Before He Kills Again – R. Barri Flowers

Before He Kills Again is a Veronica Vasquez Thriller Narrated by Jane Boyer and written by International Best-Selling Author R. Barri Flowers. In honesty this is the first book I have read or listened to and I was not disapointed. Being from Oregon myself reading a story that takes place in Portland, as well as the coast and other cities I know well it was a bit of home for this reviewer.         Veronica Vasquez is a FBI psychologist and criminal profiler who comes home to Oregon to assist the Portland Police Bureau is catching a serial killer named “The Rose Killer” which is quaint since Portland is the Rose City. This killer kills in pairs one Black and one White female victim and leaves a rose one black and one white on each. 

Detective Sergeant, and former FBI Agent, Bryan Waldicott is not sure he wants the FBI’s help. Veronica must prove herself a team player and win over the Portland Detectives. After loosing her husband three years ago she has hidden in her work and worked mostly alone tracking the worst criminals the FBI knows about. This trip to Portland is the first time it isn’t work only. Her astranged sister lives in Portland and so the story involves an attempt of reconnecting along with a dangerous pursuit of the Rose Killer.

This audiobook was well done and well written. I was intrigued and suprised with the twists and turns. There is some adult sexual material and a love story intertwined in this horrific murder rampage but overall I was suprised and am excited to read another Vasquez Thriller.

This book was gifted to me for an honest review.

Think of a Number – John Verdon

This is the first book in the Dave Gurney Series. This audiobook is narrated by Scott Brick. Scott also did the second book in this series Shut Your Eyes Tight. 

John Verdon is a once in a lifetime author. He has no law enforcement background but writes like a retired cop, much like his main character Dave Gurney. Dave is A retired NYPD Detective and is asked to look at a case.

This is the first time we meet Dave and his wife and son. His (what I call) Anti-Partner Jack Hargrove and his need to solve puzzles. Dave puts his whole heart into this case and even risks his own life to answer questions and close the case tight.

This is a book of substance but keeps you listening through the very end. This book does not have slow areas as each chapter you learn along with Dave what is happening. This is a great book and series. I am sold and a big fan.

I bought this book for my own pleasure and review purposes.

Peter Pan Must Die – Robert Fass Narrator

This is the fourth book revolving around NYPD Detective Dave Gurney written by John Verdon.  This is the the first book in the series I have listened to and it was such a great book I have added the previous 3 to my Audible Wish List.

First I want to say that Robert Fass deserves to be recognized for his work on this audiobook. His presentation and performance of each character was as good as if they had seven or eight different voice talents performing this book. The story may be the best mysteries I have read this year, Robert Fass brings the story to another level as I was on the edge of my seat listening. I know if I had read this book it would have kept me up all night until I finished it.

John Verdon has written an almost perfect book. I never new who hired the killer until the very end. If this was a movie you would watch a second time just to see if you missed a clue along the way because the finally is so shocking.

A man is murdered at his mothers funeral by a snipers bullet. His wife is convicted of the murder and an ex New York State Police Detective asks Retired NYPD Detective Dave Gurney to help him get her conviction reversed. There could be no two Cops more different than Dave Gurney and Jack Hardwick, but Dave owes Jack a big favor. And so it begins the Odd Couple of Detectives look into the case.

This, as I said, may be the Best Mystery I have read this year and it is my favorite book of the year as of this writing. I hope there are more books with both of the main characters in the future and that Robert Fass continues as the narrator.

This book was gifted to me by the Publisher Dreamscape Media for an honest review.

Defender of the Innocent- Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block is the winner of multiple awards as a mystery writer and has been writing since the 1950’s and has written more than 50 books and Short Stories. Defender of the Innocent is a collection of short stories written about  Martin H. Ehrengraf a dapper little lawyer whose clients all turn out to be innocent. I would love to see this made into a movie starring Danny DeVito.

These stories are fun and creative, although slightly unbelievable that no one would notice how many suspects get off in somewhat the same manner. Besides that one issue the stories are very enjoyable and the audiobook as a whole is a great investment of time and money.
Narrated by Don Sobczak, who brings this dark yet optimistic and sincere attorney to life. All of the different characters are uniquely represented and show the range of this performance artist. Sobczak takes the short stories and makes them seem fluid in space and time. Don increased the level of enjoyment from just reading to a listening experience. This audiobook is a must listen for any darker minded legal thriller fans. 

I received this book as a gift for an honest review.

 

Invisible-James Paterson

This audiobook is Narated by January LaVoy and Kevin Collins. This book is a true suspense thriller. The narrative  between the serial killer and the FBI tells parallel stories that keep you on the edge of your listening seat. LaVoy and Collins crest unique voices for each character and you can feel the tension as they present the written word.

As much as I like James Patterson’s series I like his stand alone books as well as any other thrillers. As a former Research Analyst (RA) I love the inclusion of the data collection and evaluation of clues by the RA’s. Sorting through the haystack to find the needle takes a special skill and patience.

This is a story about a killer who doesn’t exist, crimes that don’t link, victims with no connection, in essence it is about the invisible. One victims sister is an RA for the FBI. As a twin she knows her sister was murdered. There seems to be no evidence so the hunt begins with a single RA looking for clues.

The twists and turns throughout this book keep the listener guessing until the final chapter. This is a quick listen worth every second. 

I purchased this book for my own pleasure and for review. It was a great choice.

Trial and Terror – Audiobook Review

Trial and Terror by Adam Peneburg, Narrated by Jack De Golia.

Summer Neuwirth is a public defender who has won her first case. A rapist who is caught on video tape and still is aquitted by a jury. The trouble is he was guilty. Now her boss wants her to take on her first murder case. Her new client an ex-prostitute turned women’s violence advocate, has Motive, Means, and Opportunity.

Her guilty client, who was aquitted, knows a lot about Summer. Even some things Summer doesn’t remember from her past. As Summer tries to save her current client her past and present collide. How will she protect the innocent as well as herself. The twists keep you guessing. 

This book covers a lot of time and information in a short amount of time. With little back story, the characters are developed quickly and with a psycological edge that is hinted at but not really explored. The reader must infer a lot of the emotion that the characters must feel and the level of their relationship to each other. 

There are five stories being told, they intersect because of Summer and 4 of 5 revolve around her or her family. 

The ending is abrupt, to the point I had to rewind and listen again because I thought I missed something.

The narrator Jack De Golia does a superior job with the material he had to work with.  This book has good intentions but misses the mark by a mile.

Book Facts

Snow White Must Die -Audiobook Review

Nele Neuhaus’s thriller is translated from German to English and Narated by Robert Fass. A crime novel set in 2008 tells the story of a small village in Germany where a man has just been released from prison after serving 10 years for the death of two 17 year old girls. In the ten years since he was convicted his parents have broken up, his father has closed the family restruant, and the majority of their land holdings have been sold off. 

There were never any bodies found and Tobis Sartorius was convicted on circumstantial evidence alone. After his release he comes home and soon after his mother is pushed over a bridge into the path of a moving car. Police Detectives look into the case of his mother being pushed over the bridge and begin seeing inconsistencies in the stories told by the villagers.

Then another young girl disappears and Tobis is the first person questioned. The facts about Tobis, the village people and  the untold stories that have been hidden for ten years start to unravel. What is really going on in this small village. 

The story unfolds and the mysteries of the past being forth a great mystery. What could keep a town silent and send a man to prison? Will it happen again?

Snow White Must Die is a great listen and is an excelent mystery.

The Keeper – Audiobook Review

John Lescroart’s newest thriller, Narrated by David Colacci is another great book including Lescroart’s main characters Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky.

Glitsky is now a retired inspector who is helping his friend and Defense Attorney Dismas Hardy with the investigation of the Disappearance of a  clients wife. While the DA wants to D  charge the husband with murder Abe has other ideas.

When the investigation seems to overlap with a string of inmate deaths at the County Jail the mystery rises to a level that uses all of Glitsky’s investigative abilities. 

Knowing these characters since the beginning of the series they are as you always remember them. As a reader of this series I an glad the author doesn’t feel the need to over explain all the other books within this one new book. John Lescroart gives enough background to let this be your first Dismis Hardy/Abe Glitsky of which there are two separate and interwoven sets of books. Without having to know all the backstory.

Please go back and read the others if you can they are worth every minute and most are available on Audible.

As I listened to this book I thought several times who did what to whom but The twist and turns in this story leave you saying I didn’t see that coming, again and again.

read this and more reviews at AudiobookMonthly.com and follow me @PerryBookReview

The Missings – Audiobook Review

Peg Brantley’s The Missings Narrated by Eric Nutting is a Mystery/Detective Procedural that takes place in the small Hispanic community of Aspen Falls, Colorado.

When some of the community go missing they are reluctant to go to the authorities out of fear and the legal status of many in the community. 

When Elizebeth Benavides sister goes missing she challenges the communities silence and demands the authorities do something. 

Senior Detective Chase Waters looks into the case and when the other missing people are brought to his attention he works all his contacts to solve, what truely is a mystery.

When Detective Waters investigation takes him to the doors of a private hospital for the Rich he looks for a connection. The one he finds brings the case much to close to home for him.

The Missings is a must read. It speaks to the Fear of the Police by law abiding and even legal citizens and the unreported crimes they face. This is a mystery where life and death lay in the balance.

Follow me @PerryBookReview or @Plmartin68 and read this and other reviews monthly at AudiobookMonthly.com