Michael Ridding

A DenCom Thriller, Volume 1

By: S.T. Hoover

Narrated by: Chris Abell

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

In Southern California, three terrorists of unknown allegiances slaughter dozens of men at a shopping mall. In Denver, the eccentric CEO of Denver Communications, or DenCom, has a target on his head. In the wilds of Greenland, a long-forgotten enemy is reaching out for recognition and revenge. At the center of it all, a special investigator for the “communications” company is dragged into a diabolical plot he can’t begin to understand.

©2017 Sam Hoover (P)2018 Project 89 Media

Thrilling ride!

Incredible action, likeable characters and nonstop intrigue. I've read this book in paperback and wanted to see how the audiobook would translate. I was not disappointed! Abell captured the tone of the story just the way it played out for me when I read it the first time. The end left me emotional and ready to hear what else this crew has in store for them...can't wait for the next book! S.T. Hoover is at the top of my must read Author list.

A good action thriller.

Would you consider the audio edition of Michael Ridding to be better than the print version?

Yes............ Most readers will enjoy this wild ride.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

What about Chris Abell’s performance did you like?

He made the book more interesting then simply reading the book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Action in high gear.

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Thrilling adventure with plenty of intrigue!

I received this audiobook free at my request and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Michael Ridding is quite the thrill ride! Lots of questions and some answers, with enough left over to keep you guessing until the next book. Chris Abell does a great job with the narration, and the story packs so much that you'll easily forget that you've spent nearly six hours listening to it. This is one that you won't want to miss! Can't wait for the next chapter in the series.

A 5* read/listen.

I quite fancied it but was totally surprised by the high tempo of the the story line. There is action everywhere. Likeable characters (even the villians). Well written and the narration by Chris Abell was 1st rate, clear and concise, all the characters distinct and recognisable. Audio quality is good.
It is going on my re-read shelf it is that good and I'm sure I missed nuances in the plot.
I highly recommend this audiobook.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

An enigmatic action adventure

This book reads (or rather is read to you, since it's an audiobook) like an introduction into a world of intrigue and supernatural mystery. While not every mystery was solved, not every mystery could be since this is the first book in a series. Michael Ridding, the title character, is hired along with one of his employees by a mysterious stranger for an exorbatent salary to investigate paranormal activities; why is not immediately clear, since Michael is merely the owner of an aquarium shop. They work without asking too many questions of their enigmatic employer, until suddenly their lives are on the line as they are thrown into one adventure after another.

Up front, I will say that I am not normally a fan of this genre, but this book held my attention. I cared what happened to the characters, and I *really* wanted to know the answers to many more questions than I was privy to by the book's end. I also would have liked to have had more actual paranormal things happen in the book, rather than hints of paranormal mysteries to be solved. That said, this was a good book. The characters were engaging and flawed people, the bad guys were somewhat sympathetic, and the good guys weren't necessarily good all the time. A few technical descrepencies threw me off a little (such as how one gun behaved in a gun fight), and I would have liked more than one female character, but overall I enjoyed this novel. If you want to have the big questions answered by the book's end, you will be disappointed, but if you are looking for the beginning of an exciting new series, I think you'll enjoy this. I look forward to reading the next book in the series

Victoria Palmer's Review.

i'd give Michael Ridding: A DenCom thriller 5 stars but 4 language. Adrenaline fueled action and suspense with surprising twists and turns. A great thriller. I recieved a copy of this audiobook at my request and willingly give my honest review.

Action-Adventure, Terrorist, Thriller

Action-Adventure, Terrorist, Thriller (I think I got all the genres)

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into at first glance. The cover doesn’t give too much away – but it does set the tone for confusion among the main characters of the book. And I think that Hoover did a nice job going back and forth trying to create this feeling of confusion and disorientation throughout Michael Ridding.

I can’t tell you too much about the plot without ruining anything (hence the short one that the author provides too), but the story is everything I listed above. Action-Adventure, Terrorist plots, and a Thriller too. Hoover jumps around from genre to genre and I wasn’t even sure what I was going to get when the book finished.

I do wish that there was a little more (and I have no idea what Hoover plans for the future) in the action-adventure part of it. I would love to follow along with the exploits and adventures that they have when searching for these artifacts and old world… things. Hoover mentioned Antarctica but it was also mentioned that he went on numerous other excursions.

I thought that the best part of Michael Ridding was the pacing. There were times that it felt like it wasn’t going to let up – but then it would and things would settle down a bit, only to get ratcheted back up to 10. The back and forth was mentally exhausting (in a good way). Hoover was able to write a story that felt much longer than 6 hours.

Overall, Michael Ridding was a good introduction to the characters, enemies, and what DenCom is. I want to see a lot more from this series and I hope that Hoover is able to provide the same pacing and character building in the next stories.

I was given a free copy of this book - it has not affected my review in any way.

The Valley

The biggest mystery - what is DenCom? Investigators earn one million dollars a year without knowing what they're investigating. Their boss, Benedict, talks in riddles. This is an addictive story with a touch of the paranormal and hints of religion. Hi-tech monitoring, private planes, and terrorists that seem to rise from the dead round out the madness. I was gifted this from Audiobookworm for an honest review.

a first book -

I am not sure about the book. It started out interesting and I was really enjoying it. But I felt that I was missing some of the back story. I checked and this is the first book in the series. I did get lost and tired to figure out what was what part of the time. Maybe the next book will answer my questions about the backstory.
The book was well written, and the narrator was very good.
I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

One big tease!

It’s still one big mystery. Even tho this is Book 1 in the series, it really does feel like a lead in. The tale ends with lots and lots of questions unanswered. Still, it is intriguing.

Our main character, Michael Ridding, was approached by DenCom owner Benedict to do odd research jobs for the company. Now Michael and his best friend Aron have been doing so for a few years. It’s allowed Michael to keep his aquarium store alive and well, while also giving him some fun adventures. I still want to know what that Antarctica trip was all about!

The story teases and teases! At first, I liked it. It kept me invested in the story. But eventually it became apparent that I wasn’t going to get the whole show, at least not in this book. I love stories that feature cryptozoology and there’s lots of hints about that here. Yet we never really get any Bigfoot stories or Mothman horror tales or moonlit sightings of the Lochness Monster. The closest we get is Granger, a large cat (not the domesticated variety) who is too intelligent for it’s own good. So, the story talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk yet. I wanted more, especially after all the teasing.

Andrea is our token female character in a cast of male characters. And, unfortunately, she falls into the cliched trap of romantic interest. I would like to see more ladies in this world-traipsing adventure because women are literally everywhere.

There’s more mystery – what is this crazy psychic communication from our evil master villain!?! I love it but I also want answers. Our main villain is a worthy opponent and super creepy. Then there’s also the three brothers who are each some kind of super human – super strength, super healing, etc. More mystery!

The action jumps out unexpectedly. Boom! Surprise shooting! But then there’s long periods of lots of chatting. Then Boom! In flight emergency! So I would have liked more action, less talk – unless the talk explained some of the mystery. Benedict never does explain just what DenCom’s main goals are, even when threatened by his trusted employees. All together, it was fun and perhaps will turn out to be a good start to a new action series. But for name, the story just left me a little frustrated. 3.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Chris Abell gave a really good performance. I liked his straight forward, average, every day guy voice for Michael. Abell’s voice for the villain was threatening and creepy – just as it should be. His voice for Andrea was decent. Abell did a great job making Benedict sound like a nervous guy (as he was for most of the book). There were no technical issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by S.T. Hoover. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.