Ray Daniels

Not Credible

Revisado: 04-27-25

Listeners (and readers) of fiction acknowledge that the tales they're consuming have never actually happened. Nonetheless, these stories should still be written to inspire the belief that they truly _could_ have happened. Such is not the case with Fair Warning. I called it quits about a third of the way through when he started making a farce of genetics testing. There were earlier points regarding dubious human behavior as well.

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My Highest Compliments

Revisado: 02-22-25

Peter Grainger seems to have elevated the detective novel to a plateau just short of literature. The characters are interesting, realistic and--other than the fact that the good guys are all nice people--varied. The stories hold together nicely in the face of real-world knowledge and logic. And Smith's wit causes me to smile often and laugh audibly at least a dozen times per book. In short, I find these stories both masterful and delightful!

I dearly wish there were 20 or 30 more DC Smith Investigations awaiting me but as a long-time fan, I've read the existing inventory--and I denied myself this latest one for as long as I could stand it! Keep up the fantastic work Peter Grainger. I anxiously await your next tale!

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Meh

Revisado: 02-22-25

A pretty non-traditional presentation. Seems somewhat frantic, jumpy and it is highly self-referential. I suppose it is a book for a generation that doesn't really like books. Ultimately the story hangs together OK, but in an audiobook, the ensemble cast sometimes makes it hard to follow who is doing what to whom. Ultimately, not my cup of tea, but I can see how others might be charmed by it.

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Disappointing

Revisado: 02-22-25

In the epilogue, the author admits that her police consultants mentioned her taking of "poetic license" in the telling of this story. But before hearing that admission, I was already deeply disappointed with this book. It is not a good sign when you want to rip out your earbuds and delete the book from your library when you are 8 hours in to an 8-hour-51-minute listen! Ultimately the fact that the author knows little about the actual operation of police detective work and likely has never really known a working detective at any level (other than the aforementioned consultants) becomes more and more clear as the book goes on. Ultimately this is a book where the teenagers seem to have no problem acting like adults and at least some of the adults have no problem acting like teenagers. It is all rather absurd.

I listened to this book in hopes that I'd found a new author whose work I could support. But unless the reviews I read for future stories in the series suggest a big improvement over this debut work, that is not to be.

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Mostly Awful

Revisado: 06-03-24

I found this book generally unpleasant to listen to and was tempted to quit multiple times. The first half generally consists of cringeworthy interactions between the featured maid and her employer. (if the prolog hadn't promised a dead body at some point, I would have.) The next third features lurid descriptions of both physical and mental abuse. In the last bit, of course the dubious "good guys" win. The suspension of disbelief needed to buy this far-fetched plot is fairly massive from the word go and continues right through the final scene. Baloney! Oh, and when the dead body emerges, there's zero mystery involved: when, where, how and why it occurred is known to characters and reader alike.

I bought this thinking it was a mystery, but it is not that. Rather far more of a psychological thriller which is definitely not my cup of tea. I went back and read the "Title details" half way through and felt that they were fairly deceptive--though that deception may be needed for the overall premise of the book to work. But again ... NOT what I was expecting.

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Amazing non-fiction

Revisado: 05-28-24

fantastic characters interesting plot. overall a compelling read and a great look at the microcosm of Savannah.

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Tons of Unexplained Nautical Jargon

Revisado: 05-10-24

This would be a better read in print rather than audio. The book is chock-full of jargon about the parts of the ship and the activities performed thereon. And none of it is explained. In print, one could stop to look up the numerous terms. Indeed, I might pursue a primer in 19th Century sailing ships as an initial study before undertaking to read this one. Or perhaps the print book provides an illustration of the various parts of the ship. None of those tools were available or practical for the audio version. Instead, I pushed on hoping that some elucidation of the details might be offered at some point. But after a number of chapters, I found that I was simply being bathed in a torrent of narration that I really didn't comprehend, so that was the end of it for me.

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Beyond Belief

Revisado: 05-10-24

And not in a good way! I listened to the first few chapters and returned it as I found both the behavior of the characters and the components of the mystery to be distractingly unbelievable. Bone's behavior is unrealistic: his conversations with his ex-wife, the fact that he'd never met anyone at his son's school despite being fully aware of the schedule and procedures (he didn't just wake up from a coma yesterday!), etc. Oh and on his first day back on the job after they've found the likely burial site of their missing person, he takes off to go to his son's school for pickup? Baloney! And when the first real clue in the case appears--a single frame of video that shows a construction girder (off in one corner of the frame)--the cops instantly know exactly where that girder is located. Really? No. Not for me anyway.

Narration was good. Easy to follow, characters were nicely differentiated, no distracting mannerisms that I noticed.

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Twists and Turns!

Revisado: 05-09-24

A great story with lots of twists and turns that keeps you guessing until the very end.

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Fantastic story, Enjoyably told

Revisado: 04-25-24

Loved this from start to finish. It focuses on a period (mid to late-1930s) that rarely gets a lot of attention, good character development, drama. All the elements of fiction in a true story. Sorry to see it end.

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