M. Louis

My original Secondhand Smoke audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Jake Brand, PI finds himself in yet another mess. His new client is attractive and aggressive – she wants her boyfriend found but she keeps hitting on Jake. Mix in a hacker who does things unconventionally, a gorgeous Agent, a dirty cop and some hoodlums and you have a deadly combination for Jake and his colleagues/friends.

Mixed with lots of action and danger, Jake falls for a beautiful woman who … well, she shakes him up in more ways than one by the end of the book! While this is book 2 in a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. This book has the back story to Jake, his friends and those he loves which makes a more thorough connection for the reader.

Louis does an excellent job of laying out the plot and then seeing each thread of it through tying everything up nicely. His writing style is brisk yet smooth, character development is full and not overly complex – some authors make the mistake of being too involved, Louis does just the right amount of character development enabling the reader to become entrenched in not only the story but invested in the characters.

We all have a little “devil” and little “angel” sitting on our shoulders but Jake’s is more outspoken than most. I enjoy the inner dialog his conscience has with himself – it’s fun and lighthearted but so packed full of wisdom – such as never tell a woman her morning face is worse than yours – no, you tell her she is magnificent every single second of the day! Fun yet full of twists and turns.

Colin Iago McCarthy does an excellent performance. His voice is Jake Brand down to the husky throaty voice. It is always exciting to hear an audiobook where the narrator becomes the character – they own it – McCarthy owns Jake Brand, PI! There is no doubt that he is Jake. His performance was flawless – no stumbling or missing words – everything was fluid and correct. I enjoy McCarthy’s reading.

There were no issues with the audio production of this book.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.… (mehr)

My original Angel's Devil audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Jake Brand is a private investigator with problems – the ink’s not even dry on the divorce papers before he finds his ex-wife has moved on, his friends step in with an intervention to keep him alive and his business going and then there’s the sudden reappearance of Heather.

Heather, Tony and Jake were like the three musketeers until the friends hit puberty. Jake has to find the killer of Tony and protect Heather while also saving himself from self-destruction. The plot thickens with the mafia from both the coasts, corrupt city officials and a double cross that no one sees coming. Along with Jake, his assistant Sarah stays one step ahead of the bad guys as they try to solve the killings.

M. Louis does an excellent job of making Jake likable by adding in Jake’s devil and angel side-kicks. The inner dialog between these three is fun and engaging. The dialog is realistic and connects the listeners to the characters more solidly – especially the devil & angle dialog.

The story flows well, keeping the listeners on their toes. Fast paced but not rushed, Louis reveals just enough keeping the action riveting. Masterful story-teller, Louis keeps the listener on the edge of his seat.

Colin Iago McCarthy is a wonderful narrator, keeping the action and emotions steady and peaking when it is . McCarthy’s narration is talented and helps project the action and other emotions that are present until the very end when Jake drives off. McCarthy’s voice projects the just the right emotion.

There were no issues with the production quality of this audiobook. It was clear and pleasant to hear.

I recommend this book, albeit short, to anyone who loves private investigators, mysteries and action! Between the writing skills of M. Louis and the narration skills of Colin McCarthy, I wish the book had been longer - the inner dialog between devil, angel and Jake was excellent. I look forward to hearing more from M. Louis and Colin McCarthy.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.… (mehr)