Finders Keepers

The Jane Barnaby Adventures, Book 1

By: J.J. DiBenedetto

Narrated by: Cait Frizzell

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

It should have been a simple job. All archaeology student Jane Barnaby had to do was pick up a box her professor needed and deliver it to him at his dig site, along with his new car. Yes, his office was in Oxfordshire, and his dig site was in Spain, a trip of 1,400 miles across three countries and two bodies of water. Still, it should have been simple.

And it was, until Jane discovered she picked up the wrong box by mistake. Not the one with boring pottery samples, but instead the one with priceless ancient Egyptian artifacts. The one that a team of international art thieves is after.

Now she's chasing - and being chased by - the thieves. And she's picked up a pair of passengers who claim they can help her outwit them, get her professor's pottery back and return the artifacts to their rightful owner. If only she could figure out which one of them is working with the thieves and which one she can trust in this high-stakes game of finders keepers.

©2016 James J DiBenedetto (P)2016 James J DiBenedetto

Excellent Descriptions of People and Places

This was a cute story with a college student Jane driving through France and Spain to recover a stolen box of pottery shards. Her college professor wanted her to drive his box of research items to his home in Spain in his brand new 5-speed Land Rover. However, Jane accidentally took the wrong box that contained an ancient golden treasure. Also, Jane cannot drive a 5 speed and this fact is a story in itself.

There is a man named Tom looking for the golden treasure as well as a swarthy good looking man named Alex. Jane has a slight crush on Alex. Tom thinks Alex is a wanker. Tom is correct. I found her slightly romantic attractions to Tom and Alex flow together well for a final ending that I did not expect.

This story definitely has lots of descriptive action. The scenery is described so well that I felt like I was actually speeding through France and Spain. I like the way Jane kept the ancient treasure away from the thieves. This is a good book that was written well. I will read more from this author.

This audiobook was provided by the author at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Great new read!

Imagine being the prey in a car chase and having to drive on what you perceive as the "wrong" side of the road, in a totally unfamiliar car, and the directions are wanting. That's all the spoiler you get, so I don't insult the author. The publisher's blurb is fair at hinting the plot, but doesn't tell you what a great imagination wrote this, or how totally interesting he makes it. The writing draws you in and holds your attention (good thing it is not awfully long, or there would be no sleeping), the characters are all too realistic. I am looking forward to more!
Cait Frizzell is excellent as the audio performer for this book, and she seems to enjoy doing it--and it shows!
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBOOM.

Roller Coaster Ride

What did you love best about Finders Keepers?

This was a good adventure book with a lot of fast paced action every min. The narrataters voice was believable for the character she portrayed . This book kept me interested and entertained and I didn't focus on the believability of her getting out of all her situations unscathed , just a fun book.

I look forward to the next installment in the series.

Any additional comments?

I was given this book for free for a fair and honest review.

A true delight!

Any additional comments?

Let me begin with my thoughts on the actual story starting with our main character, Jane Barnaby. I liked this girl – a lot. She is smart, witty and doesn’t back down from a challenge – willing to get the job done, no matter what. Jane is a university student studying archeology. When her professor asks her for a favor involving delivering a box of pottery shards, she jumped for the chance, willing to prove herself in her chosen field. It seemed like an easy job – all she had to do is drive her across three countries to a dig site in Spain. Easy Peasy, right? Well, not everything goes according to plan, when to start with, she has no idea how to drive a stick shift so she has to have a crash course (no pun intended) in order not to totally destroy her professor’s brand NEW Ranger Rover. She then quickly discovers that instead of the professors prized pottery shards, she has picked up a box of priceless Ancient Egyptian artifacts that some very determined thieves need to get back. This is where the action really picks up as Jane tries her best to get the correct package back to the professor and the Egyptian artifacts back to their rightful owner. In a game of cat and mouse, Jane must trust her instincts to determine which of her two new ‘assistants’ she can trust.

J.J. DiBenedetto has created the perfect combination of mystery, action and intrigue with the start of this series and I can’t wait to see where Jane’s adventures take the reader next. If book one is any indication, it’s going to be one crazy and delightful time! I really loved the fact that the author did not drown the story in romance, which would have worked, but was so much better without it as the reader gets to concentrate on the actual details. There is a hint of a love interest, but it never evolved in this installment. I look forward to see if anything comes of it but in all seriousness, it really is not necessary in this series.

The narration….
In my opinion, what really makes this story pop is the narration. Cait Frizzell did an AMAZING job narrating this book. Her different accents for each character brought this story to life and made an already great book, simply fantastic! Her voices are crisp and concise and the pacing was perfect. Ms. Frizzell’s performance drew me into the story and I did not want to stop listening for a second – in fact, this was the fastest 6 hours and 27 seconds I have ever encountered!

In conclusion....
There is always some level of apprehension on my part whenever I start a book that is written by a new to me author AND narrator, but my worries were for not with Finders Keepers. I was pleasantly surprised by just how amazing this combination was – not only was this a fantastic story, the narration was perfect! Overall, Finders Keepers was a true delight and I look forward to reading more from DiBenedetto and will be definitely be searching out more audio performances from Frizzell.

Finders Readers!

This audiobook was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion.

Indiana Jones for girls. That is what this is! And i am a boy that dont mind getting on this books premises and story. Is it the best book ever? No, but it's a darn entertaining book with a premise that I have faith will care on being good enough for future books! Cait Frizzel sounds like a young girl, and therefore fits this book for what it is: A book for girls that we boys want mind get couth reading!

A fun adventure

Finders Keepers is a cute adventure that brings to mind movies like Romancing the Stone. The plucky young female heroine gets involved in a crazy adventure involving a stolen treasure with the help of an attractive Irishman rogue and a reluctant Englishman. The story is a little silly but lots of fun from start to finish and the narrator does a nice job.

I received this book as a gift. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Finders Keepers

Any additional comments?

It was okay. Nothing really stood out. The narrator did a good job. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

Great story filled with action

Any additional comments?

I listen to this book on Audible at the beginning I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator , but as the story moves on you get used to her voice and slowly warm up to her. the story is about Jane who was approached by her professor to deliver his brand new vehicle to his house over vacation. she's also told to pick up a box and deliver it with the vehicle. little did she know that there was a box identical to it with some valuables in it. naturally the chase is on when a group of Thieves decide they want to steal the Box. the story is highly entertaining and I found myself wanting Jane to succeed. I can't wait to read book 2 and see what Adventures she goes on next.

A box full of trouble

Any additional comments?

Enjoyable fun listen.

While the plot is mostly predictable the story is an entertaining, interesting, fun and enjoyable story. Tasked by her professor to deliver a box of pottery to him, Jane unwittingly takes the wrong box and is being pursued by thief's trying to steal the package. Jane is not going to let them get away with it if she can help it. Following Jane through her very eventful adventure filled 1400 mile drive is a fun way to spend an afternoon. It's amazing how one little box can cause so much trouble. Jane, Tom and Alex are all great characters. The book is listed under Thriller, I would classify it as a light-hearted mystery thriller.

Cait Frizzell did an good job with the narration. She has a young sounding voice that is great for this book. Her voice is really soft and there is not a lot of emotion that comes through the narration. British accent for Tom was good. But Alex didn't sound Scottish. There are other books she has narrated that show her range of voices and accents, they just didn’t come through in this story.

This book was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

FUN

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I enjoyed it. It was like a fun ride.

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

No extreme reaction, I did laugh throughout the book!

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom."