Dark Harvest

By: Chris Patchell

Narrated by: Lisa Stathoplos, Corey Gagne

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Becky Kincaid ventures out in the middle of a snowstorm to buy a car seat for her unborn baby and never makes it home. When a second pregnant woman disappears, Marissa Rooney and the team at the Holt Foundation fear a sinister motive lurks behind the crimes.

Lead investigator Seth Crawford desperately searches for the thread that binds the two cases together, knowing that if he fails, another woman will soon be gone. While Seth hunts for clues, a madman has Marissa in his sights and she carries a secret that could tear her whole world apart.

Can Seth stop the killer before he reaps his...dark harvest?

©2017 Chris Patchell (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Harvesting Babies...

This is book two in The Holt Foundation series. I would recommend listening to book one first.
This is a very good , solid and believable story with likable characters.
In this book, young, unmarried pregnant women are being kidnapped. The collective thought at the foundation is that there is some kind of human trafficking going on for both the babies (adopting them out)and then the mothers (being sold). What is actually happening is far worse than any of them could have ever imagined.
Meanwhile the 36 year old protagonist (Marissa) becomes pregnant putting her in the crosshairs of the antagonist. I just bet anyone reading this review can see where this is going...
This author has a way of taking the reader by the hand and leading you right up to what you think will be the climax BUT then throws in some kind of twist that gives you pause and makes you rethink how the book is going to end. The ending is thrilling and you don't know if all the members of the foundation will survive until the epilogue.
The narrators Lisa Stathoplos and Corey Gagney do an outstanding job narrating.
I am really enjoying this series and can't wait for another to be released. This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.
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Excellent plot with very intense suspense

In this second novel in the Holt Foundation Stories series a mid 40s physician with early onset Alzheimer's is trying to slow the progression of his disease by treating himself with umbilical cord stem cells. He and his nurse lover are kidnapping late term pregnant unmarried teenagers and taking their babies by C-section. He harvests the cord stem cells and sells the babies for $100,000 each. The time comes that he realizes that cord stem cells are inadequate, so he decides he wants embryonic stem cells.

36 year old thrice divorced protagonist Marissa Rooney, the now single mother of teen daughters, works for the Holt Foundation as does her ex-cop boyfriend Seth Crawford. They are on the case which brings them into danger. Dark Harvest is an outstanding action and suspense thriller. The listener should complete Book 1 in the series (title is In the Dark) before this novel.

The author is appropriately careful to point out that the use of embryonic, cord, and adult stem cells to treat Alzheimer's is being researched, there is no success with such treatments yet.

Dark Harvest

This audiobook got my interest from the beginning and I couldn't stop listening to see what happened next. I never read the first in this series but will definitely be going to check it out

WOW just a thrilling read that kept me spellbound

The beginning of this audio will give you the chills over how easy it is for one woman to disappear without a trace, it is just way too easy when evil come to call it will leave you spellbound. This is a story about hope, needs, wants, love, the unknown, sorrow, pain and death when one man wants answers to questions he needs to survive and overcome issues he has. It is a chilling, thrilling, heart stopping read that will hold you spellbound on the edge leaving you with your heart in your throat wanting to pull these poor women out of the pages giving them back the life they once had. Will one pregnant woman be enough or will he need more, what does he need them for and what about their unborn babies. Come take the journey like no other get inside a man’s head that demands answers at any cost along with the people at the Holt Foundation as they struggle to keep it open after the founder died. These people give their heart and soul to victims they do not know in hopes of finding them and bring them home alive.

With this audio you have to narrators that are very talented with wonderful character voices that gives true emotions. You can hear the pain, sorrow, fear and the unknown. They each more or less take a chapter, their voices go well together blending into a delightful narration that pulls you in and holds you spellbound. With double narrators in most audios there are issues here you will not find any. There are no background noises, no volume changes as they go from one narrator to the other, there is no place where the volume is higher or lower than the ones before. It really sounds like they were in the same room side beside throughout the audio. What they deliver are delightful character voices that fit the characters with true emotions from a chuckle, laugh or tears. You have no trouble knowing who is talking or what they are feeling. Both male and female voices are great women with power to women who are uncertain along with strong males that are alpha to the more dearing softer males. Emotions are played against each other giving you a highly entertaining listen. I had no trouble picturing the scenes as they unfolded. Some of these pictures will stay in my mind for a long time to come. Their performance is outstanding and it was a pleasure being able to listen to them work together bring a very exciting thrilling audio. I can’t wait to listen to more of their work.

The author spins a tale that makes you turn the pages and keep you spellbound. Between the plot and the narration I could not put this audio down. From what I have read the author brings back past characters from her first book weaving into this story so it blends well. It makes you want to pick up the first book to find out what Marissa and her daughter has already lived through. This is a standalone you do not need to read the first one but it would be nice to know what these two went through. You never feel lost you always know what is happening and have a good knowledge of their past. There was nothing that I didn’t like about this story it has it all a little romance, danger, thrills, chills, excitement, overcoming your past, living for your future, and deaths so very sad so real that your heart almost stops. It is a story inside a story, true it is based on the foundation and the missing women but is also based on one ex cop him dealing with losing his wife and walking away from the police force overcoming the man he turned into be and turning a page to become a better man. You get to see his fight for survival starting over finding out what he lost might not be as much as he is about to lose. A women and her daughter that has been to hell and back fighting just to put one foot in front of the other as they find some common ground they both can live with. Marissa daughter who is still deal with the past that will haunt her to her dying day (if you have read the first book you will know what I am talking about). Then you get to know the women who come up missing what they are feeling, their needs and wants. They deserve so much more but get so little from those around them. You get to know the abductor and the women who help him. What all she has had to deal with and why she does what she has done. I doubt you can read/listen to this and not be touched deeply. It is truly a wonderful, thrilling, chilling read you won’t be able to put down. I loved this so much I have picked it as one of my favorite read for 2018. This author just blow me way.

Entertaining...

I have mixed feelings about this series. I usually love the reads recommend by Shelly and Wayne but I seem to differ here. First off, I place high importance on the performance of narrators. While the voice performance in this series is adequate it did not improve the book in my opinion. The quality of the production is good but I did notice some variance in the sound but not enough to be distracting. The writing could be tighter. The book is really long for what actually happens and at times it is predictable and boring. With all this said, the plot is entertaining and the characters are well developed and likable. I wouldn’t describe the content as dark or gritty, rather more it is more on the cozy side. I tend to find cozy’s boring. I love a gritty, dark plots so believe me when I say the needle is closer to cozier side. The author has talent and I think there are many readers who will love this series. The profanity and sex are limited.

Good despite a self-centered main character

Note: Dark Harvest is Book 2 in the series and works best if read after Book 1 simply because you get so much character development that carries over from one book to the next.

I really liked that Brooke, who suffered a brutal kidnapping in Book 1, isn’t all sunshine and roses. She is still walking the hard, dark path to recovery. Marissa, her mom, struggles with how best to help her but she’s doing her best. Brooke’s younger sister, Kelley, puts in a few appearances but we see far less of her than in Book 1 and I missed her. Seth continues to be my favorite character. He’s doing his best to navigate these choppy waters with Marissa and her family, along with his work and memories of his dead wife.

Marissa was hard to root for in this book. She’s really self-centered and I think the author intended for us to see that. However, I don’t see Marissa becoming aware of her flaw and then taking action to better herself. She’s really wrapped up on Seth. He wants to give them all a bit of space to allow Brooke the time to heal and Marissa the time and energy to help Brooke. However, Marissa takes this as rejection. Ugh! Why, Marissa? Why? I wanted to give her a little reality check. I can see why she has a long history of failed relationships.

I also have to mention Marissa in one more thing. This is a MINOR SPOILER. Marissa has failed to take her birth control pill religiously and guess what happens? Yep. This really pissed me off about Marissa. She’s a career woman in her 30s who has basically raised her daughters on her own after becoming unexpectedly pregnant at 16. She’s been down this road before and apparently didn’t learn her lesson. The pill doesn’t work 100% of the time but when you negligently forget to take the pill daily, you’re borrowing trouble.

OK, so let’s talk about the mystery because that’s what really kept me in this book. Someone has been targeting pregnant women but no bodies have turned up. Pretty early on we get to know something about the kidnappers so the majority of the book is a cat and mouse game between the cops and the Holt Foundation and the bad guys. The motivations of the kidnappers were layered and deeper than I initially expected. I really liked that about this mystery. Tori, oh Tori! I wanted things to come out better for you even as I knew you had to pay for what you did. Xander Wilcox, I wonder if you were always so arrogant? Definitely interesting ‘bad guys’.

Seth struggles on several levels in this book. Henry, the computer genius at the Holt Foundation, doesn’t mind breaking laws to get data (phone records, arrest records, utility info, etc.). Seth has retained his cop sense of right and wrong and is mightily uncomfortable about Henry’s activities. However Nathan Holt isn’t interested in pushing Henry to follow the letter of the law. After all, the Holt Foundation is about finding victims before it’s too late. Seth is also struggling to both respect the needs of Marissa’s family as a whole and be supportive to Marissa as his girlfriend. Then he realizes that he hasn’t fully dealt with the death of his wife Holly. He’s a complicated guy and I really enjoyed watching him overcome one hurdle after another.

The ending had a few surprises. Henry! Oh, my! I also like that Seth has wrapped up some of the lose threads of his life. I would have liked further character growth for Marissa because she is a twit in this book. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Lisa Stathoplos and Corey Gagne did a really good job with this book. I really like Gagne as Seth and Stathoplos has a perfect voice for Marissa. She also does a great job with the voices for Kelley and Brooke making all 3 ladies distinct but still sound related. I especially liked the aggravated, arrogant voice for Xander. 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 Chris Patchell. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Narration is Everything

I've read the novel - it's a good read. I tried listening to the audio book. The narration of the story is so schmultzy and melodramatic I couldn't keep listening. Stathopolus was a bad choice for this genre, more adept to children's tales. Gagnebwas comparatively better, but still failed to bring the characters to life.

Rather Girlie

Good story, but the number of chapters or pages on the same feelings. And why such filthy language? I not s prude but I felt like some of the swearing, especially “f” bombs were there to add emphasis but to be “cool” seriously? Why ruin a good story and what can be a good series.

A complex story and a great audiobook

This is one complicated story. It has problems everywhere. The main characters go through so much. Marissa and Seth try to find out who’s been kidnaping pregnant girls but as well they do what they can to save their relationship. Unfortunately, things are not that easy.

If book one was a race against time for the police, “Dark Harvest” is a race for both our detective and as well the kidnapers. The stress levels are up in the sky! And as well, the bad guy is revealed, but this does not make the book uninteresting. On the contrary, we see all the puzzle pieces falling into place as the story evolves. I loved the mystery, I love the chase.

While exciting and addictive, the race to find the victims was not the only thing that determined me to like the book. The personal drama, the problems our main characters are facing are extreme as well. While Marissa may seem a little rough towards Seth, she has had her fair share of unworthy husbands. I can understand her need to have him close and the disappointment she feels when he backs off. On the other hand, Seth is on the verge of wasting all his work trying to be sober. He is doing what he thinks is best for her and her daughters. Brooke’s situation is perfectly presented, her depressed state is not at all diminished or treated unimportant. The author has done an amazing job portraying each character’s struggles with maintaining balance, or at least a good state of mind.

I liked the narration too this time. Both narrators did a wonderful job to capture the different personalities with their voice acting. The desperation is also evident and they have a great contribution to put more light into what each character feels or go through. Two scenes come to mind: Brooke’s breakdown (one of them, any one actually), where Lisa Stathoplos was exceptional in capturing the pain, terror and despair and Seth’s almost giving into drinking, where Corey Gagne expressed Seth’s doubt, low self-esteem and anger.

All in all, this is an amazing story. It blew my mind! The mystery and the desire to see how everything will unfold for our main characters kept me on the edge of my seat. The entire series is well written and well narrated! I would recommend it with all my heart! Happy Reading!

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

Good plot and pace but no real twists

Marissa is facing new challenges at the Holt Foundation after Elizabeth's death. And not only this: Brooke is having a break down after what happened to her in book 1, her relationship with Seth is becoming complicated, and they have a new case in which a pregnant woman has disappeared. Time presses because the delivery time is just two weeks ahead.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, so I was looking to this one. The style is very similar to the previous book: lots of action, interesting characters, a great plot with good subplots. It has all the ingredients to make of this an amazing book. 

I enjoyed how Marissa and Seth's relationship evolved, and how that subplot was woven with the main story. I didn't like the fact that they got involved in the previous book, but I understand that this makes it more interesting for this one and future books.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, but somehow I found it a bit more predicable than the first one, without any real twist, and this is why I give it only 4 stars. Nevertheless, the way Patchell's style traps you makes this worth listening.

About the narration, I have similar feelings to the ones about the first book. Lisa Stathoplos delivered a top notch narration, with an ample voice range and excellent character's interpretations. Corey Gagne was also very good, regarding voices and interpretations, but there were several noticeable audio edits, not enough to be distracting, but sadly unworthy of a 5 star review.

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