Bad Games

Bad Games

Written by: Jeff Menapace

Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Series: Bad Games, Book 1

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:03-27-15

Publisher: Mind Mess Press

First let me say I most likely will never go camping again, vacations are even questionable after listening to this audio. This story could have been taken out of today’s headlines it is so believable and scary you have to trouble buying into it. I found myself talking with such emotion to the characters in this audio my husband looked at me as said you know this is not real it never really happened? I gave him one of my whatever looks it might not be true crime but dang these people were real to me. I started this audio home alone at night when my husband wasn’t due back until very late. I am not one who scares easy but this audio hand me locking the doors and jumping at every noise. I was very grateful when my husband finally did get home. Warning this is a violence book with graphic murders. If this doesn’t scare you in some way there is something wrong with you lol.

Mr. Tiedemann had me in the palm of his hand from the first few words. He puts so much emotion into this audio and keeps you right on the edge knowing nothing good is going to come out of it. From the first few words you can hear the danger in his tone. You see the scenes as they play out. At times you may even cover your face, bite your nails as your heart speeds up hoping you are wrong but knowing you aren’t. The narrator gives just the right amount of pause to really let it sink in scaring the crap right out of you. Believe me when I say you know just what each character is feeling and what emotion has a hold of not only them but you. His character voices are outstanding you always know who is talking. His female voices are just as wonderful as his male ones. The audio is very clear, clean and crisp with no background noises, if any breaks were taken you cannot tell. The narrator’s voice blends in very well with this story it fits what is going on right down to a T. This is such a compelling listen that you are invested in the story from the start to the end. Mr. Tiedemann performance is outstanding I wish I could give him more than 5 stars. He really adds so much to this listen giving you a highly entertaining audio that I could not put down.

As the story plays out I really wonder what all goes through this authors mind. The twist he throws in are mind blowing. I found myself talking to the characters at times even yelling no, no don’t go in, or yes pack up and leave right this minute. Yes that is a good idea, go with your feelings, are you crazy RUN RUN for your lives. It has been awhile since an author had such an effect on me, scaring me to the point of locking my doors, checking my windows. Lord help my poor dogs if they barked I was checking to see what was outside and then yelled at them to stop doing that. I think they were laughing back at me. I have even waited a few days before I wrote this review and I find my heart is still racing like crazy. At the time of listening to this I was scared senseless, now not do much. Did I have a strong reaction you better believe it, I doubt anyone can listen to this and not have. What the author brings to the table is a thrilling, horror, exciting, suspenseful, humor, laughter, action story of murder, kidnapping, stalking of sociopathic brothers who are serial killers out looking for a few laughs playing by their own set of rules terrifying everyone in their path. Let the games begin if you dare pick up this audio and become invest in each terrifying scene that will have hanging on the edge as every scene keeps you with your ears on high alert jumping at every sound. I really wish I could give this more than 5 stars. I pick it as one of my favorite reads. I just loved it and plan on listening to it again and again.  

Buy Links

Audible

https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Bad-Games-Audiobook/B00V97JV7Q

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Games-Dark-Psychological-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00BIP1S8E/ref=cm_cr_if_orig_subj?_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=audiblecom0f-20

Summary

Participation is not an option....
The Lambert Family is heading to Crescent Lake, a rural cabin community in western Pennsylvania, for an idyllic weekend getaway. Some fishing, some barbecue, some games...
The Fannelli brothers are heading to Crescent Lake too. Some stalking, some kidnapping, some murder, definitely some games - though not necessarily the type of games the Lamberts had in mind.
But it doesn't matter. The Lamberts are going to play whether they like it or not.
An intense psychological thriller, Bad Games has the dark, mind-bending terror of Cape Fear combined with the fish-out-of-water dread and suspense of Deliverance.
So let Jeff Menapace's best-selling thriller keep you up all night as it delves into the mystery of nature versus nurture when comprehending the evil in man, along with the will and determination an innocent family must summon to fight back against horrific odds.
Bonus! Includes the first chapter of the pulse-pounding sequel, Vengeful Games.

The Cain Conspiracy

The Cain Conspiracy: The Cain Series, Book 1

Written by: Mike Ryan

Narrated by: Charles Hayward

Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins

Series: The Cain Series, Book 1

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:10-17-16

Publisher: Mike Ryan

At times this story was a little slow and other times a steady beat. The story has good parts and some not so good. What throw me more than anything was when the character said I thought and then someone answered their thought. If someone is thinking most likely it is in their head and others to not hear it. This happens way too much for it to have been a thought that slipped out. Just as I was getting into the story “I thought” was said and just took away from all I had enjoyed which left me thinking more about why that was there I and missed what happen next. The hooker relation throws me as well, he is such a gentleman with her but with his handle he is a starved man, there was no chemistry for me to buy into this part. I feel a little more development is needed, more follow up is needed on the med Cain took, to him checking out the agency to make sure they were on the up and up.  I found these things very confusing. Before I get into what worked for me let’s talk about the narrator.

Mr. Ryan has a delightful voice which really adds to the story. His character voices are great. You have no trouble knowing who is talking at any given time. I am unsure why their boss is so harsh he always sounds mad which confused me. His emotions are not bad but I thought at one point the hooker laughed or chuckled the narrator should have does so as well why talking to make it more believable. I did not feel any sparks between any of the women or men. Now when the handler got mad at her ex I felt that through Mr. Ryan’s voice. When the ex got cocky I had no trouble I heard it in his voice and chuckled a time or two. There were parts that the emotion or excitement was easy to feel others a little more work is need but it wasn’t bad at all. There are no background noises nor any place where the volume changes. There are times Mr. Ryan need to pause give brakes between what is happening or between sentences. The audio is very clean, clear and crisp. If any breaks were taken I could not tell. I thought the narrator give an enjoyable listen that added to the audio. I do believe this is some of his first works and do believe with time he will become a very talented narrator.

What worked for me in this story was Cain when he wakes up I could feel his confusion. I had so much respect for him with the hooker from helping her start over to how he was a true gentleman. I am a little confused over what this agency is and why all the secrets between so many also the ex leave hints as to what it truly is but I am unsure as to why he wanted out but I feel as we go along we will understand more. The hooker I have to say my heart went out to her, the first time she finds a man that treats her as a person and she falls for him…so sad. I do have respect for her for trying to better herself. The handler has an emotional story to tell. The boss has me a little confused but again I feel that will come out as they story goes on. For the most part the action is wonderful I loved the car scene that really got my mind going. The excitement from the driver had me chuckling. To many fillers for me is a big problem which I have to give to the author he doesn’t use any. More or less every word written is needed to tell the story. For that alone it was worth the listen. Even with the confusing and the “I thought” part I thought this was an enjoyable listen. I most likely would listen to it again at some point.

Buy Links

Audible

https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Cain-Conspiracy-Audiobook/B01MDLK2O5

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Cain-Conspiracy-Book/dp/B01M23UQUA/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Summary

Shot in the head and recovering from brain surgery, Delta Force soldier Thomas Nelson wakes up in a military hospital unable to remember who he is. Faced with going through recovery alone, with no family that he's aware of, he is recruited by a top secret government agency. Project Specter is tasked with eliminating targets they deem to be a threat to the United States. Their goal is to turn Nelson into a super assassin named Matthew Cain.
Cain's first mission is supposed to be a piece of cake. Just take out an escaped fugitive in Honduras who's on the run for the rape and murder of a little girl in New York. There's only one problem; somebody beat him to it. Everything is not what it seems as Cain gets mixed up with an international arms dealer and an ex-government agent who's gone rogue and is supposed to be dead.
The Cain Conspiracy is the first book in the high-octane Cain Series.

Stolen in the Night (true crime)

Stolen in the Night

Written by: Gary C. King

Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:04-24-17

Publisher: Gary C. King Enterprises

This is one of the saddest stories I have every listened to that could have been prevented if he had not gotten out of jail the first time, maybe gotten some help but I doubt that would have made a difference to his way of mind. What a cruel man who thinks nothing of life as you will find between these pages a man who rapes, kills little kids and families for no other reason than to have his fun and way with kids.

Mr. Bennett has become one of my favorite narrators he really knows how to pull a read in becoming the characters. His character voices have always been outstanding here you have more facts the characters so you really do not get a true sounding of just how great his narration is. There his narration you can really feel the pain the families, friends and the victims go through. There is no repeat of words nor any background noise just a clean clear audio that you will spend time in shock and pain as you hear what they had to go through. The narrator really bought home to me all this and so many more families had to go through because of this man. He really put emotion into the audio you can feel each pain, sorrow and tear that falls through his voice.

Words cannot say what I feel for the victims and their families. All that Shasta and Dylan had to go through and what Shasta still is today just breaks your heart. My mind won’t even wrap around the years since this and what it must have been like to become an adult still dealing with the past.

This is a story mostly of facts that are heartbreaking from the day they were taken and their family was killed up to and a few years after he caught, it even goes over his thought to a point and how he was turning his self in..whatever. The author does into some detail but it isn’t hard core, he doesn’t go into just what happen to these children just they were raped and used. It shouldn’t set off any triggers.  It’s a story of one family’s life turned upside down never to be the same. I thought it was well written with good facts that kept me interested. I am a true crime junky no doubt about it. I spend my time trying to work out why, why would someone do the things they do. I am hooked on the way the mind works or doesn’t work. I was hooked from the start and was so glad one child made it out of a nightmare to live. One must wonder what her life is like today and when the evil man will be put to death. I hope it is very long and painful. It might be wrong but it is how I feel. I enjoyed seeing how the law had changed, how the holes have been filled to helpful help the next Shasta so her and her family will not have to deal with all she has. My heart is very much with her family and hope them the very best. I feel so much for a child that had to be a hero but lost so much to the women she is today. If you enjoy facts and true crime it is worth the listen. The narration is outstanding.

Buy Links

Audible

http://www.audible.com/pd/Nonfiction/Stolen-in-the-Night-Audiobook/B06ZZ4S4MG

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Night-Familys-Kidnapping-Survived-ebook/dp/B004WPGF7G/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Summary

Joseph Duncan had been convicted of raping and torturing a 14-year-old boy in Tacoma, Washington. On the Internet he proudly boasted of his perversions. But the system turned Duncan loose, and no one would stop him from committing an even more horrifying act...

This time, he prepared meticulously. He chose his getaway car. He chose his murder weapon and loaded a video camera. Then, when he saw young Shasta and Dylan Groene playing outside their Idaho home, he struck—killing their mother and her boyfriend, and their older brother…and vanishing into the night with Shasta and Dylan.

Detectives pored over the bloody murder scene. The FBI scrambled to find the children and the abductor. And even when Duncan was finally located, the story was not yet over: Dylan was still missing…and the depth of one man's evil was still coming horribly to light….

The Woodsman: Enchanted Lovers,

The Woodsman: Enchanted Lovers, Book 1

Written by: Belle Scarlett

Narrated by: Honey Scarlett , Leeroy Will

Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:02-17-17

Publisher: A Scarlett Woman Press

What made this audio was the outstanding narration and sound effects.  Here is where little red riding hood meet the big bad wolf like you have never seen before. Little Red is a very innocent good girl whose parent has sent her off to be married to an old man they have never met. Rumors are he out lives every one of his wives which is strange since he is very old and they are very young. Along come the wolf with the biggest blue eyes you have ever seen who is really more a pussy cat than big bad. At least with Little Red she has him eating out of her hand in no time flat.

I just love this duo of narrators each of their audios have been better than the last. The only problem I have with them is the music was a little loud at times. At other times it was softer and much better. There are no repeat of words, or any background noise that should not have been there. Their character voices are outstanding. They give each character so much emotion you can really feel it. The paint a picture along with the sound effect it is like watching a movie in your head. If any breaks were taken you could not tell. There is no place where the volume changes going higher or lower. You have no trouble knowing who is talking or what they are feeling. It was a wonderful clear, clean, crisp audio you get lost in. The music was to loud at times but it does not take away from this wonderful narration. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for me next. You all are in for such a treat….

There were times in this audio I had to chuckle, and other times I rolled my eyes. You went from a sweet innocent lady who didn’t even know what to call a male’s member to 2 seconds flat calling it a cock when she never knew what it was called. I guess it just popped in her head. I just could not buy into that part. If she was innocent she didn’t stay that way long because she became a wild sex starve innocent women who isn’t so innocent in 2 seconds. I had a hard time buying the things she came up with to say when she didn’t have much of a clue to that kind of act before.  There is a love triangle which I thought was good. I loved the little fairies they were fun. The truly interesting part was what and why the old man wanted a bride. I hate to be harsh but without the narrators this would not have been a very enjoyable story. I would have bought into this had the author stayed in the time period she had picked with more of how the innocent woman were back then. As the author said her mother said there will be part of the marriage act you will not like deal with it. That is all the education she got until she met the wolf.

The wolf is demanding, sexy and cute but at times to wishy washy he must have but no he won’t she must leave. He will stay a wolf the rest of his life because he can’t have her. Then he must have her again but changes his mind. Back and forward we went. It was enough to drive me nuts.

I did enjoy the audio it was worth the listen just for the narration. You decide pick it up and give it a listen. There are so many people who have loved this story and totally enjoyed it from start to finish. You are in for a treat with this narration duo…

Note 3 stars because I enjoyed part of it, laughed a few times and I did love those fairies. 5 Stars narration all the way.

Buy Links

Audible

http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/The-Woodsman-Audiobook/B06WP6F3ZP

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Woodsman-Enchanted-Lovers-Book-ebook/dp/B016PHGO0G/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Summary

Once upon a moonlit night in the Enchanted Forest, where cursed beings are consigned until the spells that bind them are broken....
After he captures Lady Lily Rouge's carriage, Sir Marrok Ulfang, aka the biggest baddest wolf the Enchanted Forest has ever seen, has only one day to win her heart and claim her first sexual surrender, even if it means giving the nosey pixies fluttering outside his cottage window an eyeful.
Otherwise, a wolf shapeshifter he'll stay, damned to remain in the lonely Enchanted Forest forever.
But while he can arouse her virginal body to fever pitch, he quickly learns that his spirited, saucy Lily has a mind and will of her own.

Don't Call Me Victim

Don't Call Me Victim

Written by: Carrie Crist

Narrated by: Rick Gregory

Length: 39 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:04-03-17

Publisher: Carrie Crist 

This is short sweet with no fillers, some parts are left out but it is enough there for you to work it out for the most part. I guess this is one way for a victim to get justices. It is a mixture of the after effects and revisiting things as they happen.

Paul is so sure Terri is his girlfriend that he stalks her at work, home and everywhere in between. There are parts that are a little confusing which I can’t talk about but they work their selves out at the end. There are places you will think what, are you crazy and why are you doing that. Again this will work it’s self out. I had most of this worked out but the ending still took me by surprise.

Mr. Gregory I thought did a good job of narration. The parts where he read out of character he sounded a little robotic. When he gets into the characters he does put lot of emotion into the character. There is a little change in character voices but a lot of them are close to others. I had no trouble but for a few times working out who was talking. There are neither volume changes nor any background noises. If any breaks were taken I could not tell.  I have not listen to anything by this narrator and with a little work I think he could be a wonderful one. I do have to say he has a pleasant voice one that did pull me in and had me hook as to who what and why. He made it interesting when things didn’t make sense and I did enjoy it very much.

The plot is good, a little confusing but good. You should be able to work it out but you may want to pay attention or you will be lost. I think a little more information should have been given. I would have liked to have known if the police worked it all out and just what triggered Paul’s ending, we do know what happen to him but I am unsure as to they why. I did enjoy it very much, for a debut story it isn’t bad at all. If it was a little longer with more information as to why his ex left him along with the above questions this could be a wonderful heart stopping read. I enjoyed it, feel it is worth a 3.5 star rounding it up to 4 stars. The title I feel fits the story to a T, when things get bad it is time to get out (not sure how they got bad), I am pretty sure Paul was a nut case from the start. I am unsure what attracted her to him but my heart went out to both his ex and Terri. A good read that for the most part keeps you guessing.

Buy Links

Audible

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Dont-Call-Me-Victim-Audiobook/B06XY4PDLZ

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Call-Victim-Carrie-Crist-ebook/dp/B01N9DN3Z3/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1493858741&sr=1-1&keywords=Carrie+Crist

Summary

The desperate Paul tirelessly stalks Terri, a beautiful young woman who Paul thinks is his ex-girlfriend Missy. Paul is soon found screaming incoherently in the streets, covered in blood while Terri is missing. The police then race against the clock to try and discover what the psychotic Paul has done with the object of his obsession. Or did she do something to him?