Killing Sarai

A Novel (In the Company of Killers)

By: J. A. Redmerski

Narrated by: Kate Reinders, Stephen Bel Davies

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years. Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don't go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another. While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead. As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor's brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.

©2013 J. A. Redmerski (P)2014 Audible Inc.

I absolutely enjoyed this book

I was not sure but once I started I knew I was going to be very happy regardless and have already started on book 2 of in the company of killers series.
Most definitely worth a credit and the two narrators are good as well:)!

Not your usual kind of reading! Great

Clever, sexy and shrouded in a lot of mystery and secrecy in regards to the characters. Thoroughly enjoyed all the books. Dark in manner and fascinating..and twisted at times. Love it.

The narratoin choices are...surprising

If you could sum up Killing Sarai in three words, what would they be?

Intense interesting read

What did you like best about this story?

I liked Victor and Sarai's relationship and how realistic and transitional it seemed to be.

Have you listened to any of Stephen Bel Davies and Kate Reinders ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

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

At times, yes.

Any additional comments?

I was really surprised by the narration choice for Victor. I don't think it was a good fit, in fact I think it made him seem like a completely different character than what Sarai saw and portrayed to the reader. While I think Stephen is a great narrator, his voice sounds very cultured and a little too old and less severe that I would picture Victor sounding like. It was pretty distracting to me, so I gave the story 4 stars.

1/2 of the Narrator Stinks

Kate Reinders is a good narrator, but Stephen Bel Davies voice doesn't match the character and the emotions that he puts into the story are not always appropriate for what is said. The character is a tough assassin and the narrator's voice is way too feminine for the part. It just doesn't match. I'm not finished with the book yet, I'll write a book review later.

I LOVED being in their company

First I want to say that author J.A. Redmerski is a very good writer. Her style is thoroughly descriptive and imaginative without being to much and has a way of developing unusual characters to the point of them becoming real people within your mind. Redmerski's skill and authentic talent for story telling is reason enough to read/listen to any one of her books but
In The Company Killers series has become my favorite.

"Killing Sarai" is not for the faint of heart. It is not from the cookie cutter mold of familiar romances or action suspense....It is of its own mold all together
It is a literary sculpture sophisticatedly created to enthrall you, thrill you, break your heart, painfully put it back together, and completely change the way you think for a little while.The end result bringing you just enough satisfaction to have you ADDICTED!!
At least, for me, that is how I interpret this dark and disturbingly beautiful novel.

"Killing Sarai" is no story of redemption or absolution or good conquering all. This is a story of survival, retribution, vengeance, and being bound by deathly obligations. There are really no "good guys". This is about how sometimes only bad can defeat bad; on how you must have one wing in the fire in order to beat back demons. The romance built with in the walls of this alarming and bone-chilling world can hardly be referred to as "true love" or anything so conventional. The developing connection between these two conflicted-complicated-multifaceted characters is so strong and impacting it reaches beyond the simple guide lines of "falling in love" and touches more on a sense of belonging and ownership in equal measurements. The sense so heavily forceful and strange that they aren't able to really comprehend only left to follow carnal instinct that they can never be separated or go back to the way they were. Its so atypical that I am having a hard time explaining....but the notion grips me and I can't seem to let it go.

I don't want to really touch on the narration since the other reviewers give explanation enough. All I want to say is that while the pairing of voice and character might not seem perfectly matched, as this novel progresses it will hardly detract from the experience. "Killing Sarai" is COMPLETELY worth your credit/money. Download NOW!

Excellent start to a great 5 novel series!

JA Redmerski is best known for her romance novels, but the In the Company of Killers is an outstanding psychological thriller series. I've written 5 star reviews for two later books in the series, but the series should be read in order. The series is profane, raunchy and even sadistic at times, but the stories are riveting. Killing Sarai is about teenager Sarai being escaping from bondage (she is being held and raped by a Mexican drug gang leader). Narration of the book is superb.

The first 4 books of the 5 book series are available in audiobook format from Audible. The 5th novel (The Black Wolf) is available in Kindle format. I'm still waiting for The Black Wolf to be released by Audible although I have read the Kindle version.

Surprisingly Good Read

If you could sum up Killing Sarai in three words, what would they be?

Good suspense and characters.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, wondering what Victor would do next with Sarai - would her save her or kill her...good suspense.

Have you listened to any of Stephen Bel Davies and Kate Reinders ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No -

Any additional comments?

This book grabbed me right away and kept me entertained. Is it excellent prose, no, but a good action and intrigue book - kept me going.

An excellent assassin tale!

Would you listen to Killing Sarai again? Why?

Yes, it was a really good story with one really great narrator in Kate Reinders. I really wish she had narrated it solo because Stephen Bel Davies's narrating vocal tone didn't seem to be a good fit to me.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Killing Sarai?

The first mission Victor allowed Sarai to help with was rather memorable.

What three words best describe Stephen Bel Davies and Kate Reinders ’s voice?

His - old, academic, miscast. Hers - great, perfect tone.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

***THINGS I ENJOYED*** 1. Great pacing – I wouldn’t change a thing. 2. Interesting plotline – Oddly enough, I’ve always been a sucker for the assassin trope, and this one delivers in spades. I’m hooked. 3. Good tension between the main characters Sarai and Victor; Victor and Javier; Victor and Nicholas and Nicholas and Sarai Realistic villains (Javier & Izel) – both of them were vicious and I mentally applauded their ultimate respective fates. 4. One superb narrator, Kate Reinders who really should have been left with narrating the story solo in my opinion. Her voice is melodious, her male gender accents didn’t sound ridiculous and she did decent foreign accents passably well. ***WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE*** Narrator, Stephen Bel Davies who in my opinion sounds too old to be a thirty-something year old assassin. He does great foreign accents, but again he just sounded all wrong to me. I think that a better choice for a male narrator would have been Zachary Webber or Luke Daniels who narrates The Swan and the Jackal: In the Company of Killers, Book 3 in this series thankfully.

Lots to Love but One Constructive Criticism

Where does Killing Sarai rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Unfortunately, due to the male narrator, this audio book isn't in my top five to ten, but probably in my top 20.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This is a great read/audio book for many reasons. The plot line is fantastic, the characters (not including the narrators) are gritty and raw in description, and fit their roles quite well. I had a hard time at first with some of the details of what happened to her at such a young age but soon realized that the detail was necessary in order to complete who she is as a character. The twists and turns of the story line are what kept me involved and wondering what was coming next.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Stephen Bel Davies and Kate Reinders ?

I happen to like Kate Reinders as Sarai; her voice is very much like what I hear in my imagination when I read the Kindle version of the book. It was nice to have her character come to life in the audio version. I even preferred her version of Victor to Mr. Davies' version. Ms. Reinders' version of Victor was much more gritty and rough around the edges and more character appropriate than that of her male counterpart. This is my one constructive criticism: I do not think that Mr. Davies' voice fits that of an assassin in any shape or form. He's too polished and neat to bring that sort of character to life, there's not enough masculinity and depth for what I feel is a very masculine character. I would like to hear Kaleo Griffith narrate Victor's character. He has brought many of my favorite male characters to life and has a broad range of vocal/intonation ability based on what I've listened to.

Any additional comments?

I am sad to say that I won't be purchasing the Audible version of the remaining books. The male narrator ruins my experience and I would much rather be left to my imagination in this case. I will finish the series on my Kindle.

Disappointing

Believe I would have liked it a little more if there were different narrators. Kate Reinders sounded like a valley girl teenager at times instead of a 23 year old woman by her voice and by Redmerski's writing and Stephen Bel Davies had no intonation in his voice whatsoever. Hard to tell when he was speaking the words of Victor or Victor's thoughts. He had no depth as the voice of a trained assassin. He did much better faking an accent with Niklas. The sex scenes seemed crude rather than sexy. Doubt I'll read/listen to other books by Redmerski. Especially if they're read by the same narrators.