Audio book Review of Burn by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge read by Danny Mastrogiorgio

Burn by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Read by Danny Mastrogiorgio

from Goodreads.
Detective Michael Bennett finally returns to New York City –and to the most unsettling, horrific case of his career.





At last, Detective Michael Bennett and his family are coming home to New York City. Thanks to Bennett, the ruthless crime lord whose vengeful mission forced the Bennett family into hiding has been brought down for good.





Back in the city that never sleeps, Bennett takes over a chaotic Outreach Squad in Harlem, where he receives an unusual call: a man claims to have seen a group of well-dressed men holding a bizarre party in a condemned building. With no clear crime or evidence, Bennett dismisses the report. But when a charred body is found in that very same building, he is forced to take the caller seriously – and is drawn into an underground criminal world of terrifying depravity. 

My Take:  The Michael Bennett Series by James Patterson is becoming my favorite series by him.  It was nice to have the Bennett family back in New York.  Bennett was kind of demoted by being given the Outreach Squad to lead.  He gets them to finally care about what they are doing then he is given a promotion to work on the case of all the diamond heists that have been going on.  I enjoyed the family drama that goes along with the this series.  I did feel that the resolution to the one case was a bit anticlimatic. 

Audio:  I felt that the narrator wasn't all that great he really didn't have to much range other than reading the book and not showing any emotion. Kinda monotoned. . Not enough to keep me from listening to him again but still not that great.  

This book is taken from my personal audible library. 

Audio Book Review of Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge read by Daniel Mastrogiorgio and Henry Lewa

 Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Read by Daniel Mastrogiorgio and Henry Lewa

From Audible.com

A crime lord has declared war on America. Only Detective Michael Bennett knows why.
Manuel Perrine doesn't fear anyone or anything. A charismatic and ruthless leader, Perrine slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suit. Detective Michael Bennett once managed to put Perrine behind bars, the only official in the US ever to accomplish that. But now Perrine is out, and he has sworn to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him.
Detective Bennett, along with his 10 adopted children, their nanny, and his grandfather, are hidden safely on a rural California farm, with guards courtesy of the FBI's witness protection program. Perrine begins to embark on an escalating series of assassinations across the country, killings whose brazenness and audacity bring into question the possibility of safety and law in the U.S. The FBI has no choice but to ask Detective Bennett to risk it all in Perrine's war on America.
With explosive action and fierce villainy that rivals James Bond movies at their best, Gone is the next astounding novel by James Patterson.

My Take:  The Michael Bennett series goes back and forth as my favorite series by James Patterson with Women's Murder Club.  It depends on the last  book in the series of which is the one I like the most.  As of right now Michael Bennett has the lead as this latest installment was a great addition to the series.  Putting the family in witness protection was an accident waiting to happen.  Like you can hide a family that size with very distinctive family members like a grandfather priest and an Irish nanny and nobody noticing.  The bad guy Perrine is not someone that you should mess with as he demonstrates with each of the crimes he commits against his fellow criminals and against people that are completely innocent.  This book will keep you listening till the very end to see if Michael gets a clue and realizes what he has in his nanny or if he will go after the flashy FBI agent.  Oh Yeah and you will want to find out what happens with Perrine also.

Narration:  The two narrators did a good job with the reading and they were able to add just the right touch of suspense to their voices so as not to take the story to over the top. 

This book was taken from my personal Audible library. 

Audio Book Review of Private London by James Patterson and Mark Pearson

Private London by James Patterson and Mark Pearson
Read by Rupert Degas

from Audible.com

Publisher's Summary

The next explosive book in James Patterson's number-one best-selling Private series!
For Hannah Shapiro, a beautiful young American student, this particular nightmare began eight years ago in Los Angeles, when Jack Morgan, owner of Private - the world's most exclusive detective agency - saved her from a horrific death. She has fled her country, but can't flee her past. The terror has followed her to London, and now it is down to former Royal Military Police Sergeant Dan Carter, head of Private London, to save her all over again.
In central London, young women are being abducted off the street. When the bodies are found some days later, they have been mutilated in a particularly mysterious way. Dan Carter's ex-wife, DI Kirsty Webb, is involved in the investigation and it looks likely that the two cases are gruesomely linked.
Dan Carter drawn on the whole resources of Private International in a desperate race against the odds. But the clock is ticking....
Private may be the largest and most technologically advanced detection agency in the world, but the one thing they don't have is the one thing they need--time.

My Take:  To be quite honest with you I had to reread the summary to recall this book at all.  This was one of my least favorite books by James Patterson and his many co-authors.  I just didn't find myself really caring about any of the characters and I really didn't get into the story.  I could easily have forgone this book and kind of wish I had as there are so many other books that I think will be great when I get around to them.  If you are a Patterson fan I would suggest that you skip this one.  Time not well spent. 

The narrator was hard to understand at times because of his British accent.  I will not be seeking him out and if I come across a book narrated by him again I will definetly listen to a sample and think long and hard before I get another book read by him.  He wasn't horrible but I had to listen harder than I like.

This Book Was taken from my personal library of Audio books.

Audio Book Review of 12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro read by January LaVoy

12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Read by January La Voy

from Audible.com

It's the 12th book of the Women's Murder Club series, and it's finally time! Detective Lindsay Boxer is in labor - while two killers are on the loose.
Lindsay Boxer's beautiful baby is born! But after only a week at home with her new daughter, Lindsay is forced to return to work to face two of the biggest cases of her career.
A rising star football player for the San Francisco 49ers is the prime suspect in a grisly murder. At the same time, Lindsay is confronted with the strangest story she's ever heard: An eccentric English professor has been having vivid nightmares about a violent murder and he's convinced is real. Lindsay doesn't believe him, but then a shooting is called in - and it fits the professor's description to the last detail.
Lindsay doesn't have much time to stop a terrifying future from unfolding. But all the crimes in the world seem like nothing when Lindsay is suddenly faced with the possibility of the most devastating loss of her life.
 

My Take:  I really like the Women's Murder Club, I really do but to quite honest with you they are starting to blend into each other.  I liked the first books where there were one or two at the most cases that needed to be solved and all of the women would join together to solve the case.  This story has everyone running off in their own direction and there is hardly any interaction between the women or the cases.  The one highlight of this book was the birth of Julie, Lindsey and Joe's daughter and of course her arrival has to be dramatic, she is born during a power outage.  The rest of the book was just so so for me.  Will I be listening to the next book?  Probably.  I just keep coming back hoping that the books will get better.  

 

Audio:  I thought that January LaVoy did a good job with the material she was given.  She is not a narrator I will actively seek out but I won't not listen to a book read by her either.  

 

This book was taken from my personal audio library. 

Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge audio book review

Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
narrated by Jay Snyder

from Audible.com

Publisher's Summary

Once in a lifetime, a writer puts it all together. This is James Patterson's best work ever.
Total
For 36 years, James Patterson has written unstopable, pulse-racing novels. Now, he has written an audiobook that surpasses all of them. Zoo is the thriller he was born to write.
World
All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.
Destruction
With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide. With wildly inventive imagination and white-knuckle suspense that rivals Stephen King at his very best, James Patterson's Zoo is an epic, nonstop thrill ride from "One of the best of the best" (Time).
©2012 James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (P)2012 Hachette Audio

My Take:  James Patterson's best work yet?  I don't think so.  This book was good but I wouldn't say great.  All the animals in the world are suddenly attacking humans and they are doing so in packs which have several different species together.  Oz has seen this coming for awhile but could get no one to listen to him until the problem was to big to ignore.  I just thought that is was dumb that Oz saw this happening but was surprised when his chimp attacked his girlfriend.  Then all of sudden it is five years later.  No mention of what happened to the chimp (we do learn later what happened to him which was a bit unbelievable ).  Although the story was not very believable if you are able to suspend the believability  it is an enjoyable story and keeps you guessing. 

The narrator did a good job.  He did some little bit of an accent for some of the characters.  There were random snippets of music that really didn't add anything to the story.

All in all I did enjoy this audio book but there was alot to overlook.  I feel that with the last couple of books James Patterson has just been phoning it in.  I am currently listening to another of his books and this one is much better. 

Devourerofbooks.com hosts a meme where we link up all our audio book reviews.  Head over there and you might find your next great listen.

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge Audio book review

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Read by Bobby Cannavale and Jay Snyder

From Goodreads:Police officers shot Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett's lifelong friend Hughie McDonough dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City-and to get revenge on Michael Bennett. Judges murdered To escape the chaos, Bennett takes his ten kids and their beautiful nanny, Mary Catherine, on a much-needed vacation to his family's cabin near Newburgh, New York. But instead of the calm and happy town he remembers from growing up, they step into a nightmare worse than they could have ever imagined. Newburgh is an inferno of warring gangs, and there's little the police-or Bennett-can do to keep the children safe. Target: Michael Bennett As violence overwhelms the state, Bennett is torn between protecting his hometown and saving New York City. A partner in his investigations, federal prosecutor Tara McLellan, brings him new weapons for the battle-and an attraction that endangers his relationship with Mary Catherine. A no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-floor, action-packed novel, I, Michael Bennett is James Patterson at his most personal and most thrilling best.

My Take:  The Michael Bennett series, by James Patterson,  is my second favorite after The Women's Murder Club.  This book was really a disappointment.  I think that the Michael Bennett in this book was the replacement the aliens left when Michael was abducted.  He is totally clueless in his handling of any and all police work   in this book.  He acts more like a clueless rookie cop than like the well respected veteran police officer that he is.  The disregard that he has for what his actions might have on his family is totally not like him at all.  Plus not even taking into consideration Mary Catherine when he goes off with the prosecutor is another stereotypical male thing to do.  This Michael Bennett was definitely not the Michael Bennett that I have loved in the other books.  The ending I feel was just thrown in so that you would buy the next book.  It was like the authors knew that they had just phoned this one in and they needed a hook to get you to want the next book.  Will I get the next book?  Probably,  but if it is not better than this book, I will probably be dropping this series from my must listen list.

Which brings me to the audio.  The narrators did a very good job with what they were given.  I would not hesitate to buy a book if I saw that either one of these men were doing the reading.  They were the best thing about the whole book.  

This book was taken from my personal audio library.  

Private Games by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan Audiobook Review

Private Games

• UNABRIDGED
• by James Patterson , Mark Sullivan
• Narrated by Paul Panting
• Series: Private, Book 3










From Audible.com:  
On your mark...
Private, the world's most renowned investigation firm, has been commissioned to provide security for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Its agents are the smartest, fastest, and most technologically advanced in the world, and 400 of them have been transferred to London to protect more than 10,000 competitors, who represent more than 200 countries.
Get set...
The opening ceremony is hours away when Private investigator and single father of twins, Peter Knight, is called to the scene of a ruthless murder: a high-ranking member of the games' organizing committee has been killed. It's clear to Peter that this wasn't a crime of passion, but one of precise calculation and execution.
Die!
Newspaper reporter Karen Pope receives a letter from a person who calls himself Cronus, claiming responsibility. He promises to restore the Olympics to their ancient glory and to destroy all those who have corrupted the games with lies, corruption, and greed. Immediately, Karen hires Private to examine the letter, and she and Peter uncover a criminal genius who won't stop until he's completely destroyed the modern games.
"America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) delivers an exhilarating, action-packed thriller that brings the splendor and emotion of the Olympics to a wildly powerful climax.


My Take:  I must admit that I really enjoy James Patterson books, but the Private series is just not my favorite series of his, I think it is because in the first Private book I just didn't like the characters.  I didn't really like the second book in the series either so I almost didn't try this one.  I am really glad I did though.  Peter Knight is a very likable character and I found myself truly caring about this character.  I guess it's was because he was a single father whose wife died while giving birth to his twin children.  His children play a major part in the story so I won't say much other than he has his hands full with them. This book was very current and up to date as it deals with the Olympic games.  I even thought of this book when there was talk of the lack of security in the games this year.  This book kept my interest and kept me wanting to listen more.
Audio:  I thought that the Narrator Paul Panting did a good job with the narration.  I would listen to another book by him.  There were really nothing to distract from the story. 



Head over to Devourerofbooks.com to discover what others are listening to, maybe you'll find your next great listen. 

Audio Book of the Week - The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

Narrated by Susan McInerney, Kathleen McInerney, Eileen Stevens, Ax Norman, Allyson Johnson

From Good Reads

 
The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died five years ago, Gaby's children have drifted apart, each one preoccupied by the turbulence in their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married-and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day—she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.
But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise—she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever. With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a James Patterson thriller, THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING is a fresh look at family and the magic of the season.

My Take:  This is a good book for this time of year.  Nothing too heavy and nice a fluffly.  Great Holiday read.

Toys by James Patterson and Neil McMahon

Toys by James Patterson and McMahon

From goodreads.com
James Bond and Jason Bourne have just been topped! A battle for the world is set into unstoppable motion and Hays Baker is the only one who can save it. Hays Baker and his wife Lizbeth possess super-human strength, extraordinary intelligence, stunning looks, a sex life to die for, and two beautiful children. Of course they do--they're Elites, endowed at birth with the very best that the world can offer. The only problem in their perfect world: humans and their toys!

The one with the most toys--dies

The top operative for the Agency of Change, Hays has just won the fiercest battle of his career. He has been praised by the President, and is a national hero. But before he can savor his triumph, he receives an unbelievable shock that overturns everything he thought was true. Suddenly Hays is on the other side of the gun, forced to leave his perfect family and fight for his life.

Now a hunted fugitive, Hays is thrown into a life he never dreamed possible--fighting to save humans everywhere from extinction. He enlists all of his training to uncover the truth that will save millions of lives--maybe even his own. James Patterson's Toys is a thriller on a hyper plane--with a hero who rivals both James Bond and Jason Bourne. 
 
My Take:  In the not to distant future Earth has been divided into two different groups.  Human Beings and Elites.  This had all the potential to be a really good book.  I really like James Patterson.  But... this book was a little disconnected.  The chapters were short like normal with a James Patterson book.  I think that in order to move the story along the two authors rushed through details or left them out totally.  The book suffers from this.    

Elites had been told that humans had almost  caused the end of the Earth, because of this humans were treated like the subspecies that the elites thought they were.  Humans lived in squalor and the Elites lived the high life.  They had all the toys that the future could make available.  Virtual reality, and robots to serve ever little need.   The humans had toys too, the kind that became addictive.  Then something happens to the number one operative for the Elites that changes the future for everyone.

I would recommend this book but know that there are some flaws and as far as I am concerned it is not up to the standards of a regular Patterson book.

Cross Fire by James Patterson Audiobook of the Week

Cross Fire by James Patterson

From Audible.com
Detective Alex Cross and Bree's wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington D.C.'s most corrupt: a dirty congressmen and a scheming lobbyist. Next, the elusive marksman begins picking off other crooked politicians, sparking a blaze of theories - is the marksman a hero or a vigilante?

The case explodes and FBI agent Max Siegel battles Alex for jurisdiction. As Alex struggles with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in D.C. and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross--and his family - for good. With a supercharged blend of suspense, action, and deception, Cross Fire is James Patterson's most exciting Alex Cross novel ever.

Solve another case with Alex Cross.

My Take:

After reading some of the reviews of this audiobook I was wondering if I listened to the same book. Most of the complaints were about the new narrator for Alex Cross, Andre Braugher (he is an actor, currently in the show Men of a Certain Age). The other narrator is Jay O. Sander. I personally didn't really notice any difference in the quality of the reading. I did notice the voice change but I soon got use to the "new" Alex Cross.

This book brings back a super villian in the form of Kyle Craig. He goes to extremes to make sure that he can get close to Alex and get revenge. There are also sniper shootings going on in Washington D.C.

Alex's Ex Christine shows up to stir up some trouble with Ali. Seems like there might be more coming in future books.

I thought that the sniper story line was a little anti climatic at the end but the story line concerning Kyle Craig had me listening longer just to hear what happened.

The end gave a teaser that may be joining up Alex with Lindsey Boxer (my favorite Patterson series is the Womens' Murder club)

Altogether I thought it was a solid entry in the series. Not my favorite but a good one.

Definitely if your a Patterson Fan you should pick this up.

This is from my personal library.

Don't Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (audio)

Don't Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

The good

New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit.

The bad

Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas--on both sides of the law.

And the dead

Back off--or die--is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own. Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.

My Take:  I really like James Patterson and try to read or listen to everything he comes out with.  I tend to like his solo books best but I enjoyed this book.  I liked the main character Nick Daniels and the story as long as it dealt with whole who ordered  the Hit and was it mob related  but as in most of Patterson's books the love life aspect of the book broke down for me.  I felt like it could have been tied together a bit more.  
The Narrator David Patrick Kelly did a good job but not suck a great job as I will be going out a specifically looking for books read by him.  
 
If you are a Patterson or thriller fan, you will enjoy this book. 
 
I received a copy of this audio book for review purposes.  

The 9th Judgement by James Patterson

The 9th Judgement by James Patterson

This is the 9th installment of the Women's Murder Club.  In this one Lindsey , Cindy. Yuki, and Claire are dealing with two Different criminals.  Hello Kitty (who we learn the identity of very early in the book) A female cat burglar who is targetting wealthy people, and the Lipstick Killer who is going around killing mothers and their babies.  At first the Hello Kitty crimes take priority because one of the victims was killed and she just happened to be a famous actress married to a famous actor.  But soon the Lisptick Killer murder take over as they become more frequent.  We really don't hear much from any of the girls except for Lindsey this book as the story line seems to focus more on her (even more so than usual)

As usual there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages or as in my case listening as I listened to this on audio.  This is still my favorite series of Patterson and I thought this installment was really good.

I bought this from Audible.com so it is from my private library.        

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

This book is about what happens when we don't pay attention and vote in people that have an agenda that people don't realize isn't good for them.
It is a young teen book and it does make adults out to be the bad guys (except for the main kids' parents).It was okay and had alot of action.  It did seem to talk down to the kids abit. 

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Alex Cross is back trying to solve a crime but this time is involves who killed his niece.  His investigating leads him to the seamy underside of Washington Politics and the most powerful people in the country.  This book has graphic violence and language and I was put off a bit by this.  I had a hard time relating to the characters and really didn't find myself invested in the book.  Not the best Alex Cross book.

It's been alittle while since I reviewed here and I have read several

I have recently read two of Karn Kingsbury's Red Glove collection.  I read Gideon's Gift which was about a little girl named Gideon (I have never heard of a girl named Gideon before) who has cancer and what she does for a homeless man at Christmas times.  The second book I read was Maggie's Miracle which is about a woman named Megan who has given up on love and a man name Casey who is still getting over his wife's death.  These stories are quick little books that are perfect for this time of year as they are set during the Christmas time.  I kinda knew what was going to happen in both of the books but it was enjoyable to read them.  I came away feeling goos which is what I wanted out of them.

Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti audiobook.  I listened to an abridged version of this and I really do prefer the unabrideged version.  I guess the abridged version wouldn't be bad if you didn't already know the story but as this is a book that I have read several times I could tell that parts were missing.  It is a good story none the less.  It is the continuation of the book This Present Darkness.  In this story the forces of good and evil are at it again but over a small Christian School.  This edition was read by Frank Perretti the author.  I recommend this series if you like suspense but read or listen to the unabridged versions.

Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss e-reader.  I read this on my ereader at work before I went to bed. It was okay but not sure if I will continue with the series.  A recently divorced women and her friend sign up to take a cooking class only to have someone die in the parking lot after class one night.  Was it a heart attack or murder?  And if it was murder who would want the man dead?  It did keep me guessing but really I didn't come to carre for any of the characters that much so by the end of the book I really didn't care.

The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson and Martin Dugard audio.  I really enjoyed this book as it was written like a novel but packed alot of history into the story.  It went back and forth between when Tut was alive and when he was discovered.        

Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

This book isn't really about Alex Cross so much as it is about is Great Great uncle.  And it isn't so much about Him Abraham Cross as it is about Ben Corbett.  Ben Corbett is recruited by Teddy Roosevelt to go to  his hometown of Eudora, Mississippi to investigate the rash of lynchings that have been happening.
He will have to see his father who he hasn't seen since his mother died and he will meet up with some of his childhood friends.  He will be betrayed by some and helped by others.
This book is very different from the other Alex Cross Books but it is a story very well told.

Sail by James Patterson and Howard Roughman

Sail was a typical James Patterson book with short chapters that pack a big wallop.  this time the Dunne family is going on a sailing trip.  They have their problems and they are hoping to become closer during the trip.  Almost from the beginning they are beset by problems. I really can't tell you much because almost anything I say will be giving away a plot twist.  I would give this book 4/5 stars.  There is some language and some sexual content.