Audiobook Review: Nash Falls by David Baldacci

 

Nash Falls (Walter Nash #1) by David Baldacci

Publication Date: November 11th 2026 by Hachette Audio

Pages: 400

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 54min

Narrators: MacLeod Andrews, Christine Lakin, Larry Herron, Shiromi Arserio, Will Collyer

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Walter Nash’s comfortable, privileged life is turned upside down when the FBI approaches him for inside information on the company he works for. Apparently, Sybaritic Investments is involved with some very shady dealings on a high level.

 

Walter begins his own investigations to verify that he’s not being taken in by some scheme and discovers some very disturbing information that puts him and his family in danger. Things go downhill quickly. He gets help through a contact of his estranged father, an unexpected ally.

 

I felt bad for Walter as his life is upended through no fault of his own! Walter is a smart cookie but didn’t really question things in his work and life being so caught up in his career. I was happy to see that change. Things end in a thrilling conclusion, a “to-be-continued” sort of situation. I have some suspicions that one thing may not be as it seems. I’m hoping, anyhow. I look forward to the next installment, Hope Rises, which releases April 14^th. Very soon!

 

I listened to the audio version which was a treat with the full cast of narrators! All performed their parts throughout the book which made each character distinct and enhanced my enjoyment!

4 Stars

Book Description:

When Walter Nash is recruited by the FBI to help bring down a global crime network his life is turned completely upside down in this thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.

Nash is an intelligent man, tough but fair-minded. He has a wife and a daughter and a very high-level position at Sybaritic Investments, where his innate skills and dogged tenacity have carried him to the top of the pyramid in his business career. Despite never going on grand adventures, and always working too many hours, he has a happy and upscale life with his family.

However, following his estranged Vietnam-veteran father’s funeral, Nash is unexpectedly approached by the FBI in the middle of the night. They have an important request: become their inside man to expose an enterprise that is laundering large sums of money through Sybaritic. At the top of this illegal operation is Victoria Steers, an international criminal mastermind that the FBI has been trying to bring down for years.

Nash has little choice but to accept the FBI’s demands and try to bring Steers and her partners to justice. But when Steers discovers that Nash is working with the FBI, she turns the tables on him in a way he never could have contemplated. And that forces Nash to take the ultimate step both to survive and to take his revenge: He must become the exact opposite of who he has always been.
And even that may not be enough.

Audiobook Review: The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

 

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Publication Date: January 3rd 2023 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 288

Audio Book Length: 7hrs 57 min

Narrators: Julia Whelan, Shiromi Arserio, Kimberly M. Wetherell

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Emily and Chess, childhood friends, are spending the summer in Italy at Villa Aestas. Emily, a moderately successful cozy-mystery writer has been suffering writer’s block, going through a contentious divorce, and Chess is now a famously successful self-help guru. They’re supposed to be taking this time in Italy to reconnect, yet you can feel the underlying tension between them, each a little jealous of the other even though they’re supposed to be besties.

Emily finds out that Villa Aestas is actually the scene of the infamous murder of the musician, Pierce Sheldon, back in 1974, and begins to investigate what actually happened there. The story is scandalous with rumors of bed-hopping, drugs, and alcohol, but the two women involved, Pierce’s lover Mari and her stepsister Lara go on to become famous artists, each tight-lipped about that tragic summer. Emily uncovers secret pages written by Mari, re-awakening her passion for writing, which sparks more tension between her and Chess.

I disliked most of the characters in The Villa, but I couldn’t help but root for Emily in the present and Mari in the past. Neither one was perfect, especially by the end, but something about each of their situations had me on their side, enraged by the treatment by those close to them. Chess, Matt, Pierce and Noel all self-centered unlikable people, Pierce toping that list for me. The ending was in some ways tragic, and unsettling, but also felt a bit justified. I felt bad over the fate of one character.

It's interesting to note that Mari’s story in 1974 was inspired by the summer in 1816 Mary Shelley spent in Italy with her future husband, poet Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, John Polidori, and her stepsister, Claire Clairemont, referenced in THIS article. One dreary night Lord Byron suggested they each come up with a ghost story which led to Mary writing Frankenstein, and John Polidori writing The Vampyre.

The Villa was full of betrayals, jealousies, and toxic relationships, but the unfolding mysteries and motivations were captivating, and the story was hard to put down.

Julia Whelan is a phenomenal narrator. She gives each character, Emily, Chess, and those in the present-day story, a unique, separate voice and it’s hard to remember you’re listening to one person perform different characters. Shiromi Arserio is a new-to-me narrator and does a fantastic job performing Mari and the 1974 cast. Kimberly M. Wetherell, also new-to-me and wonderful, did the news articles and announcements. I listened at usual 1.5x-1.75x normal speed. The audio is a definite recommend.

4 Stars

Book Description:

As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.