A tough listen

I have received this audiobook as an advanced listener.
As always Gregory Ashe's writing is sublime, and Charlie David is the right narrator for this series.
I have already read the e-book which I found engrossing and I thought that was a hard read in term of the emotions it aroused but with the addition of Charlie David’s narration I had to take time off to regroup. Gregory Ashe made me cry with Hazard and Somerset and here he achieved it again with Shaw and North.
As to the storyline we have an intriguing case for Shaw and North to solve but in its' unravelling there are some similarities to Shaw's upbringing and we come to understand why he is like he is and what that means for his relationship with North.
Unfortunately, Uncle Ronnie is still on the scene, but he is not the only character you want to boo at in a tale filled with unpleasant people.
The ending was intriguing but thankfully book 3 was ready for me to read. Hope the audiobook is not far behind.

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Hang on for a wild ride!

Misdirection: the act of directing wrongly; the state of being lead in the wrong direction; in theatrical magic – a form of deception in which the performer draws the audience’s attention to one thing to distract if from another

Shaw’s note – for example, if you are at the State Fair for the first time in your life and your friend has a substance abuse disorder and he falls down a man hole while following the smell of friend cheese

North’s note – the real story: I tripped. I am not a cartoon character. Misdirection is more like the time Shaw disappeared for two days to research lady boys

Shaw’s correction – that was my private time. I was doing research. For a term paper.

North’s correction – yeah…well…you shot your research all the way up your wall and I had to clean it up because I sure as f-ck was not going to lose my security deposit

Shaw’s reaction – Oof. I hate you.

North’s reaction – I’m the one who had to borrow a ladder.

MY note: it’s going to be a bumpy ride

I love North and Shaw. Friends in college and now boyfriends, they run a detective agency together. And they are boyfriends…right? They certainly act like an old married couple – bickering, nit-picking, never being in the mood at the same time… Turns out, however, that each has a different perception of what the relationship is and is not. When all gets revealed, it’s not pretty.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. There are mysteries to be solved. Three, to be precise. There is the guy North’s Uncle Ronnie wants them to help. The guy is looking for his younger lover. Second, there’s security at Shaw’s father’s company. The company is the main client of the detective agency, so keeping Dad happy is important. Finally, there’s this weird job where they’re expected to babysit a high school senior. Except the senior goes missing and all hell breaks loose.

Just another day in the PI biz.

As things unravel, the cases collide and Shaw and North find they are being targeted. So it’s a race to find out the truth before it’s too late.

Throw in a dinner party at Shaw’s parents’ place and the whole thing goes c-ck up.

As the book ended, I held my breath. I mean, I know there is at least one more book, and I know this isn’t forever, but it kind of broke my heart. Thank God the next book’ll be out soon.

As for the narrator, I only have praise for Charlie David. He delivered an amazing performance and I just loved how he hit all the right notes with both Shaw and North. Charlie brings the characters to life and I feel like I know them. Can’t wait for the next instalment.

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Intense & fantastic

Story line is Intense which is very Gregory Ashe. I am deep into world of North and Shaw.

This book did justice to the series and the narrator did a fantastic job. loved it. Looking forward to the next two in the series.

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Enjoyable Story

A well written story with and interesting  concept.  The characters are likeable and the narration is very good.

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Not the best narrator for a good series

I enjoy Gregory Ashe's writing, but for this series, the narration is a HUGE letdown. Honestly, for this book in particular the narrator's voice sounds shot. I know narrators work really hard and if they have a bad day or a sore throat a day's worth of work is gone. But hearing him croak his way through the first few hours wasn't a good listening experience. Sometimes it's best to miss a deadline and take a few days off to deliver a quality product.

The story was full of angst, red herrings, and confusion with a bunch of unreliable witnesses who each had their own agendas. Neither North or Shaw got a break in this story. While I understand their goofy back and forth banter is supposed to be funny - and may well be funny on the page, Charlie David's dry delivery removes all humour, which is sad.
The ending is angsty and I wonder where these guys can go from here.

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1 person found this helpful