Harry Starke

By: Blair Howard

Narrated by: Tom Lennon

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

Why did Tabitha Willard throw herself off the Walnut Street Bridge?

It's almost midnight, bitterly cold and snowing, when a beautiful young girl, Tabitha Willard, throws herself off the Walnut Street Bridge into the icy waters of the Tennessee. Harry Starke is there, on the bridge. Wrong time, wrong place? Maybe. He tries but is unable to stop her. Thus begins a series of events and an investigation that involves a local United States congressman, a senior lady senator from Boston, a local crime boss, several very nasty individuals, sex, extortion, high finance, corruption, and three murders. Harry has to work his way through a web of deceit and corruption until finally...Well, as always, there's a twist in the tale - several in fact.

Who is Harry Starke?

Harry Starke is a private detective, a big fish in a small pond. He's a tough individual with a past, a conscience, and friends in high places. He's single, successful, wealthy, a womanizer, well-educated, and he will hurt you if he needs to. This book is the first in the series of Harry Starke novels.

©2015 Blair Howard (P)2015 Blair Howard

Harry is awesome!

I love this audio book! It is richly read by Tom Lennon. I thought Harry had some great one liners in the book. However, Tom made me laugh until my eyes cried! The premise of a young girl jumping off the bridge to her death, and Harry blaming himself, leads to a remarkable ending! From beginning to end, this book has it all. I still have a hard time believing that Blair Howard wasn't a p.I. in his former career.

I have had the pleasure of reading all of the books in the Harry Starke series so far. I swear they get better with each consecutive one. But, this is still one of my favorites. We are just getting to know Harry and his incredible humor. Each book after, we learn more and more about him, his past, his loves, and his incredible (jet owning) father. If you are looking for a great detective book, look no further.....but don't just stop there! Load up on all that you can. They are absolutely extraordinary!

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Great read!

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

I would highly recommend this book!

What other book might you compare Harry Starke to and why?

This is as good or better than other detective books available on Audible.

Have you listened to any of Tom Lennon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Tom is a captivating voice actor who brings the characters to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

I love this series! Well written and superbly narrated. I listened to the first two books on audible and I am currently reading numer 3 on Kindle. I am very much looking forward to future books in the series!

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

A new series to eagerly wait for

What did you love best about Harry Starke?

Harry is bigger than life, yet at the same time a very believable, like to get to know better, kind of guy next door.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Harry Starke?

The death of the roommate

Which character – as performed by Tom Lennon – was your favorite?

Harry Starke himself. While he certainly doesn't sound like the cover picture I think it is the picture that is wrong. He sounds exactly like Harry should.

Any additional comments?

I have already read books 3 and 4 and each one seems to be better than the previous one.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Cracking Good Read and Fabulous Narrator

Review
First of all, despite sex and violence being mentioned in the blurb I don't believe many would find it too disturbing or distasteful to read, it's all pretty mild stuff.
Harry had tried to save the girl, his efforts failed. While he was waiting for the police to arrive he did what any P.I. would do, he went through her handbag, what he found there among the contents aroused his curiosity.
Though everybody agreed that Tabitha had taken her own life, nobody could offer a reason for why she would do such a thing. Harry, feeling that something bad was going on made it his business to find out what had driven her to such desperate measures. Little could anyone know of how complex and twisted the road to truth would become!
Harry has contacts, lots of them, good people and bad people and he makes full use of them all, including his wealthy father. These diverse characters makes for some interesting interactions which, in turn, makes good reading. I'm not quite sure what to make of Harry as he comes across as a really nice guy with that Southern gentlemanly way of speaking, yet he seems to have no qualms about using a bit of violence against those who cross him.
There's a bit of complicated romancing going on in Harrys' life too, it's almost off with the old love and almost on with the new. Believe me, he met one of his ladies in a most unusual and interesting way.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it's the really good and solid type of P.I. fiction that I love and I intend to read more, it will be interesting to discover a little of Harrys' true character, and read more of his adventures.
Narrator
I don't know who chose Tom Lennon to play Harry, but they could not have made a better choice. I can't fault him, the pace and rhythmn were spot on and he has one of those voices and way of speaking that could convince you of anything. He certainly has mastered the art of nuance, with just the subtlest change in speech Harry goes from friendly guy to your worst enemy, and it's this smallest change of delivery that creates such authenticity. Fabulous narration, Tom Lennon aced this high quality production.
Audiobook provided by the narrator, author or publisher in return for an honest review

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

I will be reading the next one!

Would you consider the audio edition of Harry Starke to be better than the print version?

N/A never read the book

What did you like best about this story?

Great plot. Complex mystery but entirely believable. Liked the setting as well. Who knew anything about Chattanooga? Now I would like to visit.

What about Tom Lennon’s performance did you like?

I thought he nailed it! He is a softer sound than the cover picture, but seemed to fit the character perfectly.

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

There are some sad things that happen here, but cry - No. Several laughs. The dialogue is witty.

Any additional comments?

This is an old fashion PI book set in modern day Chattanooga. Kind of a Mike Hammer set in the South. That alone makes it unique and interesting. I will be looking for the next in the series.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Great Series!

If you could sum up Harry Starke in three words, what would they be?

Smart, Sexy, tough

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harry is a lovable rouge so if you don't like him, you will hate the book. He is a throwback type PI to novels of maybe 30 or 40 years ago. Women's lib types need a sense of humor here as he really is pretty harmless. The funny little bar owner that appears a few times is lovable in a Louie D'Palma kind of way as well.

What does Tom Lennon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He reminds you this is Chattanooga, not LA, Chicago, or NY. Laid back with a pleasant Southern twang that you normally don't hear in a PI mystery.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Harry's dialogue with the deceased's father.

Any additional comments?

I listened to book #2 first and liked it so much I had to go back and buy #1. I actually think number 2 is slightly better plot wise, but nice to now understand the back story. Looking forward to the next release in the series.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Chattanooga P.I. does his best work

Would you listen to Harry Starke again? Why?

Yes, there seem to be nuances that underlie the story. I want to find them.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

More kept my interest in a evolving manner. Don't get me wrong, this is a well written mystery. The narration was spot on for the material. Enjoyable.

Have you listened to any of Tom Lennon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have. He is blessed with a sense of believable enthusiasm that comes across in his readings.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Chattanooga P.I. gets to the bottom of things

Any additional comments?

A good start to a promising series.

Thank you for making this available for review!

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

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

good old-fashioned solid mystery

Harry Starke finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time witnessing the suicide of a beautiful young woman. Why would she jump off a bridge in front of him? Harry, a private investigator, starts searching for answers and becomes entangled in a web of corruption, blackmail, murder, power, greed, deceit, and sex.

Harry is the classic private investigator from traditional murder mysteries. He is a generally nice and kind guy, who is also very smart and cunning. He is different from the usual crime fiction protagonists these days because he is neither addicted to alcohol nor struggling financially nor does he have a disastrous family history. He's not brooding, he's just a pretty normal guy in his early forties, a successful businessman who likes the ladies.

Set in Tennessee and interlaced with a good bit of dry humor, this first book in the Harry Starke series was fun to listen to and gave a solid introduction to Harry's world. All the characters were multi-layered and made the plot interesting to follow. What stopped me from rating the story higher was that I felt things were over explained and hence there was some repetitiveness. The plot was easy enough to follow so I didn't really need extensive explanations. However, I really liked Harry and the people he's working with, so I'm certainly invested enough to try the second book in the series.

If you like good, old-fashioned solid mysteries with a strong male lead then you can't go wrong with this one. The language is clean, it contains some sex and violence but nothing is explicit, so it's perfectly suitable for all listeners/readers. The only thing that may split readers/listeners is Harry's relationships with women, I guess. I know I would have liked to see him go a different path, but his decisions and explanations for it were perfectly comprehensible.

Tom Lennon delivered the narration with a Southern flair suitable for the setting of the book. He was able to do the female voices without sounding shrill or silly, which was great. His delivery was smooth and confident and suited the first person narrative of the male protagonist well. For me personally, it was a little too laid back and I had to adjust the speed a bit. Overall, the narration was very good, and I would certainly listen to Tom Lennon again. There were no issues with the production.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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20 of 24 people found this review helpful

Good

Good book. Predictable but entertaining. I will be downloading and starting the next book in series soon.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Good Find

Great book one in what cold be a favorite detective series.

Moving on to number 2 and hope it is as good.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful