying, she takes a seemingly impossible case in hopes she can turn her fortunes around.

But as Emily arrives in the small Virginia mountain town and dives into the mystery, she discovers the remains of a woman, buried, with her eyes sewn shut. As she peels away the layers of the complex case, Emily realizes that a disturbing mind lurks in the shadows, and it’s only a matter of time before they strike again.

While Emily puts all of her skills to the test in solving the case, she doesn’t realize that the evil forces she hopes to stop now have her in their sights. She’s stumbled on something far larger and more treacherous than she could have ever realized, and if she’s not careful, she’ll be the next body to end up in a box.

Eye See You, Agent Slate.

Secrets are meant to stay buried.

Better turn back before you find yourself among them.

Source: Info in the "About His Perfect Crime" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61313991-his-perfect-crime on 17/03/2024.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

This is my first Alex Sigmore read and I'm glad that I bumped into this author!

I don't understand the addition of bubbles in the cover art...!?!

I had Burke in my sights right from the get go... Who could leave a crime scene without any traces of evidence whatsoever. Clean! No clues as to how, why or who had done it... but somebody who knows exactly what to look for??

I am very tired of being told that something happened... something happened.... oh!So, so bad! Described it to the enth degree... but does not tell me what the F*** actually happened! Just a tease of a detail at a time! Not very fond of that! Then I put this book down. After several months or a year or so, I'd pick this book up again when I have forgotten my annoyance...

No, this book is not fast-paced. Not for me.

At the end of the audiobook it will tell you that the story of Emily's husband and why she was disgraced from FBI is a freebie story if you sign-up to the author's newsletter.

The kindle ebook is missing part of page 214. Grrrr!!!

This is my first Nicole B Dolen listen and I can see that she is a talented narrator and gave a wonderful performance!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (7 hrs and 4 mins listening time)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Emily Slate Series:

 

Meet The Author

About Alex Sigmore:

A lifelong reader from the start, Alex has always been fascinated by what drives people. What events in our lives shape us to become the people we are today? After a few other careers, it became clear that writing was the only way to explore this eternal question.

When not writing, Alex enjoys long walks in the woods, where it’s easier to dream up stories about serial killers and the heroes who catch them.

www.alexsigmore.com | facebook | instagram | tiktok | bookbub | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Nicole B Dolen:

I’m an audiobook narrator and elementary school teacher. I have A LOT of experience reading aloud!

facebook | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

SPINNING SILVER

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Katy Sobey
Genre: fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Spinning Silver:

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father's inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty — until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk — grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh — Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.

But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.

Source: Info in the "About Spinning Silver" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36896898-spinning-silver on 21/09/2022.

Buy Link(s):

 

Art by Donato Giancola

My Thoughts:

I've had this ebook in my kindle library for the longest time but haven't read it because the openning salvo was not very interesting, at all!

The story is told from multiple points of view. The thing is, the book does not tell you who. It leaves it to the reader to figure it out for themselves. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out that I am reading from Wanda's point of view, for example. This made the going slow even with the convenience of the audiobook format.

I am not a fan of the emotional roller coaster. However, it is also the very thing that makes this book intricate and beautiful.

Katy Sobey reads with a singsong which is not a desirable trait in a narrator...

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (16 hrs and 10 mins listening time)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

Meet The Author

About Naomi Novik:

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers.

www.naominovik.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | pinterest | tumblr | audible | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Katy Sobey:

Katy lives in Bristol and trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she was a finalist for the Carlton Hobbs Award and was chosen to perform at the Sam Wanamaker Festival at The Globe. Katy has worked extensively in regional touring theatre, appeared in numerous BBC Radio 4 dramas and episodes of Poetry Please, and recorded over 100 audiobooks. Katy was nominated for an Audie Award 2019 for 'The Tuscan Child' and was one of Audible UK's top rated narrators in 2016. Katy has a home studio for voice over work.

www.katysobey.com | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.