Absolution

A Frank Renzi Novel

By: Susan A Fleet

Narrated by: Rich Miller

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

A twisted serial killer preys on young women in New Orleans.

They let him into their homes because they trust him. But he tortures them, then kills them.

Is the killer a priest? Everyone has something to hide. Some of the darkest secrets reside in a parish church. When a black journalist denounces police for unfairly targeting black male suspects, racial tensions boil over. A tip from a prostitute leads NOPD Homicide Detective Frank Renzi to believe the killer may be a white priest. Renzi is hot on the killer's trail, but the seductive psychopath persuades a teenage girl to help him escape. Will Renzi be able to save her?

*Warning: contains profanity, violence and sexual situations*

Publisher's summary:

This book was inspired by an actual serial killer who was brutally murdering young women in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, soon after I moved to New Orleans. Some Baton Rouge residents believed the killer was black, but an FBI profiler had pegged him as white. However, the serial killer in

ABSOLUTION is very different, and the setting is the ever-seductive New Orleans. This is the first book in my award-winning crime thriller series featuring NOPD Detective Frank Renzi.

©2008 Susan A Fleet (P)2016 Susan A Fleet

A Good Story!

I don’t usually read many books from this genre, but I really enjoyed this one. The narration brought the story to life and held my interest throughout. The story was well thought out, complete and will keep you listening. I will be watching for this author in the future.

* I was provided a free copy of this book from AudioBookBlast for an honest review.

A Dark, but relevant face paced Thriller

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

Fast, Current complex

What did you like best about this story?

How current issues are woven into the story line

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

Well his ability to bring characters to life, but also his pleasant voice.

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

Fast Paced, Dark and funny

Pretty Good

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I found it very entertaining although a bit long. The narrator did a good job of bringing the book to life. This audiobook was provided to me for free through Audiobook Blast for my unbiased review.

Another good one.

The narrator was once again good. The book was good even though it was long I enjoy each chapter. Sorry for my last review I had to change it a bit please accept this review.

Awful

Narrator annoying relentless misogyny blame the nanny for the child abuse ..., just awful returned it

Too much swearing and sex

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who like swearing and graphic sex.

Would you ever listen to anything by Susan A Fleet again?

If there wasn't swearing and gratuitous sex.

What aspect of Rich Miller’s performance would you have changed?

Nothing. He has a great voice and good diction.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointed with the language and sexual content.

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

Absolution

This is the first book in the Frank Renzi mystery suspense series. It's about a serial killer called the Tongue Killer who cuts out the tongues his female victims.
Frank Renzi is the main character. He's a likable detective on the case of the Tongue Killer. He's divorced and married to his work. He's dedicated to his job but to the point of fault and will go to any means to catch the Tongue Killer. He often ignored protocol and went well beyond the boundaries of the law to find the information that he needed in order to crack the case. Even after he is taken off the task force to catch the Tongue Killer he continued to run his own investigation (which I can usually overlook) and in doing so manages to tip off the suspect. There is even a point when he involved a civilian psychiatrist in the case and took her in pursuit of the suspect. He also proceeded to have an argument with her over how to handle a hostage situation when it was clearly not something she should be involved in nor was she a specialist in that field.
The Tongue Killer was revealed right at the beginning of the book. I think that if his identity was withheld it would have made the book more suspenseful. Also, the killer himself was not a very exciting person. He had a troubled past which was interesting but I would have liked to know more about it. It could have been fleshed out a bit more. Instead the same murders were repeated and fumbled throughout the book.
Burke Norris is the FBI task force leader. He was arrogant and headstrong. He had it set in his head that the Tongue Killer was a black man and it didn't seem to matter what Frank Renzi thought or what witnesses said because he was not changing his mind. He completely disregarded the statement of a woman because she was a prostitute. Then he paraded several black men into the police station only to have them all be proven innocent and have no connection with the crimes. I found this to be a bit ridiculous. He continued to harp on the fact that it had to be a black man no matter what.
My favorite character in the book was more of a supporting role. Father Sean Daly was not only likable but had a mysterious and interesting past.
Overall the story itself had potential but could have been made more exciting by slowly revealing the identity of the killer. There was no big reveal at the end and it was anticlimactic. There were also parts that were wildly unrealistic. It moved along quickly once I got into it. The pacing was good. I liked Frank and as I got more into the book I connected with him more.
The narrator spoke clearly but slowly. There were times when it was a bit too slow. However, he did well at expressing the characters different voices and emotions.

I was gifted a copy of this audiobook by the author. This is an unbiased review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.