Blood on the Tracks: Sydney Rose Parnell Series, Book 1

I am very impressed with this debut novel by Barbara Nickless. I thought she did a superb job with this book and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. This is another one of those who done it books that really keeps the reader/listener guessing right up to the very end.
A woman is brutally murdered, she's kind and helpful to the down and outers and the hobos who pass through hitching rides on the railroad. Some say she's like an angel others say she's a busybody getting involved with the wrong people. And then there's her fiancé a badly burned Iraq veteran who is arrested for the crime.
I could go on and describe the railroad police and the detective from the major crimes unit but you can read all that on the synopsis provided.
What you won't see there is that while the main story is playing out there are multiple subplots going on concurrently. Each of these subplots ties into the main story and each provides another suspect but don't get too attached to anyone in particular because the ending will throw you for a loop.
Emily Sutton-Smith gives an Excellent performance.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Blood on the Tracks was my Kindle First selection last month so I had the opportunity to read the ebook before the October 1 release date. I was so impressed that I decided to listen to the audiobook also. This is an incredibly strong debut novel by Barbara Nicklass. The Sydney Rose Parnell series promises to be a favorite. Parnell is a 27 year old ex-Marine currently working as a special agent for the railway police in Denver. She and her K9 partner Clyde are both veterans of war in Iraq and both suffer from PTSD. This police thriller is superb. Emily Sutton-Smiths narration is excellent.

There are a lot of things to like about this book. The writing is quite good and the protagonist is unique, flawed, and interesting. The author clearly has firsthand knowledge of the Marine Corps and railway police or she did a lot of very effective research. On the other hand it does tend to drag on at some points, adding length without necessarily adding any depth to the story or the characters.

Unfortunately, the narrator detracts from the story so I cannot honestly say how good the book is. This is especially true in regards to the dialog, which felt very mechanical. It's entirely possible that it would have felt natural had it been read by someone else. This could also be the reason that all the male characters were completely indistinguishable from one another. Why they would choose a narrator with a single male voice (and a bad one at that) to read a book that is dominated by male secondary characters is beyond me.

Personally, I do not care for books with high body counts and no repercussions. It feels very unrealistic. So for me that was a negative. Otherwise the story might have been four stars.

The book is set up for a series and I would be tempted to read more, but I would not listen again.

I would have given the narrator five stars, but she kept pronouncing Semper Fi ...Semper FEE ...and it bugged me. I'm not a marine, but I know a few of them. It would bug them too. anyway other than that good story, a lot of twists and turns, keeps you guessing till the end.

The story is not at all a mystery or a suspense. It's more a story about a woman who suffers from PTSD, and often suffers flashbacks. It's a military story that depicts horrible things that happen in Iraq, and the mental anguish that soldiers suffer post war.

Janet evanovich 23

This story took a lot of implausible twists and turns, but it held my interest and I did want to see where it was going. There are some ties to war, skin heads and violent crimes, which may be off putting for some (not my normal fare). The narrator is good and does well with many voices. If you like a good mystery and don't have a problem with violence, it's a not a bad listen.

She manages tremendous odds and battles. She's like a Timex; takes a licking and keeps on ticking. The plot was good and very unusual. The ghosts popping in and out , the cocktail of drugs (uppers/downers) plus booze and PTSD might have had something to do with that. The narrator does not do male voices well at all so if she had just kept this to a straight read I would have liked her better. But actually I did enjoy it!

I really liked that the book described how the soldiers were thinking and feeling after coming home from the war. I have always heard about ptsd - and about half of my co-workers suffer from the condition. Their responses to questions are vague at best.
True or not , I feel like reading this book gave me some insight into the behavior of the people I with with.
Naturally, my favorite character was Clyde - dogs are effected by the war too!
The narrated did a great job. I really appreciated the emphases she was able to carry across in the sardonic humor of our heroine.
I would have liked a bit more out of Her love interest - maybe a bit more back story.
All in all a great story that took me to a place I have never been before - a glimpse into the lives of soldiers come home and those around them.

I love Emily Sutton-Smith as a narrator, but even she couldn't save this story.

Label it properly.

There is nothing wrong with the performance.

I didn't get all that far.

I don't even know if this is a mystery after about 2 hours I was over it. This is maybe a murder mystery with PTSD. I have great respect for people who went to war for us, but this book was just trying to be poetic with PTSD or I don't even know. I am not all that intellectual, but this was not for me. Also, how often can someone be called Sydney Rose. Nick couldn't just call her Sidney? Or Sid? I had enough of hearing her full name pretty quickly. Also, pretty early on I didn't think that the characters had a whole lot of depth. This one was not for me.

I really enjoyed the excitement the narrator brought to this journey seen through eyes of a brave Lady marine who helped to heal herself and
Her service dog after seeing too much at war....can't stop listening to
This excellent book,