Mayan Intrigue

The Adventures of John and Julia Evans, Book 2

By: Linda Weaver Clarke

Narrated by: Carolyn Kashner

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

The discovery of a priceless artifact puts Julia's life in great danger!

From valuable artifacts to shady businessmen, the Yucatan Peninsula becomes a dangerous vacation spot for John and Julia Evans. While on assignment for the newspaper, the Evanses try to enjoy a romantic vacation among the Mayan ruins, but when Julia accidentally comes upon a couple suspicious men exchanging an item, she quickly turns and leaves, but it is too late. The men have seen her.

As a reporter, Julia does not easily give up, and her curiosity gets them in a mess of trouble. Before John and Julia realize what is going on, they are both in danger and find themselves running for their lives through the jungles of the Yucatan.

©2010 Linda Weaver Clarke (P)2019 Linda Weaver Clarke

Enjoyed this so very much

I have enjoyed all of Linda Weaver Clarke's books, including her Audible versions of her books. I have also been very "intrigued" with early civilizations, such as the Mayans.

I loved how this romance mystery had lots of real moments between John and Julia, not always total bliss but a little strife, if you will.

The story is great and you don't know who are the good or the bad guys. Who do you trust? And who will protect them as the smugglers are closing in on them?

It's a good mystery and I love the smuggling story line. I also liked how Julia and John shared moments of faith and some moments when that faith perhaps wavered just a bit. Real human feelings.

I think you will love it. Carolyn Kashner was a great voice for the story and I loved her interpretations and also her "accent" which was fun to listen to.

I received an Audible version from the author. All thoughts are my own.

Another Adventure with Julia and John

I think I liked this second book better than the first because we were able to see the character/relationship flaws between John and Julia more, which normalized them for me. I actually really liked their daughters, who we got to experience more of in this book. I enjoy the mystery that the author takes us through on this romantic getaway. Well written and detailed, the scenery descriptions are vivid and fun. This one also seemed a bit more suspenseful than the first.

The narration is great in this performance. The narrator does an excellent job capturing the nature of the story and keeping our attention.

Engaging Adventure

Intriguing mystery spiced with rich setting description. Thoroughly researched Mayan history is skillfully woven into plot-driven dialog among the well-developed characters.
The narrator agilely skipped among the voices and accents of characters without missing a beat.
A clean, exciting, well-told story. Recommend.

Interesting and enjoyable

I have listened to a couple of books by Linda Weaver Clark and I think this one is my favourite to date. The narrator Carolyn Kashner did a good job with all the voices which enhanced my enjoyment of this book.
 
This was a a book filled with danger, suspense secrets and lies. It was also full of interesting history and romance which I found captivating.

The intrigue and mystery, not to mention the danger kept me on the edge of my seat as I listened to this story. There were times that I felt I was in the Yucatan jungle with Julia and John.
 
I liked the main characters of John and Julia Evans, their dynamic worked well together. There were many twists, turns and surprises in Mayan Intrigue as Julia and John follow the clues and I have to say that I was taken by surprise on a couple of occasions.

Great Adventure!

Mayan Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke captivated me. I loved the imagery and action the author wrote in this book. I could envision so many details and loved the adventure. The historical aspect of this book also really intrigued me. Treasures of the Mayans, Cortez, Incas, all appeal to me. This listen is a clean listen and appropriate for multiple ages. I thought that Carolyn Kashner was wonderful bringing the characters to life. She added the right emotions. The characters in this book also appealed to me. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I definitely will listen to more books by this author and narrator.

Very intriguing!

Great book. Had a slow start but the intensity kicked in quickly. This author obviously does her research! I found myself googling to learn more. Enjoyed this book immensely!

Interesting facts about Mayan culture

Julia is on another assignment and decides to bring her husband John along and make a vacation out of it. However, trouble seems to follow Julia, and this time she has gotten herself into trouble with her snooping. As a man starts to watch her, Julia begins to wonder if he has anything to do with the stolen Mayan artifacts. That seems like is should be filled with suspense, and although I liked the story, I felt the drawn-out dialogue about the artifacts’ history drew away from the suspense of the story. Otherwise, I would have given this a five-star rating. The narrator speaks clearly but seems to lack the right tone of a suspense novel.
I really like the characters the author has created. John and Julia’s playful bantering is amusing and entertaining. We get to learn a bit more about John and Julia’s children in this book as her daughter gets herself into a little bit of trouble.

Romantic romp

The story here is fairly predictable - it lacks some of the twists and suspense of Ms. Clarke's other books. Still, for fans of light romance and a little mystery, it should be a satisfying eight hour listen. The male characters in particular could use more depth. The tone is just a little light for a mystery - it pulled me out of the story some. Fans of Ms. Clarke's previous works will likely not be disappointed.

Enjoyed Another Adventure of John & Julia

I am an an avid reader but also almost exclusively audiobooks due to my schedule. Because of this, I can be critical of narrators. Especially when books have a single narrator required to speak with different voices for multiple characters. Most cannot do it without having some errors where they use the wrong 'voice' for the wrong character. While I still prefer books narrated with multiple narrators, narrator Carolyn Kashner managed to pull it off in this book. And all of the voices were easy on the ears, by which I mean that none of the voices were hard to listen to or made me wish they would hurry up and finish talking so I didn't have to listen to it anymore. I have encountered many of those and it usually resulted in me returning the book unfortunately. I am a true believer in the fact that a bad narrator can destroy a great book and have turned away several books with good ratings because of just that. Luckily, I didn't have any problem listening to this book and was glad I didn't because the story kept me entertained throughout.

I am not a fan of including spoilers in my reviews, but John and Julia are a fun couple with three adult daughters. Book 2 focuses on Julia & John making a vacation out of Julia's work trip, resulting in Julia stumbling into more than she planned. The story kept me entertained and I enjoyed watching them work through normal marital issues. If you are looking for heavy sex and over the top language, this book and series isn't for you. However, if you are looking for a good clean family friendly story that will hold your interest and make you laugh at times, I highly recommend this book and what I have read (or listened to) in the series so far, which is books 1 and 2. I am excited to start listening to book 3 next.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Exciting Story!

Julia, a news reporter, is on a working vacation in the Mayan ruins along with her husband. She stumbles upon some illegal activity and is tailed by the criminals. Even though her life is in danger, Julia still goes ahead with her vacation. An exciting story with strong characters. Nicely read by the narrator. As with all of Linda Weaver Clarke's books, there are also some very interesting historical facts. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.