Fast Money: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

De: Colleen Helme

Narrado por: Wendy Tremont King

Ready for more fun than you can imagine? Meet Shelby Nichols, mind-reader extraordinaire!

Ever wonder what it's like to be a millionaire?

Finding a deposit of five million dollars might be a dream come true if it didn't come from a mob-boss.

When word gets out, all kinds of people are after Shelby for a piece of the money. Even her mind-reading skills won't be enough to keep her out of danger, and her survival becomes a matter of life and death.

Can she figure out who to trust in time? Or will this fast money be the end of Shelby Nichols?

Get it now.

USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Colleen Helme offers a clever mix of mystery, laugh-out-loud humor, and pause-resisting adventure in the highly acclaimed Shelby Nichols Adventure Series.

©2011 Colleen Helme (P)2013 Colleen Helme

I Love Shelby!

Would you consider the audio edition of Fast Money: A Shelby Nichols Adventure to be better than the print version?

I would say that they stand on their own very well, I find that the audio book really brings the story and characters to life, I love being able to listen while I work (on thoughtless tasks only, otherwise I slowly zone in to the book and out of everything else)!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fast Money: A Shelby Nichols Adventure?

Probably when Shelby is talking to the Mexican police, she's so funny, she thinks it's a scam and totally blows them off without even a blink.

What does Wendy Tremont King bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I LOVE the way she portrays Shelby, you really get a feeling for who she is by the inflection that Wendy gives her.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out loud a couple of times, and my husband who was just in the room with me while I was listening, kept chuckling at certain points, even though he wasn't listening to the whole book with me.

Any additional comments?

I love these books, I read all of them and can't wait to listen as they come out!

great book

i thought it was Just great. I loved it. on to the next! can't wait

Accents

I truly enjoyed the book, however the narrator needs help with accents. The. accent sounded more like Russian than Hispanic

Wonderful Mystery

If you could sum up Fast Money: A Shelby Nichols Adventure in three words, what would they be?

humorous, action-packed, entertaining

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fast Money: A Shelby Nichols Adventure?

My favorite part was when Shelby caught the hitman trying to kill the prisoner in the courthouse.

Which character – as performed by Wendy Tremont King – was your favorite?

Shelby Nichols was probably my favorite, because of her spunky personality and resolve.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Lots of times. Too hard to pinpoint one

Any additional comments?

Ever since getting hit by a bullet by a gunman, Shelby has been able to read people’s thoughts and it’s caused her a fair amount of trouble. After her last encounter with Uncle Joey, a local mob boss who’s not her uncle, Shelby Nichols thought she was done. She was wrong. When $5 million dollars makes its way into her account that Joey set up for her, she knew trouble was sure to follow, she just didn’t realize how much. While waiting for her husband, Chris, to get out of her trial, Shelby witnesses a hired hitman come in and kill a defendant in the adjacent courtroom. The only witness to seeing the man at the scene of the crime, Shelby is now the next target. To make matters worse, a lot of people are coming around wanting the money Uncle Joey left in her account. With Uncle Joey nowhere to be found and Ramos, the bodyguard/hitman for the man injured in action, Shelby is left with her and her husband’s own devices to get out of it. Even worse than that, the hitman is somehow connected to it all. Can Shelby get out of this predicament or are her days numbered?

Narrator, Wendy Tremont King does a great job of bringing to life Shelby’s world. Her unique intonations do a great job of bringing out the mannerisms and unique personalities of the characters, male and female. The humor and narrative devices are amusing and draw the reader in. The plot itself is well-developed and engaging with lots of plot twists and turns. Although it’s better to have read the first in the series, Carrots, first, it isn’t necessary to have read the first one to enjoy this one. Despite the fact that this book is missing a Ranger or Morelli like Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, Ramos and Chris sure come close. Perfect for mystery fans who like a little paranormal and humor mixed in their novels.

a wonderful example of an audio recording.

Another fun adventure with the slightly goofy yet indefatigable Shelby! Picking up closely where Carrots (Book 1) left off, Shelby is far more forthcoming with Chris about her skills and the unusual appearance of $5 million in the bank account Uncle Joey set up. Again, Shelby’s ability to hear what people are thinking is a great aid, and often a hindrance to her own reactions and relationships with others: even though she did inform Chris early on that her skill had returned.

Still speaking before she speaks, and her reaction to what she ‘hears’ versus what is actually spoken lead her into several fast-thinking moments that are all blunder and bravado, with very little grace. What makes this series is Shelby’s own naiveté and inherent goofiness: she is someone who always spoke first, often to her detriment, and that hasn’t changed: only the information has improved.

This book has a fairly simple, yet incredibly involved and twisted mystery at the core: even the characters seem to have some moments of losing the thread in the twists, making it even more fun to hear and follow along. Narration in this is also by Wendy Tremont King, and her ability to give voice to Shelby that feels real and completely evocative of her emotions at the moment add significantly to the plot and flow. She’s made narrative choices in pitch and tone that present the ‘eavesdropping voices’ that Shelby hears slightly different from the verbal conversations, leaving it clear to the listener that she has heard thoughts that the owners would prefer remain unknown. Each character has a voice that is distinct and unique to them, in tone, pacing, accent and even idiomatic expressions: every element serves to enhance the plot and written words and makes this a wonderful example of an audio recording.

I enjoyed this one even more than the first, and while I want everyone to jump in and listen, you really will do yourself a disservice if you haven’t read or heard the first in the series. Key elements carry forward from the first book, and those elements are necessary for understanding what is going on, and seeing the normal from the aberrant.

I received an AudioBook copy of the title from the author via AudioBook Jukebox. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.