Carrots

By: Colleen Helme

Narrated by: Wendy Tremont King

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Shelby Nichols is an average woman who is married to the only guy she ever fell for. Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots. As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber's mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer.

The next thing she knows, she's lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head. Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn't suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly 'hears' what people are thinking. With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she's bossy and too old to understand them, but that's nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn't want her to know?

As if that isn't enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he's out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone's thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.

©2011 Colleen Helme (P)2013 Colleen Helme

Fantastic story and flawless audio! Get it!

I first bought Carrots for Kindle in 2011 on a whim. Naturally when I got the chance to listen to it as an Audible book I couldn't wait to listen to it.

As a Regional Officer with the British Diplomatic Corps, I travel bi-weekly, usually to a foreign country and usually it is a long, long long airplane trip. So I really want something that will capture my attention, and really pass the time without FEELING like 9, 10, or 11 hours is going by, steadily sucking the will to live from my body like a black hole.

I decided to start getting audible books since I have devices I can use that will enable me to listen in comfort and pass the time.

I was a little concerned about listening to Carrots, as I had read it, and I have just finished the newest book in the series, Trapped by Revenge, the 5th Shelby Nichols adventure. Boy, was I wrong.

Well, was I? There I am, sitting in my seat, and listening to Wendy King's phenomenal audio production, and now I'm gasping out loud. The first time, I knocked my drink over. Next thing I know, I'm laughing out loud, and Mr. 5E sitting next to me thinks I'm taking a nutty. Nothing daunted, I'm worse than the person at the movie theater who then starts talking to the screen: "No, no, don't go in there!" By this time on my overnight flight Mr. 5E is snoring, but I think the flight attendants began rooting about for their Valium reserves.

Fortunately, I was not incarcerated upon landing, but I just loved listening to the book. Possibly more than reading it! It was fresh, it was so well done and so consistently produced that there was nothing to complain about. I was sucked into the story completely, and 8 plus hours seem to pass in the blink of an eye.

It is hard in a way to separate the content of the book from the audio production. The book was incredibly well written, the story very enjoyable, the characters entirely believable, and the quality of the writing fantastic. Equally, Wendy's voice characterizations were right on the money. She puts just enough intonation and inflection into the recordings that you can tell when it's Shelby, you can tell when it's Uncle Joey, and you can tell when it's Ramos. It is what I think of as understated elegance.

I would recommend this Audible book to anyone. The Shelby Nichols adventures stand in and of their own right, but it is far more enjoyable listening to the professional, flawless recording in some ways than reading the book. What it really did was make me want to listen to them all, so I am now eagerly awaiting the release of the next book through Audible.

This is an absolute winner: Do yourself a favor: Get it!

99 of 106 people found this review helpful

Absurd. Unintelligent protagonist.

it was really difficult to believe that someone armed with so much additional information could continuously make poor decisions and exhibit a total lack of self-control

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

I liked the idea of the book...

the main character seemed a bit whiny and inept. it just seemed a slow and tended to drag in spots. Perhaps the other books has the character smarter.

Ramos was the only character I thoroughly enjoyed.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Ditzy heroine; cardboard characters

I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book. But at that point the heroine began making more and more stupid choices and kept treating her husband as a mushroom.

I hope the kids inherited some brains from him because otherwise they are in trouble.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Good idea

Would you ever listen to anything by Colleen Helme again?

maybe - this was the first book in the series - they must have gotten better.

What didn’t you like about Wendy Tremont King’s performance?

The voice didnt match the character (in my opinion).

Any additional comments?

It was a good idea just not executed as well as I had hoped; the Shelby character just seemed whiny, shallow and not always the brightest.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Really predicable and not very exciting.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I think younger folks who haven't read as many books as I have might enjoy this book. To me it was a rehash of books I've read in the past.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Eh - I could not get through it.

The main character is pathetic and not well written. The dialogue seems to be written at the 5th grade level and the whole being "shocked" at profanity lost me. Oh - and her reaction to witnessing a murder? "I felt bad".... soooo - no depth there. Maybe this is a Christian writer, but it seemed as if she was just let out of a closet from the 1950's - people just don't talk like this. Maybe the series gets better in the later books, but this was not even worth the 4.95.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Ugh

VERY simplistic writing. Narrator made it worse, flat and slow. Men in particular spoke slowly. I reread other reviews and I'm baffled.

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

Silly!

The story was kind of fun, but nobody can be as dumb as Shelby. Drove me nuts through the entire book.


Vicky J

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Entertaining work.

This was a totally implausible, yet highly entertaining piece of fiction. Shelby Nichols is a highly likable well-drawn character. Uncle Joe is the ruthless, yet loyal and good-hearted Mafia Chieftain. Enjoy the selection; it's all in good fun; even the gunfights that kill multiple people.

30 of 34 people found this review helpful

Weird title, great book

I get why it’s called ‘Carrots’, I really do, but it’s still not the best title for this book and I bet it might even put people off buying it. It is a fantastic audiobook with well-rounded, likeable characters, and a great plot.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fantastic!

I read this book years ago and loved it, but I have to say the audio version brings the story to life thanks to the fabulous narrator Wendy Tremont King .

All because she needed carrots!

Shelby Nichols is an average woman who is married to the only guy she ever fell for. Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots.

As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber's mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer. The next thing she knows, she's lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head.

Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn't suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly 'hears' what people are thinking.

With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she's bossy and too old to understand them, but that's nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn't want her to know?

As if that isn't enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he's out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone's thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.

I loved this book!

Shelby goes from stay-at-home mom, to reluctantly working for a mob boss. All because she needed carrots!

In this fun and fast paced story, excellently narrated by Wendy Tremont King. With a great set of characters, in this well plotted and written first in a series novel.

I voluntarily reviewed this audiobook. Supplied by the author, and download via Audible.co.uk