French Silk by Sandra Brown

This audiobook was so entertaining that I stayed at work late just to finish listening!  The story takes place in New Orleans, LA which is one of my favorite cities.  Claire Laurent is a young vibrant woman who owns a lingerie company called French Silk.  She lives at the factory with her mother and her beautiful friend and business partner Yasmine. 

The mystery begins with the murder of an evangelical preacher who is surrounded by scandal and has declared French Silk as smut and pornography.  Naturally Claire and Yasmine are likely suspects as well as the preacher’s new wife (who is sleeping with his son) and his son.  Detective Cassidy investigates the murder with persistence and fervor; he will not relent until the true killer is found.  

This story kept me guessing and entertained the whole way through, we learn that the beautiful Yasmine is having an affair with a congressman and that Claire’s mother is fragile and emotionally unstable.  By the time you finish this audiobook you will be asking just exactly how much you would do for love?  For the love of a parent, a friend or a lover…have you ever been the “other woman”?

-A.P.

The Thrill of Victory

Alright, even though I seem to say that I’m not a fan of the Romance Genre, I seem yet again to have listened to one.  I must be a romance lover at heart.  Sandra Brown’s, Thrill of Victory totally hit the spot for me this week, in regards to a fun, light hearted love story of two enemies.

Years after their first encounter, Stevie is at the top of her professional game and Judd Mackie has made a great living insulting Stevie’s tennis game.   After Stevie collapses on the tennis court, it is Judd’s job to uncover the “real scoop” behind Stevie’s health.  Like all good love stories, you will be entertained by the circumstances that bring these two former adversaries close, and I mean really close. 

E.D.

Zachary's Law by Lisa Jackson

I found Zachary’s Law to be a very well written story of a mother trying to find her children when her husband does not return them after a visit. We hear of this story many times on the news where the ex-husband or wife takes off with the children. Zachary’s Law begins to tell the torment a parent goes through, however I don’t think it totally captures the full extent of mental anguish they experience. I had a similar incident with someone in my own family and I know firsthand the extreme mental and physical toll it takes on the body. You look to anybody that can help you find your children.

This story was written in 1986 but the experience is the same as anyone would feel in 2012. The mother becomes emotionally and physically involved with her attorney who investigates this case in a very unconventional method. The mother chooses not to call the police, which I would think anyone would do first. I found it was slow getting into the story but by the third chapter I couldn’t wait to get back to the book to listen to the ending.

KR

Undone... A Staff Favorite

I just finished an edge-of-your-seat, can’t-put-it-down (or can’t-pause-it) thriller, Undone by Karin Slaughter. The mystery begins when an elderly couple hits a woman walking in the road. It is clear to the couple and to Will Trent, a detective for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, this woman has escaped from unspeakable horrors committed in an underground cave built by a serial killer. Will and Sara Linton, the doctor treating the victim, work together to catch a killer before he kills two more woman who have just been reported missing.

I actually listened to the second book, Broken, first but listening out of sequence really didn’t detract from either story. I really liked Broken too (enough to go back and listen to the first book) but Undone was so suspenseful, I didn’t even want to get leave my desk for lunch or go home at the end of the day! Now, if I could just get my hands on the third book…

-L.E.

Undone by Karin Slaughter

One of my co-workers recommended this book to me, and I was really excited because it is a good mystery that will keep me entertained.  Although I am only about half way through the book I am already hooked!  I was hooked within the first 10 minutes actually!  The story follows the lives of an ER doctor, a team of detectives and the lives of two missing women.  We begin with a woman rushed to the hospital after she had been hit by a car, but it doesn’t take long for the team to discover that this victim has been brutally tortured as well; the torture is so extreme we have to wonder was the car accident an accident?  Or had the woman thrown herself in front of the car to escape her attacker?!

The narration in this audiobook is very pleasant; I am able to distinguish the characters voices as Natalie Ross once again delivers a beautiful performance.

This is also the first audiobook that I have been able to transfer to my Kindle (with a lot of help from my co-workers)!  I am so excited to bring my Kindle home for the weekend and listen to Undone while finishing up some projects!

-A.P

KOKO by Peter Straub

I wanted to listen to this audiobook as so many of our customers have been buying it and giving us good feedback.  It is the first in a trilogy, so you know I am all about that!  I didn’t know what to expect with this audiobook, I wasn’t sure what it was about I just knew it was selling fast.  As it turns out KOKO focuses on four Vietnam Veterans, who decades after their return to the homeland continue to be tormented by nightmares, visions and ghosts of their past.  We meet the men at a memorial service and soon learn that they are planning a trip to the Far East to try and locate a man from their unit who is suspected of murder.  As the men search for their friend the listener must pay close attention as this is a fast paced audiobook with quite a few important characters.  

It took me a little while to get a handle on the storyline because it is so complex but trust me it is worth it.  There are surprises around every corner and the narrator Patrick Lawlor is awesome.  His interpretations and accents are distinct and really compliment the story.  I recommend this audiobook to those listeners who like a fast paced military thriller, and look forward to the next books in the series, Mystery and The Throat.            

-A.P.

Perry Mason and the Case of the Howling Dog

I grew up with my Dad watching Perry Mason on TV during his lunch hour.  I have to confess that I used to stay home from school sick, just to watch Perry Mason, too.  So when I found out that a few of Erle Stanley Gardener stories were on audio, I had to listen to them.  I’m so glad I did!

Perry Mason and the Case of the Howling Dog is the first dramatized audiobook that I have listened to.   At the end of each scene, the audio would fade out just a bit and that took a little getting used to; but,  I did feel like I was sitting in front of a radio listening to the show being broadcast.  The performance of Jerry Robbins as Perry Mason was very different than the one portrayed by Raymond Burr on the T.V. show.  Although the performances were completely different, I actually really enjoyed it.  I created a whole new image of the characters Perry, Delia and Paul while listening to this radio dramatization.

With forensic science all around us, I love reading and listening to mysteries that are solved by common sense and deduction.  Perry’s restless client, Mr. Cartwright claims that his neighbor’s howling dog is a sign of murder and wants his neighbor, Clinton Foley arrested.  Before Cartwright’s claim can be corroborated, Foley and the dog are shot dead; and Cartwright is missing along with Mrs. Foley.  Perry along with The Drake Detective Agency must unravel this complex and entertaining mystery.

ED