• Deadly Nightshade

  • Deadly Mystery, Book 1
  • By: Victor J. Banis
  • Narrated by: Roy Wells
  • Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (31 ratings)

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Deadly Nightshade  By  cover art

Deadly Nightshade

By: Victor J. Banis
Narrated by: Roy Wells
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Publisher's summary

The first in a new mystery series from the legendary author of The Man from C.A.M.P. and Longhorns, Victor J. Banis.

Straight cop, gay cop, and a woman who "isn't real". Tom and Stanley are on the trail of a drag queen serial killer, and along the way, they find themselves engaged in a more intimate pursuit, trying to resolve another mystery: their unexpected attraction to one another.

©2009 Victor J. Banis (P)2012 Victor J. Banis

What listeners say about Deadly Nightshade

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great start to a series ruined by narrator:(

I didn't mind that much that the narrator sounded like a 3-pack-a-day cowboy but that he didn't bother to change his pitch so that the two MCs sound different, was a big negative. This, because Stanley, the gay cop is, obviously, gentler, "as queer as a three-dollar bill" as Tom, the straight cop describes and the complete opposite of the gruff, surly Tom.

As if that weren't bad enough, several lines were omitted, in at least two places, entire paragraphs! Where my MLR Press ebook inserts "transgender", the audiobook omits it. Several times.

To top it all, somewhere in chapter 3, I could hear a dog barking in the background. I thought it was coming from my tv but it was the news - and on mute - so I listened carefully and it was from the audiobook. It had obviously been recorded in a private house - somehow I had the impression that Audible.com had soundproof rooms or at least as good as.

I got a refund for this one and checked out Book 2 (Deadly Wrong) just to see if I had to return that, too, but Guy Veryzer sounds like a much better narrator. We'll see. At these prices, I expect a professional job and because this is a wonderful series by Banis. It deserves better attention by Audible.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story, Lousy Reader

If you could sum up Deadly Nightshade in three words, what would they be?

Good detective story, no surprise characters so follow the clues to the end.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Roy Wells?

Anyone!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

Narrator smacks his lips and mispronounces words; very distracting.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Drag Queens Anyone?

What did you love best about Deadly Nightshade?

The hits of humor. Found myself chuckling at the one liners.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Stanley first met his homophobe partner, Tom.

Any additional comments?

I had trouble listening to the narrator at first, but once I settled down and really gave him a try. Really enjoyed how he brought the characters to life.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, but "annoying" narration...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. The basic story was interesting, but the tenor of the narrator’s voice made listening for over an hour "painful." The narrator sounded as if he was just “reading." Attempts to use inflection or vary the sound of the characters seemed "forced." In my opinion -- at the risk of sounding ageist -- it was like listening to a grandfather reading a book at storytime. I could not envision in my mind the younger characters the reader was attempting to portray. After about an hour I had to abandon listening to the book. It is now on my "last resort" listening list.

Would you be willing to try another one of Roy Wells’s performances?

No.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The ending left me scratching my head.

Any additional comments?

Spoiler alert: The book was funny, flowed well and the story was original. (Wasn't very hard to figure out who the bad guy was though.) There was a severe lack of character development (all characters) I felt would have made this book great. The Narrator wasn’t horrible but he wasn’t that great either. In some parts of the story his inflections were off. Not making a question sound like a sentence, not delivering sarcasm in the intended form, showing surprise when there wasn’t a call for it. I lovedry humor but it has to be read well and sadly this wasn’t. It was difficult to follow the dialog because of his reading. Here is the spoiler alert: The major problem I had was the ending. I only like happy endings in the books I read. This was not. The ending wasn’t written in a way that left me on pins and needles to see a sequel. This book had all the elements of a great romance book but the ending was so real life I felt in the end I had just read something from the Oprah book club. Not my preference. I do not know yet if I even want to find out if they get their stuff together in the future.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Deadly Nightshade

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I love Victor J. Banis' Deadly Series. I hope all of the Deadly books will be in audio eventually.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Deadly Nightshade?

The moments with when Stanley realizes how beautiful Tom was and how misguided his affections are. The mystery itself is really fun. This is for adults.

What about Roy Wells’s performance did you like?

He reads the book, does not really get into the characters but the reading is good and the story is clear.

If you could take any character from Deadly Nightshade out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Stanley, he is a hoot. Fun and tough at the same time. You don't really think about how tough gay men are until you read something like this.

Any additional comments?

I hope the rest of this series is done in audio.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

the narrator sucks

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

maybe change the narrator it was like listing to old record that is bad

What didn’t you like about Roy Wells’s performance?

no difference between charter voices

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It just stopped

After listening to the book for about 15 minutes I almost deleted it. The narration would not have been my first choice. I decided to continue and I got sucked in. I guess I was curious how the author was going to twist out a happy ending. The social rift between the two characters was very strong. Rather than find this ending the book just stopped. Perhaps it will show itself later in the series.

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