The Collectibles: The Collectibles Trilogy, Book 1

The Collectables is the first in a trilogy written by James Kaufman. It is categorized as a mystery but I'm not sure that's where it belongs. There's not a whole lot of mystery going on in the story, which is not to say there's not a whole lot going on in the story. It almost seems like the lawyering is secondary.
The protagonist (Joe Hart) is an attorney who's own life is full of personal tragedy and loss, the apex being the shooting of his innocent wife. He's gone into the mountains that he grew up in, where as an orphaned child he was raised by his uncle. His lesson in life: "Do what the other fella can't. Be what the other fella ain't. And then help the other fella."
This book is about an attorney who is atypical in that he sometimes gets involved in his clients lives, for life.
There are very few books that I get choked up while listening to but this is one of those. Can't say why, I don't want to spoil this for anyone but this book, although it is a really really great story, the author gets his point across and offers some really great lessons for life with no judgements or boundaries.
Joe Barrett, I just love this narrator. He is also the voice of Joe DeMarco (Mike Lawson). Anyway, as always - superb!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

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A number of positive reviews show up at the top but if you keep going you will find about as many negative reviews. Read them carefully and consider whether this is the type of book you will enjoy. Obviously some people did - in fact they loved it.

I'm afraid I am with the group who found the story 'goody-goody,' contrived and unrealistic. I didn't finish the book so I'm not positive the story wasn't redeemed by the end but after checking back over the reviews to try to figure out if I wanted to keep on listening or not I decided it wasn't going to work for me. Maybe I'll finish it someday, but I doubt it.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through this book and decided to re-read reviews to see if possibly I had missed something. When I bought it, it had been given 4.5 stars so I thought it must be a winner - not so much. It's just too perfect. Joe, the main character, should be put up for sainthood. And all the perfect solutions....give me a break. It's not that I don't like a happy story. This one was simply too contrived. It's like being in a Hallmark card or being painted into a Thomas Kincaid painting.

The Collectibles was an inspiring story of a man who lived his life with integrity and love. I found The Collectibles to be beautifully written and engaging from the first page, I connected with the characters and wanted fairy tale endings for each of them, a fairy tale ending is not true to life and so it is with The Collectibiles. Reading a book with such heart is rare, I finished with renewed commitment to my own beliefs and values. I look forward to the next book in the trilogy.

What a disappointment. Got it because of the great reviews and because Joe Barrett was reading it. Thought I was in for a treat--and the first of three in the series!!! Then...the plot. It ricochets all over the place from the start. As the synopsis states, the self-made rich guy does a favor to the born-rich guy and demands that he one day perform an unspecified favor in return. Unforeseen circumstances make him ask for that favor sooner than anyone expected. Except those "unforeseen" circumstances are so contrived, it's hard to go past that. The truth is that the self-made-man could not have known that he would EVER need the help of the other guy--so why did he ever make the demand? (Yes, I know this review is hard to follow but I am trying to avoid spoilers.) The plot was more like an outline, with the author making things happen out of nowhere just to get the story to the next step. And you can tell immediately where it's going to go--a bunch of people showing the poor little rich man how to be a better person. Meh. I could not finish it.

This book was too corny for me but if you like that kind of thing you should consider this book. In addition, I felt that the author explained too much, too often. The dialogue did not seem natural for all the explaining.

After reading the reviews mentioning Grisham and noting this book is listed as a mystery/thriller, I gave it a try. Certainly not what I was expecting. It wasn't a page turner for me! I've added it to the "abandoned" list.
If you are looking for a touchy freely feel-good story this might be it.

I have listened to around 1000 books. THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. NUMBER 1

The way that Joe made friends with his honesty.This story is written so well that when you start it, you don't want to quit.

They were all great characters but the story of the turns that Preston had, made him one of my favorites.

Oh yes, you really get involved in this book.

I'm looking for more of Kaufman's books.

Just read the publisher's summary, go to Amazon and get the Kindle book for $0.99 and the Audible book for $2.99. You will not regret it!

Joe Barrett is a fabulous narrator.

This is the highest I've ever rated a book, though I've enjoyed many. I loved the character development. I felt as though I knew each character. I'm not a cryer but I teared up feeling their loss. The story wound and twisted a length of glimmering cord tying the characters with love and humanity.
Thank you for such a heart touching story.
I want to also commend Joe Barrett for his wonderful narration. He provided just the right amount of voice change to keep the story flowing. The accents of the characters sounded real and unstrained.
A wonderful read!