Belinda

The Raymond Hatcher Stories

By: Mark Zvonkovic

Narrated by: Raquel Merediz

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in the conference rooms of a white-shoe Houston law firm and the stunning coastline of Baja California, Belinda is the story of a woman’s bravery and resourcefulness at the end of her brilliant career. Her decision to fight her firm’s men in suits who demand her retirement is called into question when a man once her lover appears after a long unexplained absence. Against a backdrop of romance and legal drama, the novel explores questions about love, the law, and the anxious precipice of life change.

Is it ever too late to be swept away by romance? Can true justice ever be attained when the law’s practitioners are corrupt? And when your work is what defines you, what’s left after retirement? During a week of surprises and abstruse events, Belinda sees the once presumed greatness of her life flicker as she forces the moment for her decision to a crisis.

©2022 Mark Zvonkovic (P)2022 Mark Zvonkovic

The narrator did an outstanding job on this book!

Mostly unrelated to Book One, 'The Lion in the Grass', Belinda is the key character of this segment of the Raymond Hatcher Stories. The only real connection is she was one of the partners in the law firm that Jay was a part of. He and Belinda were close in age with mutual admiration for each other as partners.

Belinda is getting older and feels she will be pressured into retirement soon. She uses her every resource and determination to show those she works with she is every bit as competant as she has been in the past. During her determination to prove herself, she makes new discoveries abut herself she never realized before. Maybe there is a plus side to retirement. Is she ready?

This book is enhanced by the appearance of someone out of her past. It adds action and mystery to the drama.

The characters are very real and the scenes described well and easy to envision. The Title is okay and the Cover image is an improvement on the other two previous books covers.

I listened to the audio-book. The narrator, Raquel Merediz, did an outstanding job with her narration. She was very consistent with pleasant "voices" and made emphases in all the correct places with much feeling. There was never a doubt of who was speaking and what was happening.

I feel this book was in improvement over 'The Narrows' but was not as stimulating as 'Lion in the Grass'. I felt some scenes were chopped off too abruptly. I also feel some scenarios were left to "open ended". I had hoped this book would solidify the slightly weak ending of the first book but these are truly treated as "stand alones " in most ways.

I offer a Five Stars rating four the narration but a Three and a Half Stars for the book content. Thus I will give the audio-book a Four Stars rating.

good book

This novel had a great plot that kept me hooked. I didn't realize that it was book 3 in the series. I never felt lost, so it can be read as a standalone. I prefer tighter endings and thought that maybe the loose threads would be addressed in the next book. That's when I found out it was third in the series, lol. It's still worth the read, but I must say it has some mature content. I was given the audiobook by the author but was not required to provide a good review. I thought the narrator did an excellent job. I rate it a 4-star.

Best so far

I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audio copy from iRead Book Tours. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

Belinda is the third book in the Raymond Hatcher series and my favorite so far. All three books are standalone.

Belinda is a lawyer at the end of her career, but she has no idea what she’ll do once she retires. She hears from Jay Jackson out of the blue after his silence for two years. He had left after the murder of Raymond Hatcher. What Belinda doesn’t know is that Jay was a spy like Raymond, who was his mentor. She decides to give him a second chance.

There are many other characters in this story, mostly lawyers working on a big deal. The different egos of the lawyers were interesting and probably realistic.

The narrator did well with pace and timing. She also performed the voices effectively, so I always knew who was talking.

The pace of the story is okay until the end when things heat up. It seems that Jay may never be able to retire as a spy. I liked the ending, but I hope there will be one more book to tie up an important loose end.