Road Trip Listens

Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs (read by Linda Emond)

Always apprehensive about working fire scenes, Tempe is called to Washington, DC, to analyze the victims of a deadly blaze and sees her misgivings justified. The devastated building is in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful past and present, and Tempe becomes suspicious about the property’s ownership when she delves into its history.

The pieces start falling into place strangely and quickly, and, sensing a good story, Tempe teams with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Soon the duo learns that back in the thirties and forties the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant—until the son of a Foggy Bottom gang member is shot dead at his home in an affluent part of the district. Coincidence? Targeted attacks? So many questions.

As Tempe and Ivy dig deeper, an arrest is finally made. Then another Foggy Bottom Gang-linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim. Slowly, Tempe’s instincts begin pointing to the obvious: somehow, her moves since coming to Washington have been anticipated, and every path forward seems to bring with it a lethal threat.

Tempe gives up her vacation to help out with a case that turns into a bigger mystery than she expected. Secondary characters add to the intrigue of the story. After 23 books Tempe is still interesting and finds herself in intriguing situations. Linda Emond does a great job narrating the characters with great tone and pace. 

Middletide by Sarah Crouch (narrated by Kaleo Griffin)

One peaceful morning, in the small, Puget Sound town of Point Orchards, the lifeless body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of prodigal son and failed writer, Elijah Leith. Sheriff Jim Godbout’s initial investigation points to an obvious suicide, but upon closer inspection, there seem to be clues of foul play when he discovers that the circumstances of the beautiful doctor’s death were ripped straight from the pages of Elijah Leith’s own novel.

Out of money and motivation, thirty-three-year-old Elijah returns to his empty childhood home to lick the wounds of his futile writing career. Hungry for purpose, he throws himself into restoring the ramshackle cabin his father left behind and rekindling his relationship with Nakita, the extraordinary girl from the nearby reservation whom he betrayed but was never able to forget.

As the town of Point Orchards turns against him, Elijah must fight for his innocence against an unexpected foe who is close and cunning enough to flawlessly frame him for murder in this scintillating literary thriller that seeks to uncover a case of love, loss, and revenge.

This debut "whodunit" draws you in and doesn't let go despite some repetition and drama. It is told in then and now sections that did get confusing at times while listening. Many times you wonder if the narrator can be trusted.  Very well narrated by Kaleo Griffin and probably saved the story for me. 

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster audio for these review copies

The Paradise Problem (audio)

 

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie

Anna and Liam married in college for the student housing. When Liam, who she knew as West, shows up at her door she is shocked to learn they are still married and he needs her help to retain control of his billion dollar trust.  The plan is to show up together at a family wedding an convince all they have been happily married for almost 5 years.  Free spirit Anna is willing especially since she needs the money for her father's treatments.  The wedding is being held on a private island and as they get to know each other an attraction builds, but the family drama threatens Liam's trust as well as their budding romance.  An enjoyable listen narrated by Patti Murin and John Root filled with plenty of laugh out-loud moments.

 *Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for this review copy*

One of Our Own

 One of Our Own by Lucinda Berry

Felicia, a single mother and lawyer by day, volunteers at a local crisis center to give back to her tightknit community in a small Wisconsin town. One night, she answers a horrifying call: through tears, a frantic teenage girl tells her that she was a victim of sexual assault at a local house party.

Felicia is shocked, and breaking protocol, she begins communicating with the girl on her own, determined to keep her safe and hold her assailants accountable. But as she gets closer and closer to the truth, she can’t shake the feeling that she and the girl are connected by more than the phone call. As the girl shares more details, Felicia begins to think the unthinkable—someone close to her may be involved in this heinous crime.

As Felicia earns the girl’s trust and more facts emerge about the incident, she faces a gut-wrenching battle between her protective instincts and the moral responsibility to do what’s right. 

This is an edge of your seat listen. At times you may have to stop listening or want to quit as it is emotionally draining as well as heartbreaking.  The decisions that Felica has to make are unimaginable and thought provoking. This is a shorter audio but expertly narrated by AJ Cook with Tessa Albertson. 

*Thanks to Simon and Schuster Audio for this review copy*