Audiobook Review: Break Every Rule By Brian Freeman

 

Break Every Rule by Brian Freeman

Publication Date: September 10th 2024 by Blackstone Publishing

Pages: 354

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 

Narrator: Scott Brick

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Break Every Rule was an exciting action-packed thriller/mystery!

 

Tommy knew his wife, Teresa, had secrets, but he didn’t pry, not realizing how dangerous they were, mostly because he had his own secrets to keep. However, he’s in a race against time when Teresa and their baby daughter are abducted. He’s not certain if it’s because of his past or hers that she’s been taken, but he needs to figure it out quickly.

 

This thriller was fast-paced, and I was riveted by the story as past events from Tommy’s past is revealed through his recollections and Teresa’s past is revealed through Tommy’s investigations. Both of their histories were dangerous and interesting. I was enraged for Teresa and some of the other women. I was also extremely worried for her! It’s sad and infuriating that the situations described happen in real life!

 

I’m a big fan of Scott Brick as a narrator and his talents enhanced this exciting story! His performance of the action scenes, as well as a variety of voices, both male and female was excellent!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series comes a breathtaking thriller about a man whose only chance to rescue his family is to return to the past he thought he’d left behind.

Tommy Miller is a man with deadly skills, hiding in Florida under a false identity. After being set up on an overseas mission, he’s on the run from terrorists—and from the government who betrayed him. So when his wife and daughter are violently abducted, it seems his ghosts are finally catching up with him.

But Tommy isn’t the only one with secrets. His wife, Teresa, has been concealing her own dangerous past, and as Tommy races to rescue his family, he must peel away the clues she’s left behind. With a hotshot police detective, Lindy Jax, close on his trail, Tommy follows a twisted path from Florida to the Bahamas, one that brings him face to face with ruthless enemies.

His search for answers soon puts him on the wrong side of the law—hunted by the police and pursued by men who want him dead. Worst of all, if he hopes to save Teresa and their daughter, Rosalita, he must become the man he once was—a killer operating from the deepest shadows.

But when the lives of the people you love are at stake, rules are made to be broken.

Audiobook Review: Ordinary Bear by C.B. Bernard

 

Ordinary Bear by C.B. Bernard

Publication Date: April 2rd 2024 by Blackstone Publishing

Pages: 268

Audio Book Length: 8hrs 54min

Narrator: Phil Thron

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

As the story opens, we’re introduced to Farley, a big bear of a man, living in a remote part of Alaska as an oil company investigator. The town has a lively mix of characters, and the story is full of humor. However, things turn tragic quickly when his young daughter comes up for a visit.

After months of recovery, Farley ventures back to Portland, Oregon to seek out his ex for closure. Without meaning to he ends up making a few friends as he works through his grief and injuries. When the daughter of his neighbor goes missing, Farley makes it his mission to get her back.

An Ordinary Bear was a unique and captivating story! One that was hard to stop listening to! Sad, humorous and full of heart! A tale of redemption with interesting characters, bits of suspense and action as Farley tracks the down the little girl. You’d think with the subject matter it’d be a depressing story, but there was plenty of humor and sweetness to the story that made for an uplifting read.

I listened to an audio copy narrated by Phil Thron and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance of both male and female voices! Definitely enhanced and already wonderful story!  I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Dark and humorous, literary but with the heart of a detective novel, Ordinary Bear weighs the burden of grief while exploring our boundless capacity for humanity, kindness, and hope.

Farley stands out among his Iñupiat neighbors in the Alaska village he calls home, both white and enormous, like the hungry polar bears that wander its streets. Jovial and a little hapless, he works as an investigator for a North Slope oil company, passing the long Arctic winters drinking whiskey with the village’s preacher and playing in the weekly poker game hosted by its matriarch and mayor.

When his young daughter visits from thousands of miles away in Portland—where she lives with her mother, who despises him—a shocking moment of violence leaves her dead and Farley injured. Crippled by his wounds and hamstrung with guilt over his inability to save her, he goes home to Oregon to try to make amends.

There he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a single mother and her daughter. With their help, he begins the slow process of healing—until the girl goes missing. Faced with the opportunity to do what he couldn’t do for his own daughter, Farley sets out on a brutal odyssey through Portland’s quirky and dangerous underworld, using his wits and his fists to try to save her life along with the shattered remains of his own.

Audio Review: False Witness by Karin Slaughter

 

False Witness by Karin Slaughter

Publication Date: July 20th 2021 by Blackstone Publishing

Pages: 448

Audio Book Length: 18 hrs 39 min

Narrator: Kathleen Early

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads | Libro.fm 

My Thoughts:

Leigh and her sister Callie seem like a lesson in opposites, Leigh is a successful defense attorney with a beautiful daughter and a sort of ex-husband, Walter, she still gets along with (I was rooting for them!). Callie is a junkie, and has been for years, doing anything to chase that next high, but they’ve been forever bonded by more than just blood.  While Leigh seems to have it all together, and Callie’s life has leveled out a bit, all could unravel when Leigh’s is forced into defending Andrew Tenant, the accused, in a brutal rape case. These sisters, while estranged would do anything for each other, but that’s put to the test when Leigh discovers just who Andrew is and what he knows about their past.  

I love Karin Slaughter’s stories; I’m enthralled and in awe of her talent every time I pick up one of her stories! False Witness was a pulse-pounding, suspenseful plot, and I didn’t want to stop listening! Even when I’d have to (since I need sleep to work!) I spent a good amount of time lying awake and thinking about Leigh, and Callie and how it would all turn out! Their story broke my heart in parts, but even with the intensity and grittiness of the story the love between these sisters and their people (Walter, Maddy, and Dr. Jerry) warmed my heart. There was even a bit of humor to offset some of the tension.  I wanted these two to kick some ass and conquer!  

Kathleen Early’s performance was fantastic! She narrates Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series, and several of her standalone novels so I’m familiar and a big fan. Will Trent is one of my all-time favorite mystery/thriller series’ and it wouldn’t be the same without her narration!

5 Stars

Book Description:

AN ORDINARY LIFE

Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defence attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised - her life is just as unremarkable as she'd always hoped it would be.

HIDES A DEVASTATING PAST

But Leigh's ordinary life masks a childhood which was far from average... a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence.

BUT NOW THE PAST IS CATCHING UP

Then a case lands on her desk - defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It's the highest profile case she's ever been given - a case which could transform her career, if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realises that it's no coincidence that he's chosen her as his attorney. She knows him. And he knows her. More to the point, he knows what happened twenty years ago, and why Leigh has spent two decades running.

AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT

If she can't get him acquitted, she'll lose much more than the case. The only person who can help her is her younger, estranged sister Calli, the last person Leigh would ever want to ask for help. But suddenly she has no choice...