Grave Beginnings

Grave Report, Book 1

By: R.R. Virdi

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

“Quick, clean action, solid character work and pacing. This series is worth your time.” (Jim Butcher, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Dresden Files)

Another day, another hijacked body. And just 13 hours to solve a murder…Detective Vincent Graves has made a habit of dying. Waking up in someone else’s body isn’t pleasant, especially when it's inside a coffin with tons of dirt pressing down on it. Once he’s out, he learns his soul has 13 hours to find the borrowed body’s killer.

With the help of a brilliant FBI agent, Vincent’s quest for clues leads to a looming supernatural presence. And escaping the dark threat may be impossible with his ever-ticking clock…

Can Vincent close the case in time, or will a powerful being make him rest in peace for good?

Grave Beginnings is the first book in The Grave Report urban fantasy detective series. If you like paranormal twists, hard-boiled investigators, and noir-style magic, then you’ll love R.R. Virdi’s paranormal investigator series.

“His stuff is badass!” (Larry Correia, New York Times best-selling author)

©2013 R. R. Virdi (P)2020 Tantor

Solid narration/performance, more plot holes than Swiss Cheese

The narration is solid, but the story will ask you pretty regularly to “take things on faith”; leaving you with a cheap feeling after choosing to buy into so many plot holes.

Great Book

I wasn't sure about this book at first, but after the first chapter I was hooked. The characters make a few more quips than I usually prefer but other than that I throughly enjoyed this book. The ideas were fresh, the narration was good and I'm looking forward to Book 2. Definitely worth your time.

GREAT Story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the humor had me laughing out loud at times and I found myself relating to Vincent's humor. excited to start the next one.

Good enough

Okay, I know that mostly the stars seem to be rated "if it's not 5 stars it's probably not worth it" but since I actually try to go for a bit more nuanced reviews than yes/no rest assured that even if I give something only four or three stars it doesn't mean I think it's not worth one's time. This one mostly is, the writing is good, the characters interesting, the plot a bit simplistic but not bad, and the way the author uses the fantasy creatures gives them some freshness. The only things about the story I didn't like that much is that I would have liked the main character doing a bit more investigating, slightly less fighting - I do generally like noir, and I do like action, but for some reason this went just a bit over the top for me - plus


Okay, I guess this needs bit of a SPOILER WARNING - no details, but the complaint does reveal a bit of the plot









I did find the end boss fight too long. He finds the monster, they fight. Then they fight. Then they fight some more... okay, maybe it's just my age, and the fact that I am not much of a gamer, perhaps that would be more to the taste of younger generations who are. I would have preferred that end fight cut into a few pieces, like they fight, he has to escape the fight or the monster does, then he maybe has to do some investigating to find the monster again - or another way to defeat it - before fighting it again. Or the monster finds him. Not just one extended long fight.






END OF THE SPOILER






So, all in all: story is good, but not a perfect fit for my taste. The narrator is good. I think the combination made it well worth listening to.

Funny book

Lots of language but such a unique story line. Great narration and really funny. I would highly suggest it - good to laugh out loud. First time with this author.

I think this may be the most unique storyline I have ever read. You feel for the main character - and the police detective that joins in to help him. It is an incredible story line - get ready for lots of action - sci-fi type characters... and an amazing ending. NOW - don't worry about the sci-fi - although the characters are often unique - even if you don't like that type of story, I found this to be more of a who-done-it with a twist. The story is amazing.

Too much information

Too much repetitive description. Humor unnecessary and distracting from action. Love the character concept. Quantum Leap with a twist.

Great start to a series

Vincent Graves is a detective who inhabits the body of a murdered human. He woke up in the body of Museum Curator Norman Smith. Now he must break his way out of Norman's coffin in order to investigate what paranormal entity killed him. Graves' contact is a guy named Church who is a powerful entity that sets a time limit. In this case, Graves has thirteen hours to discover exactly what killed Norman.

This is the first book in The Grave Report series. Graves is a witty, sarcastic, and very likable character. He doesn't remember much of his life before he died. He just knows that when he wakes up in a body, he must contact Church to get his marching orders. Graves is working the case, talking to Norman's co-workers, when he clashes with FBI Agent Camilla Ortiz. She has a lot of questions about an incident with a tiger, but when she witnesses something you don't see every day, she begins to help Graves with his investigation.

As many reviewers have said, this series reminds me of The Dresden Files. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Travis Baldree who was the perfect voice for Graves. I want to go back and listen to it again sometime. I'm sure I missed many details in the story because my mind was on something else. I have to say I was entertained by the story and plan to continue the series. My rating: 4 Stars.

Highly Recommend!

One heck of a ride straight from the get go. Constantly moving and interesting. Narration is great. I actually began to recognize the characters speaking before the reveal of who they were. It's akin to The Dresden Files in the way that the main character behaves and reacts with some Quantum Leap thrown into the mix. 10/10 would recommend. Give it a read, you won't be disappointed!

Found this series from Heroic Hearts short story

As a fan of The Dresden Files this series is an awesome one to enjoy while I wait for more books. if you like Dresden you'll probably love this series.

I want to like it, but....

Let me start by saying I realize I'm no Author and nor am I a narrator. I'm strictly reviewing from a reader point of view.
(That was more so out of respect for both the author and narrator, I do love that you take the time to create these stories that we get to dive into and escape reality.)

As far as my review, I am having the MOST trouble staying engaged due to the narration style. I feel like his cadence is way too fast, and his tone is much too flat. In my opinion, it makes the jokes/witty comments flop and feel forced. Which in-turn make them feel unnecessary and take away from the story, as one reviewer previously stated. I've read (listened to) the entirety of the Dresden Files and thought this was right up my ally. The story sounds amazing and intriguing, but I can't get past how the narration makes the book feel flat and dead (no pun intended).

I'm on chapter 11 and not sure if I'll be able to stay engaged enough to finish. I may just buy a physical copy and see how my internal narrator does.