New Book Review: Play Dead

Tags

frasier, voodoo

Rated 3 of 5 stars

Listened to this on a car trip. It had our attention throughout the trip for sure! Lots of weird murders and a good protagonist with her own back story. The narration was great as well. Overall, the story was a good start but lost a star for the stories details needing to bigger for the book. If you insert the idea of magic, voodoo or some type of power but never really show it…that just pisses readers off! If you tell me someone has a power and I’m waiting anxiously to see said powers…then I’m mad if at the end of the book I’m lost as to what they were referring to throughout the book. Elise Sandburg is a detective with “powers” because she is kin to some voodoo priest or something to that nature. Non-spoiler…you won’t see any powers or magic from her though.

The story has many twists and will surprise you but it’ll also leave you wondering like….that was so left field there’s no way I feel satisfied for following along. Lol. It has potential to be really great but definitely needed to be longer to get into some details that would tie the story up with a bow. Right now, it’s just pieces of string everywhere. Overall, great setting, great characters but faulty twists and thin back stories.

Raging Book Reviews

*Audiobook purchased by me.

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New Book Review: Hope to Die

Tags

Abduction, alex cross, patterson

Rated 4 of 5 stars

I’m a huge fan of Alex Cross so my opinion is a bit bias. I love the tough but family oriented professor/detective created by Patterson. He’s been able to build many relationships and stories with such a layered, engaging and intellectual main character. This book does not disappoint!

When a madman sets his sights on Dr. Cross’ family and steals them away leaving only pictures of their dead bodies…he goes into a winding spiral into suicidal, homicidal and mental anguish. He has everyone searching for the madman…except the madman’s identity changes frequently. He can’t get a handle on WHO he is and moreso, WHERE he’s taken his family if they are still alive as he hopes. With a killer who leaves no witnesses and a mind hellbent on being the perfect criminal (up against the perfect foe…Dr. Cross)….Cross has a lot to learn about what motivates this criminal.

As a listener, the narration was spot on and both narrators were excellent. I loved the tone of their voices and the distinction between the two story lines kept me on task. Very good read!

Raging Book Reviews Recommended!

*Audiobook purchased with my own money.

New Book Review: She’s Not There

Tags

Abduction, Fielding, Kidnapping

Rated 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed Joy Fieldings approach to a topic that can make a mother cringe just thinking about it. Kidnapping a child can make any parent feel a little queazy and paranoid, right? Anyway, the story starts with Caroline, a mother of two daughters, and her husband driving to a Mexico resort for their anniversary. As they arrive, she sees that her husbands friends, her bestfriend and husband, and her brother and his wife are all there to celebrate with them. Due to a lack of babysitter, they brought their kids to Mexico with them on their anniversary. At this point in the story, I was like…what? Who does that? You don’t bring kids on honeymoons, bachelorette parties or anniversary getaways! Like, come on! That’s not romantic AT ALL. I digress. During the beginning of the story, you meet Caroline’s two daughters, one is older, roughly 5 years old while the other is still an infant. The five year old is incredibly bratty and mouthy. Throughout the story I just wanted to give her a good spank on the rear. The infant is completely opposite…very mild mannered and happy.

As the final night of the trip unwinds, the couples schedule for an anniversary dinner celebration. The kids are left sleeping in their beds while Caroline and her husband, Hunter, attend the dinner and agree to check on the children every 30 minutes in case they wake. Everything seems fine until the very end of the night…during the final check…their sweet infant is missing from her crib! Their older daughter was still asleep nearby and the hysterics bring everyone to their suite. Cops are called and manhunt is underway. This is the beginning of hell for Caroline.

As a reader, we journey through her personal thoughts and feelings. Her distrust, her feelings of inadequacy. We see her constant railroading by the people around her. She is emotional damaged and mentally on the edge of breaking when a call changes everything.

I enjoyed this novel by Fielding because it was a constant stream of realism. This is something that could happen to anyone. When the reveal happens, it is not quite what I expected in totality but suspicions were in the general area.

Raging Book Reviews Recommended!

*This was an audiobook purchased with my own money through Audible.

New Book Review: The Body Reader

Tags

audible, detective, female lead, novels

Rated 4 of 5 stars

Anne Frasier has a mind like a killer (and thus, someone should check her basement frequently and without warning). The way she creates scenes of torture are second to none. Throughout this story, I found myself cringing and thinking, “God, how do you survive that?”. I was completely swept up into the story of Jude Fontaine and her descent into what some think is insanity while she sees it as gifted in her craft of reading people (dead or alive). Jude was held captive for three years in a secluded, dark basement with no other stimulation than the visits from her captor. Over that time, she’s learned to read his facial expressions and body language in order to prepare for or hopefully escape torture.

When she escapes from her personal hell-hole, life is so different. Her senses are heightened. Her sense of smell and ability to read people’s feelings is intensified. Before she was abducted, she was a detective. When she returns to her old precinct, Uriah is there in her place, the position she left when she was abducted. He helps her find herself in this new world and she helps him find a piece of himself that was missing after suffering his own tragedy but only after the bumpy start to their relationship. Jude has fleeting thoughts. Why was she abducted? Why did he let her live so long? Why are girls dying around the city with uncanny similarities? The ride doesn’t stop there and there’s no stopping the twists in this story once you start.

This book is a hell of a ride. I found myself attached to Jude and Uriah. I like that Frasier keeps the main thing the “main thing” and doesn’t force romance in places where there isn’t any. I give her kudos for that. I felt she did an exceptional job of creating characters that were easily identifiable throughout the story. There was one hole left in the story at the end which left me questioning so I took a star away due to the story not being completely transparent at the end. Overall, Frasier knows how to write strong women and she excels at defying my suspenseful expectations. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended

*This book was listened to on Audible using my own dinero. 😉

Interested in snagging a copy? Use my Book Depository link HERE to get free shipping! (Oh, and I get a couple cents for sending you there…hee-hee.)

 

New Book Review: The Wild Inside

Tags

bears, nature, suspense

Rated 2 of 5 stars

*Audiobook*

Carbo tried hard in The Wild Inside to make a novel worthy of suspense and action yet it falls flat. The story is very long and drawn out which can lose the readers interest without enough action in between the story building. I found the book to drag on and on about the main characters fear of bears and the reliving of his fathers brutal attack and subsequent murder by a bear. The book starts where the agent must handle a bear attack in the same area where his father was killed by a bear. The scene is gruesome. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an ordinary bear attack and looks like a murder occurred before the bear had its lunch. The story then winds its way through the townspeople and its immediately known that the person who died is someone no one will miss. Still, the agent trudges on trying to figure out who killed the man (or facilitated his killing?) in bear country. During the piling of clues, the story slows waaaayyyyyy down and we (readers) start to wonder if the story is worth the read because the guy who died is well…deserving of it. So why are we continuing to search so hard for his killer? The author inserts the main characters issues in this section of the book in hopes to keep readers engaged with him yet this didn’t quite cut it. The main character only had one thing in his life that was tragic and therefore, seemed like he kept beating a dead dog (no pun intended for this who listened to the story). Anyway, the story takes too much work to get to the ending which was nicely put together but not nearly enough pay out.

Raging Book Reviews

 

New Book Review: Waking Up Dead

Tags

Audiobook, ghost, novel

Rated 4 of 5 stars

*Audiobook*

Waking Up Dead by Margo Bond Collins, Narrated by Angel Clark was an interesting read. The concept itself was one that I found entertaining from the beginning. We listened to this novel while on a long road trip and the story kept our attention throughout. Now, there were things I didn’t enjoy…the narrator had a very limited cache of voices and many were too screechy/whiny for my taste. Luckily, the main character’s voice (which was the bulk of the book) was not as bad but had its moments. The narrator channeled a younger woman than the one portrayed in the book. The character was late twenties while the voice sounded 18 or so. Anyway, the storyline itself was good but had a few holes in the story (why didn’t this technical writer turned ghost find a way to have someone write down everything that happened and anonymously send it to police?) Other instances were so small, we just let them go and enjoyed the ride. The author does a good job of painting a picture and providing readers with some pretty gross visuals. I liked that a lot, honestly. In the end, I found the story enjoyable for those that like suspense with a little humor. Not sure if there will be additional books with this character as there were some unresolved issues with the main characters death that we were left hanging on with. Either way, I’d find it and listen to it.

Raging Book Reviews Recommended

Buy the Book on Audible at BUY HERE

 

New Book Review: The Life We Bury

Rated 5 0f 5 stars

*This is an audiobook purchased through Audible.

The Life We Bury is one of those books that make you feel every emotion during the course of listening. I felt fear, happiness, exasperation, anger, sick, triumph, worried and lastly, totally content. I went through a range of emotions and the author really makes an effort to give you an in depth back story but not go so overboard that you can’t decipher what’s important to hold on to. The main character, although nonchalant and quirky, shows that he has an open mind when he agrees to interview a dying, convicted rapist and killer as part of a biology project. During the course of the project, Carl, the convicted killer, takes the reader and the main character on a rollercoaster ride through his tour in Vietnam that’ll have you ready to shed a tear. On the opposite spectrum, you gather grizzly details of the rape and murder of a 14 year old that’ll have you banging your fist for him to die a painful death. I loved how the author structured the story. So many times we were yelling openly in the car. Hoping our voices could be heard by the characters before they made a deadly decision. I adored the narrator! His voice and depiction of characters was seamless. I was gripped by him from beginning to end. Flawless execution. I’d definitely recommend this book for people that like psychological thrillers.

Raging Book Reviews Recommended!

Buy it here: http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Life-We-Bury-Audiobook/B00YNT5JO6/ref=a_listener__cco_1_1_i

 

New Book Review: Sleep Tight

Rated 3 of 5 stars

This is my first Anne Frasier novel and undoubtedly won’t be my last. I like her writing style and she definitely knows how to create a weird and gut wrenching antagonist to a story! Yes, there is a reason I rated this book 3 stars even though I really liked it. But let’s start from the beginning…Agent Mary Cantrell is on a case in her hometown of Minneapolis because there have been a string of killings. Flaw one, her boss thinks its a good idea to go back home while recovering from a gunshot wound to relax…while working on a murder case? In your hometown? Yeah, that’s relaxing…

Flaw two, the story digs into the protagonist’s past pretty deeply and I’m not sure if we ever really get out of the past enough to enjoy the present case. For instance, Mary’s sister is now a cop/field agent for the local police working on the same case. Mary is doing double duty by looking into her best friends murder (which has been solved, guy served his term in prison and everything, yet…she’s still looking into it). The majority of the story is about the past case while the new case is far more interesting because the antagonist is supremely weird and does increasingly heinous things to women.

The antagonist is an interesting person and you really fall into wondering why and how these girls end up in the predicament they’re in. Unfortunately, you have to wait until the very end of the book to get your fill of this this character. Overall, the book was interesting enough and I knew what the ending would be in regards to the old case yet I was still satisfied with the story and its overarching theme of family woe, secrets and acceptance. There was another flaw in the book that is very miniscule but I’d be remiss for not bringing it up. The romance that occurred seemed really forced and I got absolutely NOTHING out of it. Usually when people get together it’s like…

BUT INSTEAD, IT’S LIKE…

All in all, even with the flaws, the book is kind of enjoyable so I’ll definitely try out the author again in the future. Frasier wrote a kick ass antagonist that had me cringing…I don’t think I can remove some things he did from my mind….

Raging Book Reviews Recommended

 

New Book Review: The Prettiest One

Rated 4 of 5 stars

What did you love best about The Prettiest One?
I really loved the premise of the character going into a fugue state when something in her life triggered an old memory. That alone was fascinating to try to wrap my mind around and the author did a great job of sticking to the underlying feelings of the character. The book has twists and turns that are unexpected but also has a good amount of humor which I wasn’t expecting. I laughed out loud on more than a few occasions.

What did you like best about this story?
The narrator did a great job with the characters. It was easy to discern not only their voices but their personalities. I think Bon Shaw did a great job channeling each character’s feelings in a particular scene. (With a name like Bon Shaw, he definitely gave us the theatrical edge his name implies)

Have you listened to any of Bon Shaw’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have not heard any of Bon Shaw’s other performances but I think I will look into it. He definitely has a great tone and pace for suspense novels.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I really enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first. When the character had to face her fears and her past, the story took a emotional turn. I was invested in the main character after that.

Any additional comments?
I enjoyed this audiobook! My husband and I listened while on a road trip and my son in the backseat even started asking questions. I think that’s a good sign that the story is great and the narrator brings it to life. Raging Book Reviews Recommended!

New Book Review: Six of Crows

Tags

bardugo, DNF, leigh, six of crows

 

2 of 5 Stars

THIS IS AN AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
I think having less voices would have helped a bit. I was completely lost for the first half of the story (which is a really LONG time to stick with a book seeing as this one is a behemoth). Also, the story had very fascinating places but everything seemed to jump around and assume the readers knew the places (or at least I felt like that enough to check to make sure this was indeed Book One). So unfortunately at the halfway mark I was like:

What could Leigh Bardugo have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
I’m not sure if this book faired well with multiple actors. It definitely could be accomplished (and maybe smoother) with two actors. Also, the story itself had a LOT going on throughout the story. It followed so many characters that I found myself losing track of who did what.

What aspect of the narrators’s performance would you have changed?
Less narrators but they were admittedly all VERY good actors. It felt a bit disjointed with so many characters and not a straightforward plot and central gang of characters (especially when you add in the world building and sub-characters).

What character would you cut from Six of Crows?
I don’t know if I’d necessarily cut whole characters but I’d maybe choose about 3 to really showcase their back stories so people don’t get lost in all the intricate details of every character and forget which action happened to a particular character.

Any additional comments?
I couldn’t finish the book because it was extremely long and after the first half was very difficult to follow, I lost steam. I liked the scene when the “witch” was saving the guy in the sea. That captured my attention as did the opening “deal gone bad” in the beginning with Inej on the rooftops. I enjoyed the action but the narratives and background things had me completely lost when it went from one character to another. I liked Inej a lot as a character and wouldn’t mind reading more about her. Strong female characters are appealing to me naturally, so I gravitated to her. Everyone else though…blah.

Raging Book Reviews