Big Breath In

By: John Straley

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, retired marine biologist Delphine is on the brink of throwing in the towel. She has outlived her PI husband and worries she’s become a burden to her son and his growing family. One night, while contemplating how to go on, Delphine witnesses a violent argument between a man and his girlfriend. When Delphine discovers the woman has gone missing along with her young child, Delphine embarks on a quest to find them.

What begins as a chance encounter balloons into a rescue mission across the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, Delphine encounters the dregs of humanity—grappling with schemers, kidnappers, and murderers—as well as its joys. With the help of a few friends, a retired PI, and a queer biker gang, Delphine is determined to see her mission through … knowing full well it may be her last.

While Big Breath In stands alone, longtime Straley fans will recognize the characteristic wit, heart, and contemplation of life that threads through every one of his books—and discover a new heroine to fall in love with.

“Once again, John Straley serves up a masterclass in storytelling with this page-turning tale of mystery, loss, and kinship. You’ll instantly fall for Delphine, the main character with a heart as big as the whales she researches. Straley has imbued every page of this novel with a deeply personal love that hits you hard.”—Don Rearden, author of The Raven’s Gift

©2024 John Straley (P)2024 Recorded Books

Great Premise

This is a well-written book with a great premise. While I usually enjoy books that are more introspective than action-packed, this one went a bit slowly for me. This was probably because the parts about whales---while extremely interesting and essential to the character's journey---went on a bit too long. I did make it more than halfway through and might go back to it.

Whale researcher’s life and supercharged dying

I loved the descriptions of animal life, especially whale’s. Too much about nasty bikers and even more nasty baby-stealing guy. I liked the women bikers, and the friend’s family. It was never clear if Blue Sky was really Lee‘s baby or a baby stolen from another woman that Lee had bonded with. I enjoyed the perseverance of the dying woman, tho it too became too much.

The voices

I have read all of John’s books over the years and enjoyed them all. Because of my lower vision this the first audiobook of his work I have listened to. The different voices of the different characters was.awesome.