Desert Intrigue

The Adventures of John and Julia Evans, Book 4

By: Linda Weaver Clarke

Narrated by: Carolyn Kashner

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Mystery…Adventure...Romance...Humor...Intrigue!

When Julia’s brother announces that his dude ranch is haunted, she believes that someone is trying to sabotage his place and force him to sell. The mysterious happenings have to do with Superstition Mountain, the lost Dutchman’s goldmine, and the great Thunder God. Is it possible that the legend of the Thunder God is actually true? After a terrible thunderstorm, everyone begins to wonder. John and Julia quickly head to Mesa, Arizona and discover a few mysterious events. Will they find out who is behind these disasters before Uncle Kelly’s dude ranch is ruined?

©2012 Linda Weaver Clarke (P)2019 Linda Weaver Clarke

Gold and Greed

Desert Intrigue is Book 4 in The Adventure of John and Julia Evans by Linda Weaver Clarke. This story was very intriguing and exciting. I really enjoy this series and I love the characters. In Desert Intrigue, John and Julia are visiting her brother, Kelly. I liked the mystery and sabotage of Kelly's ranch. I thought that who was behind the problems and why the ranch was being targeted was an excellent mystery. I am excited to see what the next adventure of John and Julia will be! Carolyn Kashner does such a fantastic performance in her narration. This cozy series is an exciting way to enjoy a terrific story.

Suspense and mystery in the high desert

Desert Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke takes place near the Superstition Mountains of metro Phoenix. I love the legend that is told here. The imagery the author writes is very well done, the characters are endearing, and the adventure is delightful. Julia and John Evans are wife/husband in this clean story. Carolyn Kashner is wonderful in how she performs the book. I can easily hear who is speaking. This book is a standalone listen and part of a series. Its a treasure!

Suspense and Mystery kept me entertained

I have listened to a few books by Linda Weaver Clark and I was just as entertained with Desert Intrigue as I was with the previous books. The narrator Carolyn Kashner did a good job with the voices, although I would prefer a man narrating the male voices, but that is just my preference.
 
I must say I was intrigued by Superstition Mountain, the lost Dutchman’s goldmine, and the great Thunder God. This was a a story filled with suspense and danger. It was also full of interesting history and some romance which I found enjoyable.

The intrigue and mystery had me riveted as I listened to this story. The writing was descriptive and I found myself imagining I was along for the ride with John and Julia in Mesa, Arizona.

I like John and Julia Evans, they are easy to relate to and their stories are entertaining and I loved following along with them as follow the clues.
 
I was given a copy of this audio book from the author and have voluntarily left this review.

Desert Intrigue

Unfortunately I did not get into this book until the last few chapters of the book where I felt all of the action was. I just felt that the other books in this series had more action.
Julia's brother Kelly owns a ranch in southern Arizona that is not doing good and he might have to sell. John, Julia and the twins, Faith and Charlene, head to Arizona to help. Meanwhile, Matthew and April stayed home to plan their wedding.
This book has plenty of humor, romance, passion and mystery. A book with a place called Superstition Mountain in it is going to be intriguing!

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

Another Great Installment in the Series

As I have stated in my reviews of previous books in this series, I am an an avid reader but also almost exclusively audiobooks due to my schedule. Because of this, I can be critical of narrators and am a true believer that a narrator can make or break an audiobook. Especially when books have a single narrator required to speak with different voices for multiple characters. Most cannot do it without having some errors where they use the wrong 'voice' for the wrong character. While I still prefer books narrated with multiple narrators, narrator Carolyn Kashner continues to do a great job in this series. I didn't have any problem listening to this book and was glad I didn't because, once again, the story kept me entertained throughout.

I am not a fan of including spoilers in my reviews, but John and Julia are a fun couple with three adult daughters. Book 4 focuses on helping Julia's brother discover who is causing him problems with his ranch, and as always, they stumble into more than planned. The story kept me entertained and I enjoyed meeting Julia's brother and hearing more about her childhood. If you are looking for heavy sex and over the top language, this book and series isn't for you. However, if you are looking for a good clean family friendly story that will hold your interest and make you laugh at times, I highly recommend this book and what I have read (or listened to) in the series so far, which are books 1 - 4. Hopefully there will be more Evans Family stories to come.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great Narration & Series

We are taken to Southern Arizona and Superstition Mountain. Julia’s brother has a dude ranch, is the place haunted, or is something else causing the happenings. The area is full of history with the Dutchman mines, and the Thunder.God, with the spirits of those lost. Full of adventure and a touch of romance, in this good series. The narration by Carolyn was good and added to the story.
Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

A complete joy

I downloaded this book intending to save it for a few weeks when I have a long drive ahead of me but I just couldn’t wait and I’m glad I didn’t. What a delight. The mystery and intrigue is there as always and it was interesting to learn at the end of the book what parts of the story were true and based in research. The characters are great and I especially liked a scene that featured jelly beans. I won’t say more so I don’t ruin it for others. Can there be another book so I have something for my trip?!

Wonderful

This was a well written and narrated book. I loved the story line. This pulls you in and keeps you interested through the whole thing. I enjoyed the unfolding of Julia's brother. It was fast paced, had humor, romance, and possibly ghosts. I recommend it to all. I received it as a gift and this is my voluntary review.

Desert Intrique

I loved this mystery read. I really enjoy these kind of mysteries. To me this is a real page turner, with twists and turns. I loved this audio the Narrator does a fantastic job. The Author has brought forth an a fantastic read and series. I love putting together puzzle like reads like this one, It had me on the edge of my seat. I felt like I was watching them through my minds eye invisioning the scenes there written so well and come out fantastic in this audio. A definite must listen.
Shauna Joesten

Engaging Story with Rich History

This is the first book by this author that I’ve read. Linda Clarke created a lovable family with strong female characters in healthy and stable relationships. I enjoyed the inclusion of the history and legends and believe the story resolved in a believable manner.

The narrator turned in a credible performance. I believe that narrating books is very difficult and switching between male/female voices and giving different inflections for each character is highly demanding. On top of that - turning in this performance while not sounding like you are reading a book - well it’s certainly not something I could do. This rendition was simply not my favorite.


I enjoyed the story and recommend the book. I plan to look for other books by Linda Weaver Clark.