Dreadful

By: Jana DeLeon

Narrated by: Julie McKay

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

Now you see me…  

Six years ago, five friends went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Four of them returned. One simply disappeared. Jenny Taylor has never gotten over the disappearance of her twin sister, Caitlyn, but now things are even worse. Caitlyn calls to Jenny in her dreams, begging her sister to find her. But Jenny’s memory of the entire night is completely gone.  

Shaye Archer knows better than anyone what it’s like to have gaping holes in your past, and how horrific dreams can cripple you. But this case presents problems on every level. An adult woman disappearing from the French Quarter during Mardi Gras is hard enough to get answers for, but when it happened years before, the difficulty level increases exponentially. But Shaye’s empathy for Jenny prevents her from saying no, even though she doesn’t expect to find anything.  

Then a witness is murdered, and Jenny’s memory starts to return. What did she see in the alley that night? And how many more are in danger because of it?

©2018 Jana DeLeon (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

This series gets better with each new book!

The publisher's summary gives just a touch of this sixth book in the Shaye Archer series. Exactly how it should be!
This is a fast moving story about the disappearance of one friend/twin sister and the inability of the other to let go. Of course every one thinks the sister (Jenny) just can't or won't move on unless the truth is put in her face. One of the friends from that night decides to help Jenny come to terms and offers to finance a private investigation since Jenny can't afford it. In steps Shaye Archer. Shaye begins asking questions and almost immediately there is a murder and another attempted. Another friend gets suspicious of her husband who was also there that night.
On the back burner Shaye begins making progress in her efforts to locate the child she gave birth to eleven years ago. She knows the infant was sold but what lawyer would admit to brokering a baby illegally?
Julie McKay does a fantastic job narrating.
This book and series has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS.
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New Ore-lee-unns...GAH!!

I’ve enjoyed this series so far. It’s been predictable but entertaining. However, I could not get into this installment because of the narrator’s distracting pronunciation of New Orleans. She pronounced it “New Ore-lee-unns” in every character’s voice. Every time I heard it I was drawn out of the story and found myself thinking how horrified a New Orleans native would be to hear this over an over again. I’m shocked this mistake wasn’t caught during the editing process given its repeated at least a hundred times.

not her best story

i usually like Jana's books but the "twist" on this one was just too much. And i really can't stand how this narrator pronounces New Orleans

Terrific!!

Jana DeLeon is one of the most talented currently active authors of fiction. There are 18 of her novels in my Audible library each of which earned a 5 star rating; I have loved every one! DREADFUL is Book 6 in the dark Shaye Archer detective series. The Shaye Archer series is very different from her older, but still active, light and fun Miss Fortune detective series which could be classified as comedy.

DREADFUL has two plot lines. The lesser one is the kidnapping of a girl being handled by the police and the FBI. The big case which Shaye is working after being hired by the identical twin sister of the victim is a six year old cold case. The suspects with apparent motives are several until they are all killed one by one by some unknown person. The huge plot twist at the end reveals the killer that no one suspected.

The books in the Shaye Archer series are standalone but understanding the protagonist requires listening to Book 1 first.

Julie McKay does an outstanding job of narrating.

Could have been better.

I really enjoy the series, this book was just a little off. Not sure why, it felt that Shay’s relationship took five steps back from the last book. Also, I thought through the whole story that this book was performed by a new narrator... but it wasn’t. Weird. That was a big part in why I didn’t enjoy this book as well as the others. On to the next in the series hope this was just off. 😊

Not the best book but still good...

This one wasn't my favorite of the six books more because it just wasn't as believable as the other books. I guess it seemed a little bit too outlandish, you know? I totally misses some of the secondary characters, Shaye's adoptive mum and her therapist, they are such hoots and didn't get much screen time! I'm still waiting on some movement between Shaye and Jackson..... come on you two! Get on the program!!

Again, the narrator Julie McKay is fab! McKay has a real way with telling a story that draws you right into the book. You feel the suspense, you are tied up in knots to solve the case right along with the characters. Great story!!

OMG! Learn how to pronounce New Orleans!

I’ve listened to all the books in the series and the narrator is generally very good but she cannot say Orleans. She has an entire extra syllable in it! Unbelievably annoying! Doesn’t anyone at Audible listen to these before taking them live?

Each Book Better Than The Last

I started this series after reading another DeLeon book that was light hearted and comical. This series is nothing like that.

I have read a number of mystery series with female characters that somehow stumbled into murders and solved them through pure nosiness.

This series is far from that. The main character is a private detective who takes cases involving murder. These stories rival Grisham and Patterson and other more famous authors. The plots are intricate with surprising twists at the end, especially 3 and 4. A huge plus for me is they are G rated.

I can’t wait to start the next one and will start another of her series after finishing this one.

Why is everyone in your story white?

New Orleans is great because of the diverse way it has come to be. I love your stories, I think they are amazing but how can anyone live in such a rich culture and only encounter white people?? The back story on the main character’s money is because of slavery so why wouldn’t some of the people they help be of that America. Just wondering if the author thinks there are only well spoken well educated and prominent white people in New Orleans

Exciting through and through

I must start by saying that I enjoy all of DeLeon's books, but this book is now at the top. It was suspenseful, had a great pace, and really unpredictable. Be sure ro read and ENJOY!