The Mackenzie Dossier

By: John Holt

Narrated by: Steve Campbell

Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Across the bottom of the screen the ticker tape announced in large black letters 'Governor Reynolds Murdered'. Apparently his body had been discovered earlier that morning, lying in his garage. He had been shot twice. One shot to the upper chest, the other hitting his shoulder. 'Police believe that the weapon used was a 38 revolver,' the reporter said. Kendall froze. Anthony Shaw had also been killed by a 38 calibre bullet. Kendall was not quite sure of what it all meant. What connection was there between Anthony Shaw, and the State Governor, and the business mogul, Ian Duncan. And what about Senator Mackenzie? Where did he fit in? And who or what was Latimer? Only a short while ago Kendall was a small time private detective , a Private Eye, investigating an insignificant little murder with no clues, no witnesses, and no motive. In fact, no nothing. Now he had so many pieces of a puzzle he didn't know how they fitted together. He didn't even know if they all came from the same puzzle.

©August 2012 John Holt (P)2018 John Holt

A powerful start to an exciting series

Have patience, I say. The rewards are well worth it. A unique, complex and unusual plot is well-planned and startling. Beginning with subplots, twisty turns and a broad range of curious and quirky characters, i thought Kendall could have been introduced earlier in the book. I listened intently as not to miss anything or anyone. Author John Holt interweaves this story of a dangerous and greedy man with his conspirators who are involved in murder and other crimes. Orchestrated by one man who will stop at nothing to get whatever he wants held my interest. Narration by talented Steve Campbell was perfectly reflected through his pitch-perfect and precise vocal presentation. The ending is admirably brought to a content conclusion and what I was hoping for. A sincere thank you to author John Holt for his generosity in allowing me an intro to the Kendall series. Highly recommended.
👏✍🏻⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✍🏻👏

A good detective story

Kendall is a good private detective that gets involved in an interesting case. Political corruption, murder, and good old fashioned detective work. You can guess early on is the suspect. But the details are slow to become obvious. Why he did it was a surprise. I have listened to other books by John Holt,

This is the first time I have listened to Steve Campbell. He did a good job with the narration.

I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and voluntarily leave an unbiased review.

Great Book!

This was a good book and I would recommend this book to anyone. The narrator does a good job!

Just OK for me

This story started out very slow and seemed to take a long time to pick up any pace. Even by the end it seemed to moved at just above a snails pace. The narrator seemed to do pretty good with the given dialogue, although all the characters seemed to run together. The dialogue in the book seemed stilted and a bit unnatural. I am going to give the next book a try and see if it gets any better.

Nice private eye story!

Kendall is a small time private eye who all of sudden stumbled on connections involving the murder of the governor.

power and greed

By the end of chapter 7, I was thoroughly disgusted with Duncan. He was unconscionable, manipulative , greedy , bully without remorse. Politics, power, control, greed ,revenge , blackmail and more fueled this intriguing story . The kidnapping was unexpected and the resolution was exciting. Sadly, Duncan got an easy out. So much corruption!! I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job.

If Columbo and Shawn Spencer had a kid

As things go, I really prefer the Bumbling, but not so bumbling detectives over most brainy types. Of course, for me Sherlock Holmes is the exception. But I'll take Columbo over Poirot any day. Kendall is my kind of detective. He acts like he hasn't got a clue, while in reality, he has known whodidit all along.

Fair warning, you never wonder whodunnit, as you get to see the crime take place, a'la Columbo. However, you do get to see how Kendall figures it out for himself, since he isn't psychic. That is where the fun lies. I did find that Holt got a lottle (not a little but a lottle) wordy during some of his descriptions. Wordy to a point where you know that there is a chip of paint scratched off of the underside of a table, for example (that didn't happen, I don't want to post spoilers). You get the idea. Very verbose. The story is paced well, and it is fun to watch Kendall figure things out.

Steve Campbell plays a fun role narrating, and does a fantastic job bringing the story to life. I swear you can hear him improve as he goes along. I think he was getting a good grasp on the characters and flow of the story. He was enjoyable to listen to and kept the story on point, it never lagged.

Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.


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A winding and bumpy ride !

This books grabs you at the very beginning and doesn't let go. Just when you think you have figured out where you are headed there is a twist. The characters are well developed and interesting and the story just doesn't quit. I definitely recommend this book.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Expected more

I really like the idea behind this book and it seemed promising. However, it didn't turn out that way. It was very slow to get started and continued that way throughout. It also just dragged on at times. I felt like some parts could have been left out. Every time I started getting interested in The book, it would start dragging on again.

The characters seemed a little underdeveloped. Most of the time, sentences ended with a question like "you understand?" Or " you see? " Parts of the story didn't seem plausible. The private detective acted like nothing anybody told him would help with his investigation.

There is no mystery in this book. The reader is told from early on who done it. The narrator was ok I guess. He actually seemed to improve throughout the book.

I was given this book for free at my request in return for my unbiased review.

Good Read

The Mackenzie Dossier was a good read by John Holt. On the television, Kendall saw a photograph of Governor Frank Reynolds. The bottom of the screen stated that Governor Frank Reynolds was murdered. He was found lying in his garage earlier that morning and was shot twice. When they announced that he was murdered with a 9mm pistol, he knew there had to be a connection with Anthony Shaw. I enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more by the author.