Audible Book Review: The Werewolf's 15 Minutes by Jonathan Maberry

This is a perfect, quick, fit for October and #Fraterfest.
#FRATERFEST-2
The Werewolf's 15 Minutes
By: Jonathan Maberry
Narrated by: Ray Porter, Dina Pearlman

Series: Audible Original Stories
Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
Release date: 10-28-21
Publisher: Audible Originals
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Werewolf
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

About This Audible Original
Gary Bruce is a slacker of epic loserness. Can’t keep a job. His friends are as bad as he is. No girlfriend. No direction.
Gary Bruce is also a werewolf.
Desperate for any kind of success, Gary decides to out himself on YouTube. The moment this ordinary guy goes full-on fur, fangs, and claws, the world can’t get enough of him. He’s the biggest thing on social media, he’s on every talk show, book and movie deals fall in his lap, and for the first time in his life he gets invited to all the best parties.
But celebrity is a special kind of voracious monster. And when Gary’s star begins to lose its luster, he has to decide how far he’ll go to stay relevant in a world that discards has-beens in favor of the next big thing.
Fortunately, Gary has a plan....
The Werewolf’s 15 Minutes is a brand-new short story by New York Times best-seller and five-time Bram Stoker Award winner Jonathan Maberry, author of Bewilderness and V-Wars (Netflix).
©2021 Jonathan Maberry Productions, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Review:
Gary and his friends are not particularly impressive young men. They struggle to keep a job, much less a girlfriend, or a sense of career direction. Gary has decided to take drastic steps to get attention, so he outs himself as a werewolf on YouTube. Gary gets his 15 minutes of fame but for the wrong reasons. The audience wants to know the secret to his excellent make-up. It takes another step to really be taken seriously and get an agent with all the star hype.

Of course, that only lasts for a limited time. As his star dims, Gary formulates a plan to renew the interest. But he might carry things a bit too far.

I enjoyed this quick story with an appropriately ironic twist that brings a chuckle at the end. There is a bit of lazy-side male banter that wasn’t my favorite but certainly fit the characters. I recommend this as a good, quick Halloween read.

Audio Notes: Ray Porter and Dina Pearlman share the narration on this. I like Porter’s straightforward narration with good pausing and emphasis. Dina also has fitting energy, and I enjoyed the shared segments. The audio enhanced my enjoyment of the quick story.

10/27-30/2021 Audible Plus Catalog. This qualifies for 2022TBR and 2022Audiobook goals.

Audible Review: Double Strike by Gretchen Archer

This is my favorite story so far in the fun, exciting investigations of Davis Way.

Double Strike
Written by: Gretchen Archer
Narrated by: Amber Benson

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
Series: Davis Way Crime Caper, Book 3
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:10-21-14
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Modern Detective
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
Bellissimo Resort and Casino Super Spy Davis Way knows three things: Cooking isn’t a prerequisite for a happy marriage, don’t trust men who look like David Hasselhoff, and money doesn’t grow on Christmas trees. None of which help when a storm hits the Gulf a week before the most anticipated event in Bellissimo history: the Strike It Rich Sweepstakes. Securing the guests, staff, and property might take a stray bullet. Or two. Bellissimo Resort and Casino Super Spy Davis Way has three problems: She’s desperate to change her marital status, she has a new boss who speaks in hashtags, and Bianca Sanders has confiscated her clothes. All of which bring on a headache hot enough to spark a fire. Solving her problems means stealing a car. From a dingbat lawyer. Bellissimo Resort and Casino Super Spy Davis Way has three goals: Keep the Sanders family out of prison, regain her footing in her relationship, and find the genius who wrote the software for future gaming. One of which, the manhunt one, is iffy. Because when Alabama hides someone, they hide them good. Double Strike. A VIP invitation to an extraordinary high-stakes gaming event, as thieves, feds, dance instructors, shady bankers, kidnappers, and gold waiters go all in.
©2014 Gretchen Archer (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Davis Way has survived her job for close to three years as a (mostly) undercover security officer for the posh Belissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi but things are looking dicey. Davis is anxious to marry her sweetheart, handsome lawyer, Bradley Cole, and take a four day vacation. Unfortunately she runs into a few obstacles, including a lightning strike at the hotel. Her boss's son, Thomas Sanders, shows up unexpectedly from boarding school. Davis is the lucky one who has to try to keep the high school senior from getting into more trouble.

Bradley gets to break the bad news that the marriage license has been denied due to complications from, of course, her rat ex-ex-husband. Her efforts to sort that problem result in her stealing her annoying lawyer’s car which creates other difficulties.

Meanwhile Davis is told she can’t take days off because she has to help out with a high stakes slot gaming event. The whole event has been brought in from a Vegas crew so neither the staff nor the players have been properly vetted by “No Hair” and the local security team. Davis gets fired her first day as an event waitress and a new security man, Baylor, has to take her place. Fantasy and Baylor get to be painted gold and prance around in bikinis while Davis changes her undercover persona to a social media member under a bouncy ‘hashtag’ queen.

The high tech slot games include specially designed chairs and games that are intuitive to the players. The first players have to buy a seat and then earn points to remain in the game as the nights progress. A certain woman and her husband keep cashing in large checks at the same teller window. That behavior throws up red flags and the suspicion heats up when that woman keeps earning high points in the game. Now Davis is off following the money trail which leads to something hidden in Alabama.

This is book three of this fun series. Davis has grown on me as a character and I enjoy the fact that I am familiar with some of the locations mentioned in the stories - some real towns and others like the quirky towns described by Ms. Archer.  Each story has a unique, casino related crime event which is embellished by the undercover high jinks of the security crew and the personal troubles that Davis has to overcome. The storylines are creative in fun ways and I recommend this series to readers who like cozy mysteries and are looking for a lighter, fun read. Now I have to decide if I can wait for Book 4, Double Mint, to go to Audible or if I should go ahead and get the Kindle version.

Audio Notes: Amber Benson again does a good job with the voices and the story. The story is enhanced by the easy narration.

I received this from Claire McKinneyPR for an honest review. This adds to my Audiobook Challenge.

My Review links for Books 1 and 2:
Double Whammy: A Davis Way Crime Caper
Double Dip:A Davis Way Crime Caper

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gretchen Archer is the USA TODAY-bestselling author of Double Whammy, Double Dip, and Double Strike, the first three novels in the Davis Way Crime Caper series from mystery publisher Henery Press. Double Whammy was a finalist for the 2014 Daphne du Mauier Awards.

 

A Tennessee housewife who began writing when her daughters (seeking higher educations) left her, Archer lives on Lookout Mountain with her husband, son, and a Yorkie named Bently. Double Mint is her newest book.

 

Her Twitter is @Gretchen_Archer.

 

Audible Review: Double Whammy: A Davis Way Crime Caper, Book 1 by Gretchen Archer

This is a fun, entertaining romp and good audio listen.

Double Whammy: A Davis Way Crime Caper, Book 1
Written by: Gretchen Archer
Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
Series: Davis Way Crime Caper, Book 1
Release Date:05-14-13
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Modern Detective
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
Davis Way thinks she's hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies.
Davis learns the truth, and it does not set her free - in fact, it lands her in the pokey. Buried under a mistaken identity, unable to seek help from her family, her hot streak runs cold until her landlord, Bradley Cole, steps in. Make that her landlord, lawyer, and love interest. With his help, Davis must win this high-stakes game before her luck runs out.
This book is part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all! Double Whammy is the first book in the Davis Way humorous mystery series.
©2012 Gretchen Archer (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Davis Way ('it's a name, not a place') is a young thirtys, diminutive (under 5'3") ex-small-town cop from Pine Apple, Alabama. Davis worked under the police chief, her beloved father, until a huge, ugly divorce blow-up, including gun shots, resulted in her being fired. It happened the dust up was her second divorce from her now ex-ex husband, the snake, Eddie. After a year of unemployment Davis finally lands a job as elite security in the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. They plan to use her unique abilities which include being a double for the boss’ high maintenance, nasty-tempered wife, Bianca. Since she is able to work well with disguises, Davis’ employment is kept low-key and she is assigned to various tasks to spy on other workers and guests and casino players.

Davis is happy to have a job even if she is nervous about her new co-workers. She has a hard time remembering names so she tends to give everyone nicknames. The two bulky brusers she works with become “Big Teeth” and “No Hair”.

Davis’ initial assignment is to determine who is cashing in on the Double Whammy jackpot machines and how they are doing it. She is dismayed when her research reveals that the most recent winner was her ex-ex and somehow he was connected with Bianca. Now she has to figure out how to disclose the details while trying to keep her distance from Eddie.

While pulling together clues Davis discovers a taciturn cab driver, George, whom she coerces to assist her. He gives her a few warnings which Davis just brushes aside. Davis finds herself a condo to rent so she will have someplace not under the surveillance ears and eyes of her employers. She begins to fall for her handsome landlord, Bradley Cole, even before she meets him. She falls head over heals when he shows up in person to rescue her from a jail mix-up when no one will identify her true name.

Gretchen Archer does a great job of creating quirky and fun characters. The southern setting provides extra material for humor. The story moves at a good pace providing a nice mix of action, personal interest and humor. I was glad to have the next two stories to listen to when this one finished. I recommend this to readers who enjoy humor with the mystery and a female PI.

Audio Notes: Dina Pearlman does a good job with the narration. She manages to capture the southern, small town character of Davis as well as the other male and female characters. I do think this would be a fun read but I recommend the audio as a fun listen to those who enjoy audiobooks.

eBook Available at Amazon.

I received this audiobook, together with the next two, from Claire McKinneyPR, for an honest review. This adds to my Audio Challenge.