Valerie J Brooks

Brilliance in Short

Revisado: 01-14-25

Phenomenal narration. Like listening to a streaming suspense without a visual because you don’t need it. Drop dead ending!

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Hard-Boiled Action-Packed Harry Bronson Story

Revisado: 03-27-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Retired police detective Harry Bronson can’t believe what he’s heard. His former partner and best friend Mike Hoover has gone rogue. Harry doesn’t want to believe it, but the evidence sure doesn’t look good. Mike’s partner has been killed with Mike’s gun, and two Egyptian statues worth millions are now in Mike’s hands. When Bronson repeatedly calls his old pal, Mike doesn’t answer. None of this adds up. Mike loves his wife, but even she doesn’t understand what’s happening. And what do Egyptian statues have to do with the Mexican cartel? Could Mike have gone over to the cartel? It sure looks that way.

Bronson needs to find out if it’s true. As he and his dog, Honey, follow Mike’s trail, it doesn’t look good for his former partner. But whatever Mike’s into, Bronson needs to follow this to the very end, maybe his own.

WHEN DOUBT CREEPS IN ratchets up the twisty action and doesn’t let go. The characters are well-developed, and the action is believable. Bronson has an old-fashioned sense of loyalty and duty, a feistiness that makes him interesting, a great sense of humor, and a propensity for saying “Sheee-it” when he’s in trouble. And that’s what makes this such a great listen—Bronson is always in trouble, and for the best of reasons. Narrator Kyle Snyder gets Bronson and the rest of the cast perfectly.

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Lipman Rocks this Short

Revisado: 08-09-20

One of my favorite authors. Even in short form! This was perfect: story, narration, surprise ending. McFadden gave this thriller short the dry, succinct narration the story deserved.

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Darkness of the Ozarks Perfect for Noir

Revisado: 12-24-18

For a debut, Laura McHugh magnificently brings the Ozark landscape to life, creating a character in itself. The story wouldn't be the same without the backdrop of a place perfect for secrets, chilling in its claustrophobia, and weighing heavy with bodies. The narrators work well for the characters, the tangled plot unravels in a surprising way, and the setting brims with details of a world unknown to me, something that I crave in books. I eagerly await McHugh's next novel.

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An up and coming mystery & suspense author

Revisado: 04-02-18

Any additional comments?

Lexie Elliot gives us an excellent debut. I won’t go into plot points or who-is-who as reviewers have already covered that ground. But I do want to address some of the negative review points with the understanding that so much of this is subjective.
First, if you like fast action or thrillers, this isn’t for you. THE FRENCH GIRL is a character-driven story with an ensemble of six friends who ten years ago were Oxford University students. First, working with that many characters is one of the most challenging ways to create a story. Second, the setup of this story requires numerous flashbacks to the idyllic week the students spent in a French farmhouse, when, Severine, the French beauty they met disappeared. For a debut novelist, Lexie Elliot handles these situations with ease. I always knew where the setting was and whom she referenced.
I didn’t think the story dragged. I approached it more as a mystery, very English, with sobering moments, when suspicions keep the story more internal. From this I developed a clear understanding of what Kate Channing, the protagonist, was going through, especially her conflicted feeling towards her friends. Giving Kate the ghost of Severine felt to me like showing Kate’s sensitivity and awareness that the holiday in France wasn’t just about her and her romantic problems. College-age students ten to have a pretty myopic view. Having a beauty “disappear” might offer relief. Ten years later, this brings up Kate’s long-buried feelings for one of the men. I don’t want to give anything away, but the story seemed to reach for the atmospheric. I think if the author pared down the language it would have shown the gems in this novel.
I do have to say I knew who killed Severine early on, but that didn’t matter to me. I was more interested in what happened to the five remaining friends. As in most noirs, the end does not give a full plate of justice, and that’s the case in this novel.
For those who favor love stories served up with their mysteries—along with a French detective—you’ll find a few here.
For those who might have trouble with Kate seeming somewhat naïve, well, figure that “ten years later” means she might be only in her late twenties or early thirties, certainly not fully fledged yet.
For my review of Audible’s narrator, Katherine McEwan, I think she does a terrific job. I stumbled more with the overwriting than her reading.
Overall, I look at Lexie Elliot as an upcoming suspense and mystery writer who will only get better. I’m eager to read her next novel.

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