Hall Ways Blog: Bombshell ~ an Ava Romantic Mystery

AN AVA ROMANTIC MYSTERY

WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU, #9

Narrated by Chante McCormick

Publisher: SkipJack Publishing

Published: June 18, 2018

Run-Time: 9 hours, 2 minutes

Adult / Suspense / Mature Content

Rating: ✪✪✪✪

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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. WOWSA. Bombshell is the ninth book in the What Doesn’t Kill You series by Pamela Fagan Hutchins (and the fourth for me), and it’s the first of three books in the Ava stories. Now back to the WOWSA. Ava is a fabulous (and fabulously flawed) character and there is a lot of train wrecks going on to keep you engaged. But be warned: there are graphic scenes that have left scars on my face from the heat! Use headphones!

“Repression is my friend. And no, I don’t let anyone

blame women for the bad things men do.”

If you like your characters flawed, then Ava is your gal. In Ava’s world, there are a whirlwind of plots and sub-plots and side-stories galore. Based on the other books I have read in this series (all the Emily books), I think the chaos of lives fully lived must be a trademark of Hutchins’s stories. And let’s face it: the chaos of living is very realistic thing. I mean, who do I know (self included) that doesn’t have a million things happening in her life? A million fires to put out? Doesn’t deal with “when it rains it pours” on a regular basis? No one. That’s why even though Ava is about as different from me as can be, she’s still me in a lot of ways. It makes reading Bombshell feel more personal.

Bombshell is categorized as “romantic mystery,” but I don’t think that’s quite right. While the ending of the book hints at a romance to come, the relationships in Bombshell are far from my definition of romantic. They are more about lust than love and pining for someone other than the person you’re getting nasty with doesn’t qualify as romance. As for the mystery label? Maybe. The murderer is obvious early on; however, another story branches off, and it may or may not be related to the murders, so there is some mystery there and plenty of suspense. An interesting addition to the story is a paranormal element: the influence and ghost of Annalise, who returns from the first books in the series.

Author Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes characters and scenes that feel authentic and jump from the page. Her descriptions of the island of St. Marcus, the island life, and the rich cast of characters put readers right in to the setting. Everything in the story is there for a reason, and that’s one thing I have enjoyed in reading Hutchins’s books. Bombshell is no different, but a scene with an intentional political statement felt awkward and unnecessary (though I did enjoy the jab) plus including a specific current event will date the book.

“I spent an idyllic Saturday with my daughter
and parents, and that s**t is hard work.”

I don’t love Ava, but Hutchins made me feel invested in Ava. I want Ava to do better and be better; I want her to stop sweeping everything aside to deal with later; I want her to take care of her child and her parents. By the end of Bombshell, there are indications some of what I want for Ava might happen, but there is a lot that is unresolved and even unrealistic. Given this is just the first of the three Ava books (Stunner and Knockout are the others), and despite Bombshell ending with a sorta-feel-good scene, there’s no way there aren’t going to be sparks and tension and messes to come that will likely entice me back to the series. (Just with a good set of headphones and a fan.)

ABOUT THE NARRATION. At first, I was thrown by the narration by Chante McCormick. I had expectations of how Ava would sound (based on her appearance in the Emily audio books), so I had to sync with the new voice. As always, I found the narration pace too slow and I listened at 1.25x and even 1.5x at times. I really enjoyed McCormick’s smooth transitions into the Caribbean patois of Ava and other characters. There wasn’t a clear pattern for when Ava spoke in island voice – sometimes her internal monologue/narration/dialogue was in plain ol’ American English and other times it was island English – but it was always fun to hear and reinforced the setting. There are a few odd pronunciations, but overall, I’d say McCormick was an excellent choice for narrating a complicated person’s life and stories.

Thank you to Audiobookworm Promotions for allowing me to adopt this book for review in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I like big butts and I cannot lie: horse butts that is. As in draft cross horses, which I ride with my hunky husband way up in the frozen north of Snowheresville, WY and deep in the heart of Nowheresville, TX. I am a wannabe barrel racer afraid of going fast, an eater of ribeye, and the author of the What Doesn't Kill You world of romantic mysteries.

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When I'm not writing or riding, I'm passionate about hiking, always with a couple of rescue dogs (and an occasional goat and donkey), bear spray, a mountain lion knife, and my Judge. NO ANIMALS HAVE BEEN HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS LIFE ADVENTURE (but don't sneak up on me).

I've won some awards, yada yada. The 2017 Silver Falchion for Best Adult Mystery WINNER (Fighting for Anna), the 2016 and 2015 WINNERS for USA Best Books Fiction: Cross Genre (Hell to Pay, Heaven to Betsy), and others. With downloads of nearly 2,000,000 for the What Doesn't Kill You world, readers seem to enjoy my smart, sassy female sleuths--I think they have exceptionally good taste. {insert silly grin here} Lots of them follow my podcast, too, where I fangirl my favorite authors and interview them for your listening pleasure.

If after all that you still want to learn more about my books, my podcast, or me, then God Bless Ya, and head over to my website.