Castle Cay

Julie O'Hara Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Lee Hanson

Narrated by: Paula Slade

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

When her best friend is murdered, Julie O'Hara, a body language expert, packs up her suspicion and flies to Boston for his funeral.

Who could have killed rising artist Marc Solomon, and what does Castle Cay, the Solomons' mysterious Caribbean island, have to do with it? Before long, Julie's sixth sense pulls a hidden string that unravels a deadly conspiracy and her own troubled past.

©2012 Lee Hanson (P)2015 Lee Hanson

Books should have ratings like movies

I prefer not to have vulgar language or explicit sexuality in the books I read. It's even worse in audio.

I did not like the reader's voice or presentation.

I already requested a refund and will delete the book from my library.

You've gotta' be kidding..

This is a really stupid story. It was back and forth and back and forth from the 1990's to 2007, as far as I listened. I hate back and forth books, just tell us a little something about the dead guy don't go to and from the 1990's. He's dead, for pete's sake. I don't care how he and Julie met, just solve the murder! And how much sense does it make for Julia to have sex with someone she's hated for over 2 years just because Dan said he was sorry for being a jerk. Geez!

I hate when a narrator sounds the same whether it's a male of female talking. One reviewer said Ms. Slade deserved an award? Really? When a man sounds just like a woman THAT'S deserving of an award? Ummm, NO! Ms. Slade only narrated 12 books in 2 years and I can see why. If you can't even try to sound like a man you shouldn't be a narrator.

good story/storyteller. narrator needs Improvement

I thoroughly enjoyed this story but found myself missing parts or having to rewind and turn up the volume when the narrator whispered, which was often.

A smart and engaging mystery

I’ve recently gotten hooked on murder mystery television series after “binge-watching” some terrific programs on Netflix, but this was my first venture into books of that genre. I can easily say that “Castle Cay” did not disappoint, and has gotten me hooked on mystery books as well!

The story was intriguing, and the characters thoroughly likeable (or despicable, in the case of the villains). The drama was well-paced, and the book overall felt like it was the perfect length. The mystery kept me guessing for much of the way through.

I appreciated the fact that while our protagonist Julie O’Hara is very sharp and intelligent, she is not an over-the-top “super-genius” á la Sherlock Holmes or House. Instead she relies on a combination of rational analysis (body language expertise) and emotional intelligence (a.k.a., gut instinct) in a very believable way. The body language element was not overdone, either; it was incorporated just enough to add an extra layer of communication to the character’s interactions. As a bonus, I learned some interesting facts about the elements of body language!

The audiobook narration was delivered with flair, and served the dramatic tension very well. There were so many characters in this book that it could have been easy to lose track of who was speaking when, but the narrator gave each character a distinctive voice, and the cadence of the conversation dialogue sounded very natural. She also did a very good job of using tone-of-voice to hint at the conflicting emotions behind many of the characters’ words, giving you the impression they were not always revealing all they knew.

I’m very much looking forward to listening to the sequels, “Swan Song” and “Mistral Murders,” as well as exploring murder mysteries by other authors. Thank you, Lee Hanson and Paula Slade, for cluing me in to a new favorite book genre!


P.S.: (On a side note: About half of the book takes place in the protagonist’s hometown of Boston. As someone from Massachusetts who attended school in Boston, it was a lot of fun to read a story set in this city and be able to recognize various landmarks, suburbs, and of course the famous accent! So many U.S. books, films, and TV shows skew towards New York or L.A. to the exclusion of other smaller urban settings, so this was nice change of pace.)

Castle Cay

I really enjpyed this book, a really refreshing story, with some mystery romance & intrigue all wrapped in one. The Narration was very good.

Good listen as far as the story!.

The story was good, kept my interest. The ending was good. Has some twists and turns.I am sure it is a good read but as an audible fan I found the narrator to be mediocre. Needed someone with a stronger voice. I rate the story 5 stars, the narrator 2. Narrator's voice weak, wimpy and oh, well, not to my liking when listening to a book.

great story and well told

The narrator was good and the story line kept me interested until the end of the book.

I enjoyed the story.

Held my interest. very tight, didn't ramble. although romance involved it didn't detract or overwhelm. I'll read more of Lee Hanson!

OK

I had a hard time focusing on the storyline due to the performance. There were too many characters for one narrator.

Terrible writing

This is the most terribly written book I've ever encountered. I never leave a book half read, but half way into this one, I realized I am getting aggravated by clumsy writing. I kept editing it in my mind instead of following the story line and finally gave up.

Great story

I loved this book, great plot and fast moving. Read it you'll not be disappointed.

Review

I found this book boring, it never got going, but I did feel it was more to do with the story teller. Her voice was on one level, very hard to keep your attention. I didn't finish it.

interesting escapism story

it's fun to enter a new world and this was a reasonably absorbing piece of escapism pleasantly performed. Good holiday fare.