A Pirate's Time Served: 'Thar Be Parole for Good Behavior, Argh, Argh!'

Enforcement Division, Volume 4

By: Chris Malburg

Narrated by: Kasha Reese

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

The ghost of pirate Black Bart joins forces with two over-privileged teens and their relatives on St. Croix in a modern-day quest to discover priceless buried treasure; and along the way, their life's mission is under the most unlikely and dangerous circumstances.

Be careful what you wish for....

Sarah Schilling's 12-year-old brother is wicked smart. But this? Pure genius. Brian snagged an invitation to spend the summer with their favorite aunt and uncle on St. Croix. Uncle Jack tells them, "There will probably be some swimming, some diving. We like to run. There's a range, so maybe you'll learn to shoot. Cooking. Your Aunt Helen is a classically trained chef. You knew that, right? There's the Mallard seaplane, so maybe you'll learn something about flying. That sort of thing."

That sort of thing sounds like too much work for Sarah Schilling's summer on the beach - until Brian's scuba regulator mysteriously fails 60 feet underwater. Her training snaps into laser focus. During Brian's rescue, they unearth the 250-year-old secret of Black Bart - the pirate and his ghost. The discovery launches them into a hurricane of peril at the hands of modern-day pirates. The Schilling family will not survive unless Brian and Sarah discover the most powerful weapon that's within themselves.

A Pirate's Time Served is a young adult thriller of a ghost story. It shows how two teens can dig deeper than they thought possible, discovering what it means to lead, to follow, and to never ever give up - especially on family.

©2015 Writers Resource Group, Inc. (P)2015 Writers Resource Group, Inc.

For a wonderful YA novel, Chris Malburg delivers

What made the experience of listening to A Pirate's Time Served: 'Thar Be Parole for Good Behavior, Argh, Argh!' the most enjoyable?

It's a super story--one that teens and adults can let themselves be drawn into by a writer who truly knows the art of story telling. The writing was crisp and tight. The characters were vivid and authentic--just like real people I've known. And meeting the ghost of Black Bart was priceless and fun.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Black Bart was the star for me. He started out as rasty and nasty from having lived in the between world for 250 years. But we soon learn that he's developed a fondness for the Schilling family--Brian in particular. And Bart is a quick study of modern pop culture. He's a great addition the the Schilling family.

What does Kasha Reese bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voice over actor brings all the characters to life. Her unique voices for each character are fresh and reassuring to us listeners. The narration is more of a performance than just another reader. Only thing, she failed to get the argh, argh joke between Jack and Bart right. It sort of fell flat since she couldn't manage to say this one simple word right. Even so, she did a credible job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I couldn't since I work for a living. Still, every chance I had--commuting to the office, in the gym and walking the dog, Chris Malburg and his pirate book were right there making me laugh at times and worry for the characters at others, but always wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Any additional comments?

I read Malburg's other two books, Deadly Acceleration and God's Banker. He proves to be a talented and very versatile writer. Soon as his next book is out, I will definitely get it in preorder.