Ed

Spending a lot of time listening to the Sunshine State Books (2012-13) of which this is one. Those folks who picked the 15 books did an outstanding job as I have yet to hear one that wasn't worth the effort. And listening to these kid's books provides a healthy alternative to the mystery/thrillers that take up most of my listening time. It's worth the time to find out what Owen Jester's fantastic secret is.

Listened to this one with my 4th-grade daughter and both of us found it to be enjoyable. The animal "familiars" were creative characters and the fictional premise of the story was well developed. A recommended listen.

Perhaps Michael Connelly's introduction raised the bar a little too high, but I wasn't overly impressed by this work. However, I'm glad Perry didn't abandon the character because I have liked other stories in the series better. This moved along at a slow pace and it seemed that Perry was simply setting up the character for future "adventures." Have another one in my library and, with the bar now set lower, hope to enjoy it more.

I've liked all the books I've listened to by this author, but this might be the best one so far. Scott Brick did an excellent job of bringing out the slime that comprised the antagonist. I like my bad guys to be really bad, and Asad Khalil is about as slimy as they get. John Corey makes for a good character as does his wife. Boris was quite interesting too. But make no mistake about it, this book was titled The Lion for a reason. A riveting and satisfying ride.

I really wanted to give this book four or five stars because the author, who noticed that I read and review numerous mystery/thrillers, asked me to review one of hers. So I downloaded ToxiCity and Easy Innocence. Even thought the events in ToxiCity occur before the events in Easy Innocence (it is a prequel in the Georgia Davis series), it was written after Easy Innocence (and another Georgia Davis book) was written. Maybe I should have listened to Easy Innocence first because this offering did not leave me salivating for more Georgia. On the positive side, it gave the listener an opportunity to put clues together and deduce whodunit and why. After the second "years earlier" chapter, the mystery easily came together. It was just a matter of ascertaining methods and details. Hellmann made a compelling story as to why the murders took place and the methods employed by the "bad guys." Some of the dynamics of the story didn't work for me, such as the "lust at first sight" that developed between Ricki Feldman and Matt Singer. I also wish that Hellmann had left the intimacies that occurred between Georgia and Matt more to the imagination of the listener, but that's just a personal preference. Listeners with a Jewish background or a good knowledge of that faith will be at an advantage when listening to this story. If your knowledge of Jewish customs and tradition is limited, you might, at times, be lost. Probably the one thing that bothered me the most about this prequel is that Georgia Davis played a very minor role in the story. She was third in line when it came to the law enforcement officers who had the most impact (even though we learned it was Georgia's research that ultimately broke the case). I'm also not an expert as to the probabilities of a rather timid, law-abiding person being turned into a crazed serial killer, but this character development seemed to be a bit of a stretch to me. Not a bad book, not a good book. I am hopeful that I can award those four or five stars after listening to Easy Innocence. In any event, I have a sneaking suspicion I'll probably learn more about Georgia in that one than I did in ToxiCity.

I really liked this book and the author held my interest throughout. It wasn't too difficult to figure out where the story was going, although I thought the major revelation near the book's conclusion was unnecessary and probably detracted from the story more than it brought things together. As usual, Scott Brick did a great job with the narration. It probably doesn't hurt to have someone of his calibre narrate your first major work. I'll listen to another offering by Koryta.

This was a great listen for both young and older alike. I think I liked this more than my 10-year-old daughter because I grew up in the book's time frame and lived within 10 miles of where Tammy lived. The main character was feisty with a soft side. The lesson that the book told was right on without being overbearing. A wonderful family listen.

Having read many of the installments in the Davenport series, I was a little surprised that the usual cast of family and law enforcement characters were minimized in this novel. It was all about Lucas and the characters created for this particular story. And it worked. Carl wasn't very believable but this was tempered somewhat by grandpa who was a great character and who allowed us to believe that maybe Carl could be someone in the real world. I liked Nadia and wouldn't mind seeing her in other Davenport installments (although I'm not sure exactly where this book falls chronologically in the series). As always, narrator Richard Ferrone was superb. His delivery is impeccable, especially when portraying low-life characters. This was not the best Davenport novel I've listened to but it was well worth my time.

This tale was predictable and replete with an interesting cast of characters. It was not too difficult to figure out where the story was going but its predictability did not really detract from the listen. A few of the minor characters were a stretch but nonetheless interesting. The story ended where one would anticipate it ending. If you are need of a relaxing listen, this book may be for you.

This was a fun listen with my 10-year-old daughter. It was made even more enjoyable by the fact that we have a beagle and it was easy to imagine him (Walter) in the role of Cromwell. The narrator was excellent and did an especially good job with Howie and Elka. This is not great literature but it didn't need to be.