Auburn Ride

A Johnny Delarosa Thriller

By: David Stever

Narrated by: Bill Lord

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Welcome to Port City!

Private investigator Johnny Delarosa has seen it all. First as a cop, and now as a private eye. Cheating spouses, embezzlements, and insurance scams are routine. But he meets his match when the alluring, auburn-haired Claire Dixon walks into his bar/office and drops a $20,000 retainer in his lap. She wants the hard-drinking Johnny to find $2 million that was stolen from her mobster family 30 years earlier. But $2 million can be motivating. Old mobsters come out of witness protection to claim their share, and when bodies begin to pile up, and his sexy, enigmatic client disappears, Johnny is taken on the ride of his life; an Auburn Ride. With a wink and a nod to the hard-boiled private eyes of the pulp noir past, the gritty streets of Port City set the stage for author David Stever's first thriller in the Delarosa series.

©2016 David Anthony Stever (P)2017 David Anthony Stever

I never saw it coming!

I love it when a book surprises me in a good way. The ending on this fast paced book was excellent. I was kept engaged in the book from the very beginning and loved some of the characters. My review is not a synopsis of the book, but rather my opinion of it. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. This is a standalone listen and part of a series. I will continue to listen to more books by this author and narrator.

Very Good

Surprisingly great crime mystery novel full of suspense, humor, and action. A real page turner.

Loved This!

Against his better judgment, P.I. Johnny Delarosa takes on a beautiful auburn-haired woman as his client. Claire Dixon has hired him to find two million dollars that she feels is rightfully hers but is that her only agenda? Does the money even exist or is it simply an urban legend? Johnny will have a big payday if he can find it, assuming that he doesn't get killed first.

Wow, I just loved this! Johnny and his sidekicks are in for more than they bargained for when ex-mobsters get wind of the missing money. Action packed, sexy and humorous, this book was a modern take on the old detective stories. The great twist at the end was the finishing touch. Bill Lord as the narrator was perfect for this audiobook and gets two enthusiastic thumbs up. I really enjoyed Auburn Ride: A Johnny Delarosa Thriller and would recommend it.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This review is my honest opinion.

PI Classic

John Delarosa is an ex cop turned private eye who is in partnership with his old police partner in a bar and private investigation business. The story opens with Delarosa rescuing a beautiful young lady, Katie, from a kidnapping. Similar to all the old PI classics this one also starts with a beautiful women with auburn hair, Claire, and a lot of cash. She slaps down $20000 in cash and hires him to look for two million dollars siphoned off from the Italian mob decades ago. Katie is so enthralled with Delarosa and his rescue and his job that she somehow convinces him to hire her to help with his investigations. With the mention of 2 million, an old mob accountant blows his own brains out in front of Delarosa, and other old mobsters come to the forefront all after the money. Claire isn't telling the whole story and Delarosa et al are led on a goose chase that starts piling up bodies. The action never stops and the characters are believable and likable.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good listen

I received this book for free for an honest review.

I actually enjoyed the story a lot. It took a little while to get me hooked because the narrator is a little too whimsical sounding for a mob story but once the story took off it was fine. This book has a little bit of intrigue and almost romance all rolled into one. It's definitely worth a listen!!

Nice start to a new noir series

This is very well written new noir series. I especially appreciate the interplay between the Delarosa and Katie and am eager to see how they develop. Good banter and humor all around.
Bill Lord adds a nice touch the narration. He delivers a wry performance that keeps with the overall atmosphere of the story. I look forward to what comes next.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Just gritty enough; just sexy enough; a fun ride

This has all the makings and characters of a modern detective story. Hardened ex-cops, sexy ladies, mobsters, money, and revenge all work together for a fun and exciting listen. The is just enough violence to make it realistic without being brutal, just enough near sex scenes to make it very suggestive without becoming vulgar, and plenty of twists and turns. The story concludes with a satisfying ending that is, for the most part, unpredictable. Although this isn't my favorite genre, I really enjoyed the listen and, at least to me, was the epitome of a modern detective story that still held the essence of the old-time stories as it was not about sensationalized sex and violence for the mere sake of it. Pretty tame language, too.

The only suggestion I have for the new listener is to give the narrator a chance and his delivery will grow on you. He does a great job with character voices, but his tempo took me a few chapters to get used to, though it was well worth the wait.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys detective/cop/mob stories. A review copy of this audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in return for this unbiased review. My hope is that this review helps in your decision to obtain this book.

Entertaining!

This was my first David Stever's book. Auburn Ride is the first book in the Delarosa Series, a great thriller. Private investigator Johnny Delarosa is an amazing character! The secondary characters are great, and they have an important part in the story. The mystery is well built, and unfold at a great pace. The storyline has it all!: action, danger, suspense, mystery, and secrets. I like the little romance and the humor along the story. Bill Lord is a new narrator to me. He did a great job with the narration. He has a great voice, and the characters were easy to distinguish. I enjoyed it. Looking forward for the next book in the Series. I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Has Jonny met his match?

When Mafia Princess Claire walks and Johnny Belarus his boss/office she tries to intrigue him to take a case that started 20 years before and of course Johnny resist or at least he pretends so he really cannot resist Claire’s beauty and the intriguing $2 million she wants him to fine. This book is like all a Johnny Delarosa books it is funny quirky action packed and a good fun read. I love Johnny Della Russo and if I had a mystery I definitely would get him to solve it. I thought Johnny Della Russo books couldn’t get better then I heard the audio version. I hope all of the books become audio that would be great the narrator did an awesome job and I thought had the perfect voice for Johnny. If you like mysteries and bumbling detectives you’re gonna love this book.

Great Story

Bill Lord does a fabulous job with the characters. From the dry wit of Johnny the main character to the wise guys. Loved the plot development too.

I was provided this copy free of charge in exchange for an honest review

Fun, dependable mystery

Auburn Ride is a quaint, easy read. I found it easy to dive into and easy to follow. It was the perfect thing to listen to while I puttered about the house. Delarosa is something of a dinosaur in a few of his ways but they work for him. The story felt a little like a hard boiled crime novel from the 70s that was yanked into the 21st century. There’s modern tech like cell phones but Delarosa himself was molded a few decades back.

Setting all the cliches aside, the pacing is great. There’s a good mix of action, mystery, character development, and reflection. Even though Katie takes her clothes off often, I still liked her character. She’s definitely goal oriented and not intimidated by the work. Mike, Delarosa’s partner in their private eye business and their bar, provides a base of operations, cold beer, and well-timed advice.

I knew right from the beginning that Claire, the red head, was trouble. The title kind of gives that away. Still, it was fun to guess at her true motivations. Over all, the mystery was a little predictable but still interesting to see how all the details locked into place.

While there are several ladies present in this story, they are almost always of romantic interests. The few who aren’t are still assessed by their looks and bed-ability. Delarosa doesn’t think overweight women are much fun in bed, which says something about Delarosa. It also meant there was this undertone of sexism throughout the story having all the women rated by their sexiness. If you can accept that as just a feature of the main character, then the rest of the story works well. All told, it was fun. 3.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Bill Lord works well as the main character Delarosa. At first, Lord has an unusual cadence, drawing out the last syllable of each sentence as if he’s building drama. It takes a little while, but eventually Lord finds a more natural cadence. Lord’s female character voices were feminine and he did have different voices for all the characters. Sometimes when 2 or more male characters were talking in a conversation, Lord’s voices blended together losing their distinction. There were no tech issues with this recording. 3.5/5 stars.

You're a good man, Johnny Delarosa.

An ex cop of twenty years, then six years as a private eye, Jonny prided himself on being a good judge of character. But when a beautiful 30-something red head offers him 20,000 dollars retainer with the promise of a further 180,000 when the job is done, he ignores his gut feeling that something wasn't right and takes the job. And opens up a whole can of worms.

For a detective noire character, Johnny has it all: attractive and slick talking, ex cop who remembers the past and knows the bad guys as well as the good, divorced, likes jazz and the ladies and part owns a bar, which doubles as his home and office, with his ex police partner. As Katie (rescued kidnap victim and stunning brunette who decides she wants to work for him) says, "Crazy Raymond Chandler stuff on steroids." Add in a touch of Mickey Spillane...

The book is written in the first person and, Initially, the choice of narrator was a surprise: instead of the usual deep, staccato hard voice, Bill Lord's delivery is softer, pleasant and with good intonation and expression. But almost immediately he just fits the character to perfection. He is Johnny Delarosa. And his voicings of the other protagonists is equally good, bringing them forcefully to life. A great performance.

So, charismatic and colourful protagonists, intriguing story that's hard to put down, good dialogue and humour, all related by an excellent narrator - did I enjoy it? Hell, yes. I was fortunate in being gifted a complimentary copy of Auburn Ride, at my request, by the rights holder, via Audiobook Boom. Thank you so much.
A book to be recommended to, and enjoyed by, all detective thriller fans. What are you waiting for? Get it now.