UGH!

What disappointed you about Breaking News: Avery Shaw Mystery Books 1-3?

This book is annoying on all levels. If I could give it a minus star I would. That main character just comes off as an obnoxious pain.

Would you ever listen to anything by Amanda M. Lee again?

I would not listen to anything else by this author. Can not even get thru this one. Seriously sorry I wasted my credits on this. Now I am stuck with something I will not finish.

What didn’t you like about Angel Clark’s performance?

Its not really her fault that she is reading something with nothing to recommend it.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

NO!!!!

Any additional comments?

Wish I could get my credit back.

7 people found this helpful

Wow where do I begin

Would you recommend Breaking News: Avery Shaw Mystery Books 1-3 to your friends? Why or why not?

I would if there was a different narrator. The narrator mispronounces many of the words. Like crochet as croquet. This makes it hard to listen to. The voices she does for the male voices are the same but also are annoying.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Angel Clark?

I would have cast just about anyone else. Seriously.

15 people found this helpful

Good mysteries... lacking back stories

I want to like Avery Shaw... really, I do. I like that she's her own person, but the angry tirades can only go so far... things start getting redundant and there are some (minor) inconsistencies that are definitely more noticeable when you listen to three books straight in a row.

*SPOILER ALERT * I'm somewhat flummoxed about Elliot's magically becoming a private investigator with absolutely no intro or explanation in Book 2. I get adding layers to the character and needing something for the story that you hadn't realized was necessary in the previous book, but there needed to be some sort of introduction to the idea before he just announces some chick is his client... it was totally out of the blue! Have Avery walk by a window and see a flyer announcing his side job... say she hadn't heard from him in months but a story comes across the news desk involving him helping solve some minor crime... anything other than just pretending we all already knew!

9 people found this helpful

Good Story - Robotic Narration

The story line in this series is entertaining. The main character was a little off-putting in the first book, but has since grown on me. This is the first time I have considered returning a book, though. The narrator is sufficient for the main character’s voice, but for every male voice, it is robotic and very ‘text-to-speech’ sounding. I couldn’t figure out if it was an editing thing or truly the way the story was being narrated. I would recommend the book, but not this version with this narration/editing.

3 people found this helpful

The Narrator needs work

Angel Clark needs to work on her male voices. And the characters were funny but there was no backstory on the characters

3 people found this helpful

Narration lacks

While the narrator has a pleasant voice, she "reads" male characters terribly. The mispronunciation is atrocious. An aunt by marriage in the story, whom arrives at a family gathering at the family restaurant, is wearing, the story purports, a crochet dress. I was confused initially, as the narrator pronounced it croquet. Yeah.

There were many other mis pronunciations that make listening to this disconcerting. I just can't appreciate this and wish I hadn't purchased it. I'm sure the story is fine . . .

2 people found this helpful

Hard to listen

The story line is pretty good but the narration is lacking. The male character narration does not sound natural and being from southeast Michigan I am struggling with the mispronunciation of local street names.

2 people found this helpful

Ok

Nothing special. Avery is a bit too proud she's rude and antisocial. I realize those inner thoughts are supposed to be humorous , but they were often distracting (and not funny after the first few). But, it was an enjoyable way to listen and clean house.

2 people found this helpful

Hooked on Phonics

Storyline pretty good. Narrator has problems with different voices, when she attempts a diiferent sound, she makes the characters sound like they have speech impediments, retarted or just graduated from Hooked on Phonics class. Except for that I enjoyed the story, but won't get the rest of series due to narrator.

2 people found this helpful

A funny cozy mystery

Avery is 27 years old. She’s mouthy, opinionated, and bossy. She is an only child, a Star Wars junkie, a news reporter for the Monitor. Her clothing choices do not please her mother or boss, Fish. When faced with the smart thing to do or stupid, she selects the stupid. She lives in Roseville, Michigan, in a neighborhood where the residents are middle-class white people – a lot of who are racist.

Friends
Sheriff Jake Farwell and Avery had a tortured past. Yep, a romantic relationship which started in high school and ended in college. Now he is the sheriff and their jobs keep them in the same situations. Many time Avery lust for him.

Carly is her BFF. They met as sophomores in college. She is planning a wedding which has been cancelled countless times. The reasons for the cancellation centers around the drama caused by Kyle’s, her fiancé mother and Carly’s dad.

Eliot the hunky owner of the pawn shop. They met when Avery was shopping for a gun. They have the hots for each other. There is a history between him and Jake. Therefore, every time they meet there is tension. Our girl Avery is a magnet for all kinds of trouble and Eliot who listens to the police scanner, shows up at many of the crime scenes.

Tad is a former college boyfriend. He broke up with her because she was unsuitable for a politician’s wife. That was fine with her because she had to fake her organisms. He is involved with local politics and is on the county commission committee. This happens to be an event that Avery covers for the Monitor the newspaper.

Work
Fred Fish is her boss. He is stuck in the 1960s who is wary of women in the work place.
Marvin is her loyal co-worker. He is a hypochondriac, makes bad choices in women, lives and breathes news.

Family
Mom and dad are divorced. She has a relationship with her mother. The family has weekly Friday dinners at the family’s restaurant, everyone is expected to attend. Mom and daughter conversation consists of her mom disapproval of her not being married and her clothing choices. A Friday family dinner is included in each story. Many times, Avery leaves the dinner in a hurry because of the hysterical outrageous behaviors of her family.

Don is her cousin that is cop. He is like a brother to Avery.

Lexie is a cousin and is like a sister to Avery. She makes bad boyfriend choices and has anger issues.

The mysteries evolves around how Avery fumbles the investigation of her stories. Many times, she becomes part of the story, which involves with attempts on her life. Occasionally, at the crime sites when Jake, Eliot, and Avery in the same proximity, tension rises.

The narrator's male voices are awful, especially for Jake and Eliot. Disregard them and enjoy the story.

These weird dysfunctional characters and situations are featured in each story. The stories is funny, silly and enjoyable. This is a cozy mystery – enjoy it!

4 people found this helpful