ANGELINA BONAPARTE
MYSTERIES, #1
BY NANCY RATHBUN
Narrated by Kieren
Calland Metts
Publisher: Dark Chocolate Press LLC
Released: Nov. 17, 2017
Length: 9 hours 17 minutes
Sub-Genres: Modern Detective / Mystery
A murdered mistress. An accused mob boss. Can two detectives put their differences aside to find the real killer?
Angelina Bonaparte is starting from square one. After a messy divorce, the middle-aged librarian put down her books and picked up a new gig as a private investigator. When a mob boss heads to jail for his mistress's murder, she has no issue with the womanizing scumbag rotting in prison. But when the suspect's pregnant wife swears his innocence, Angelina can't find it in her heart to refuse the case.Already reluctant to get involved, her frustration grows when she's forced to work alongside Ted Wukowski, a homicide detective who thinks a crime scene is no place for a woman. In the search for clues along the mistress’s long record of broken hearts and promises, Angelina’s natural charm is the perfect complement to her temporary partner's take-no-prisoners interrogation style. And before long, she and Ted can feel their grudging respect transform into an undeniable attraction.To solve the case and catch the murderer, the PI and the cop must learn to trust each other completely before an innocent man goes to jail for a crime he didn't commit…Truth Kills is the first book in the suspenseful Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries series. If you like fierce female detectives, unlikely partners, and nail-biting whodunits, then you’ll love Nanci Rathbun’s gripping crime thriller.Buy Truth Kills today, and ride along with a hard-hitting detective who’s not afraid to reinvent herself!
HALL
WAYS REVIEW. Audio book review. Truth Kills by Nanci Rathbun is a blast! Rathbun’s detailed
descriptions of the characters, combined with narrator Kieran Calland Metts’s accents
and attitude, bring real pop to this story.
“While
on the job, I can look like… the neighborhood old lady gossip. Off the job, I’m
a fifty-something hottie. Gravity has taken
a small toll, but who notices in
candlelight?”
Main character Angelina is
super confident yet still has the same concerns of many middle-aged women,
including “post-thirty chin hairs,” and vacillates between caring and not
caring about what other people think. She’s raised her children and loves her
grandchildren, but her life is her own and not about them anymore. And best of
all, even at age fifty-something, she’s just getting started and reinventing
herself!
I typically avoid reading
romances, but Truth Kills is a little
different and that romance element, which is not the primary force in the book,
worked for me. Truly, it wasn’t much more than a few thoughts and one about-to-get-steamy
scene, but it was a natural progression and realistic for how two people of
those ages and life experiences would come together. They’ve been there, done
that, and know what they want. Plus, I like that it depicts a 50+ protagonist as
on fire and shows that there are men in that range looking fabulous, too. Refreshing.
Author Nanci Rathbun writes
some fabulously rich characters who will bring forth a wide range of reactions
from the readers. She infuses enough humor throughout the story to keep it from
feeling too heavy on the procedural side, and she is clever in using literary
quotes (ranging from Flaubert to Jenny Joseph’s “I shall wear purple”) to set
the tone for each chapter. Rathbun conveniently uses Angelina’s propensity for
list making to give readers a nice bring-to-date on all the suspects in the
murder case. Though readers might not be surprised by the whodunit part, they
likely will be for the why.
“My
drug of choice was not only effective, but legal.”
BONUS POINTS AWARDED: As if
having a 50ish-year-old main character isn’t enough for me to feel at home (admittedly,
I can’t relate to some aspects of her life *cough*), Angelina is also a coffee
drinking former librarian! Granted, she doesn’t speak highly of the profession
(though she’s clearly proud of the master’s degree), but I won’t hold it
against her…unless she bashes it in the next book!
Truth
Kills is an entertaining and engaging story with plenty of
action but just as much interest coming from the main character’s reactions to
her life circumstances. I highly recommend it to fellow readers-of-a-certain-age
who will appreciate and chuckle at the perks and pitfalls of mid-life. I have
already started listening to the second book in this series, Cash Kills, and it feels good to be back
with Angelina again.
ABOUT THE NARRATION: Initially,
I thought the book seemed like it was being read to listeners and not
performed. However, it soon became apparent that narrator Kieran Calland Metts
was establishing the voice of Angelina, who is matter-of-fact and not overly
expressive in her voice. This voicing grew on me and ended up being perfect –
and I am so glad to see that Metts is back to narrate the next two books in the
series. As readers meet more characters, Metts gives each of them enough of an
accent that each remains distinct from others without any being over the top. I
mostly listened at 1.25 speed, but this was due more to my impatience than anything
else.
Thank you to Audiobookworm Promotions
and the author for providing me an audio download in exchange for my honest opinion
– the only kind I give.
Nanci Rathbun is a lifelong reader of mysteries – historical, contemporary, futuristic, paranormal, hard-boiled, cozy … you can find them all on her bookshelves. She brings logic and planning to her writing from a background as an IT project manager, and attention to characters and dialog from her second career as a Congregationalist minister.
Nanci grew up an Army brat, living in Germany, France and Korea, as well as several states in the U.S. After her dad retired from the service, the family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There, Nanci raised her daughter and son, while working at AT&T. She never expected to move, but when her second grandchild was on the way, she wanted to be closer. One of her greatest joys is hearing her three granddaughters shout "Nana" when she comes in their front door in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Nanci and her Maltipoo, Teeny, now live in Wellington, Colorado. No matter where she makes her home, she will always be a Green Bay Packers fan.
Nanci and her Maltipoo, Teeny, now live in Wellington, Colorado. No matter where she makes her home, she will always be a Green Bay Packers fan.
Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads
Kieren Calland Metts is addicted to audio books. She has almost 1,000 in her Audible.com library and has listened to most of them! She tends toward mysteries of all kinds, especially cozies, and YA dystopia.
She grew up a diplomat brat, traveling to tours in Baghdad, Iraq; and Kabul, Afghanistan. After several more moves in the U.S., the family settled in Ohio.
Kieren has a background in copy editing, book & newspaper design, and web production, adores arts and crafts, and has a weakness for fluffy orange kitties.
$25 Amazon Gift Card⎮Runs Oct. 16th-Nov. 5th⎮Open internationally
The Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card
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Blätterflüstern
Thank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I enjoy these tours and finding out about many terrific books.
ReplyDeleteI also like that the protagonist isn't young and beautiful and perfect
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for bringing to our attention another great book out there to read. I appreciate hearing about them since I have so many readers in my family.
ReplyDelete