Category: Audiobook

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, George V - 1910- 1936, Historical Mystery, Interwar Period (Nov 1918 - Sep 1939), Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons (Saffron Everleigh Mystery #1)

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Saffron Everleigh #1
Publication Date: 6/7/22
Period: George V / Interwar Period (London)
Number of Pages: Audiobook – Narrator Jodie Harris

Woohoo! I think I have discovered a new must-read historical mystery author. This is her debut novel and I can honestly say it is better written, better plotted, and has character development that is right up there with the stars of this genre. I can’t believe I almost passed it by because the period is a bit later than I normally prefer. Whew! So glad I didn’t. Being a romantic at heart, I must have a romance in my historical mysteries – either a married couple or engaged couple, etc. – and this book appears to hint that will be the case in this series. However, that said, the next book is featuring a different male lead and I’m anxious to see where that might go.

Saffron Everleigh has worked hard to be where she is and she has to fight every day to stay. Not only does she have to do her job twice as well, but she has to constantly contend with snide remarks, sexual harassment, and rumors. Mostly she can ignore it because her boss and mentor, Dr. Maxwell, has always been her champion. He encourages her to stay the course, not be discouraged, and not let the good-old-boys win. What would she do without him? Unfortunately, when he is arrested for attempted murder, she might have to find out. She knows he isn’t guilty and is determined to find out who is and clear him.

I love that there are a lot of red herrings and a plethora of suspects. All of those suspects have credible reasons for wanting to commit murder and you’ll just have to work through the plot with the author to find out who the culprit is. Is it – Dr. Lawrence Henry? Or Eris Ermine? Or Harry Snyder? Or Dr. Berking? Or Richard Blake? Or Alexander Ashton? Or could it be that Dr. Maxwell is the guilty party? Oh! My goodness, Saffron has her hands full with this one.

She drags Alexander Ashton into the investigation even though she’s not sure she can trust him. There are so many plots-within-plots and undercurrents and rivalries at the university, they may never unravel it all. As they draw nearer and nearer to the solution, both Saffron and Alexander find themselves in a mortally dangerous situation. Can they thwart the villains and live to tell about it? You’ll just have to read this fast-paced, exciting novel to find out.

I listened to the audiobook version and enjoyed the narration. Jodie Harris’s voice is smooth and pleasant, her delivery is nicely paced with appropriately delivered emotions. She does a credible job with the male voices, but, if you were listening to a conversation in real life, you’d quickly identify those voices as female. However, in the world of audio and stories, it works just fine.

I liked the way the author chose not to make the police seem like bumbling incompetents as is so often the case. They did jump the gun in arresting Dr. Maxwell, but they were continuing to investigate rather than just looking for reasons he’s guilty. I like Alexander Ashton as the ‘hero’ in the series because we came to see his flaws and how he is managing to cope with them. Then, he is supportive of Saffron, but very worried about her recklessness as well. Yes, Saffron can be reckless and has some TSTL moments. I will look forward to her becoming more circumspect in her actions in future books. If Ashton isn’t to be the ongoing romantic lead, I hope that role will be quickly settled because I do not enjoy the romantic lead changing from book to book.

I can recommend this excellently written and well-plotted historical mystery. I’m already breathlessly awaiting the next installment in the series – A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers and Fatality.

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Whiplash by Catherine Coulter

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Whiplash (FBI Thriller, #14)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: FBI Thriller #14
Publication Date: 6/15/2010
Period: Contemporary
Number of Pages: 482

I thought I had read all of the books in this series, but I found I’d missed this one. How did I do that? At the moment, the series is up to book #26. So, of course, I immediately had to read the book I’d missed. It was nice to see that the author used Savich’s sixth sense in this book because she’d gotten away from that in the later books. I didn’t realize I’d missed it until it made an appearance. I must mention that I love this series, but you should be prepared (as always) for giant leaps toward the solution of the cases. The FBI agents just have these ‘hunches’ or ‘intuitions’ or they must get information behind the scenes that we are not privy to – at any rate, you’ll get giant leaps toward the solution and you’ll wonder – wait – where did that come from. Even with that, I still love the series and want to read each and every book.

As is the standard in this series, we have two mysteries that are being worked on simultaneously. To me, the main case is the case in Connecticut where Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven field office, Bowie Richards, gets a case where a murdered man is found in Van Wie Park – which is federal land. On the same night as the body is found, there is a break-in at the corporate offices of the Schiffer Hartwin Pharmaceutical company that abuts the park. When the victim is identified as Helmut Blauvelt, an employee of that company, it is assumed there is an association between the two crimes.

The second case has to do with the ‘haunting’ of Senator David Hoffman. While Hoffman doesn’t believe it is an apparition, he is spooked and wants to know what it is and who is behind it. When he calls the director of the FBI to ask for assistance, Agent Savich is assigned to the case. When someone is actually murdered and then the vice-president is almost killed – all while eating or using things only Hoffman would normally have been using, Savich believes there is truly a threat to Hoffman. Now, to figure it out. Who would want to harm Hoffman? The trail to the solution is convoluted and surprising.

In the Connecticut case, both Sherlock and Savich are assigned to help Bowie however they can. While Bowie isn’t happy about the ‘help’, he shows his professionalism by welcoming them and folding them right into his investigation. The scenario could be pulled directly from some of today’s headlines. A multi-national pharmaceutical company seems to be cutting production of a vital drug in the treatment of colon cancer. Without that drug, those diagnosed with colon cancer have to switch to a very costly medication that isn’t covered by insurance. Whoever broke into the US headquarters of the pharmaceutical company managed to get documentation of the company’s wrongdoing.

Danger flirts with all of those involved in the cases and more dead bodies appear. The Connecticut case is much faster-paced and more exciting than the Senator’s case, but both are interesting and you have to wonder how many people are involved and will the agents actually get to the bottom of it. Will the pharmaceutical company get away with just a few fines as is the standard or will they actually pay for all they’ve done? You’ll just have to read the book to get to the bottom of those questions.

I listened to the book in audiobook format and thoroughly enjoyed the narrators – Paul Costanzo and Renee Raudman. It was nice to have two narrators – one for the female characters and one for the male. They nicely displayed different voices for each of the characters, and they also conveyed the appropriate emotions as well. The story experience was nicely enhanced by their narration.

I enjoyed the story and I am so glad I went back and read this one. It is a good story, and I enjoyed all of the characters and mysteries. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

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