Jacqueline Willoughby

By: Schuyler Randall

Narrated by: Scott Ellis

Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

A string of mysterious murders rocks Birmingham, Alabama, in the pause-resister Jacqueline Willoughby. At first glance, the murders seem to be connected to the Ten Commandments, but FBI agents Kason McAlester and Troy Stephens see that there is more to the story, that a rare book written decades ago by a woman named Jacqueline Willoughby may have the answer to solving the crimes.

Will the two agents be able to follow the trail of the old book and find the killer responsible for these grisly murders? You'll have to listen to Jacqueline Willoughby to find out.

©100 Randy N. Moon (P)2018 Randy N. Moon

Short

I was gifted this book with the understanding that I would leave an honest review.
I didn't hate the book but I can't say I really liked it either. First off it is very short book. Second the characters are very one dimensional. I kept waiting to get into them but they were never really defined. I would say if you have an afternoon that you would like to do a little gardening or something and have this playing in the background it would be a great choice. Scott Ellis does a really good job of narrating this book. In fact if I had been reading the book instead of listening I most likely would not have finished it.

A short Mystery with promise if it was expanded.

This is an interesting story that could be a great Book if the characters and story was longer.

I believe a story of this length can not reach its full potential.The Author should consider the possibility of giving greater
depth to not only the characters but the plot itself.

The Narrator did a good job with the material and made the Audio book entertaining.


This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Too short

This story was too short and did not reach it's full potential!! The characters never really developed. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Interesting

The storyline is really interesting and very detailed. It had to have taken a lot of research. Perhaps a little to detailed as I got bored a couple times. Regardless there were quite a few twists and turns I didn't expect.

I really enjoyed listening to the narrator. loved her accent.

I received a copy of this audible free at my request and am happy to leave my review

Pretty Good Mystery

'Jacqueline Willoughby' is a complicated short novella about a potential copy cat murderer. It felt to me like Randall was trying to do too much too quickly and that the story could have benefited from being elongated/expanded. Outside of that, the thrust of the story itself is compelling and the mystery is quite juicy. Scott Ellis provides a good narrative performance that kept me listening even though I wanted a more fleshed out story!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Story tries to cover too much in too little time

The story is an okay mystery, but given that it is a little over a 3-hour listen there really isn't enough time to fully develop the story nor the depth of the main characters. The serial killer does remain a mystery until the end, but the descriptions involving the circumstances and investigations get so routine that there is little room for intrigue and thriller type uncertainty. Even the premise of behind the killings, which has a lot of potential, just had to be played out too quickly and simplistically due to the short length of the story itself.

I will say that the narration by Scott Ellis was done real well and made the listen more enjoyable. One tactic that I didn't care for, and I am not sure if it were the narrator's choice or the production folks, was the idea of the phone conversation being made to sound like they were being held in a bucket. It did allow for the listener to realize that you were listening to people talk that weren't in each other's presence, but I found it a bit odd sounding. That is more of a preference than a criticism as it certainly did not deter from the work. I'd recommend this book to those that enjoy a short, mild detective type
story.
A review copy of this audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in return for this unbiased review. If you found this review helpful, please take a moment to click yes below.

Jacqueline Willoughby

This book had promise. If it was longer and had really expanded on the mystery with more background and moments of story building between the killings, it could have been really good. What really put me off was the way the book was read and the dialog of the characters. Normally if I don't like the way a story is narrated, I can see myself reading it and alter the way I process it a bit. I am not sure that this was all on Scott Ellis because the way the characters interacted was not natural in any way and that drew my attention away from the mystery more than the way it was read. It looks like this is the first book from Schuyler Randall, I am looking forward to seeing how the next one turns out.

This book was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.

Jacqueline Willoughby's duaghter's copycat

This was a book meant to tell a story and not really get into the characters. Given that this book is so short it worked for it, but I spent the first hour wondering what I was listening to. Really was lost as there wasn’t any character development and as people were dropping left and right, perfume was everywhere, I didn’t know who was doing what and I just wasn’t sure where it was going.
The underling story, when you get to it, is actually pretty cool. I enjoyed the copycat nature of the killing and the mystery of how it is connected to a book written by the mother of a serial killer. That part of the plot really could have been expanded upon and could have taken the book from good to great. I think this worked well as a short story but really should be a longer novel.
Kimberly was my least favorite character. She was surprisingly helpful, kind, and gave up a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar book because it was worth less than a life. Absolutely agree with her but she just seemed unrealistic. She was the weird person who quickly comes in, provides the clues needed to solve the puzzle, and then just leaves as quickly as she arrived.
The change in narration for phone calls was not good. I like when sound effects are used but this was bad. The timing wasn’t always right and when they spoke over each other it was tough to separate the conversations. The rest of the narration was really good
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Basic mystery novella

This novella was short and sweet. The writing style was simplistic using basic declarative sentences and there wasn't much if any descriptive elements or flowery dialogue. Occasionally the author went off on a short tangent incorporating items that didn't really flow with the overall story arc. Overall it was straightforward and easy to read, although, there might be a little too much cursing for some younger readers.

The story itself was interesting. After the unpopular demolition of a housing development to make way for an auto-parts megastore comes a series of murders. FBI agents Stephens and McAlester are sent to investigate and despite what appears to be a biblical connection to the Ten Commandments they become convinced that there's something more going on. Sure, the bodies are posed, sure there are messages proclaiming their sins. But still...

An interview with a dotty, old, lady sends them on the trail of a very rare book. Is this antique volume somehow connected to the crimes? Will they discover the secret the serial killer is hiding before it's too late?

Narrator Scott Ellis did a great job voicing the story. There were a couple of sections where the sound effects, such as a voice on the phone sounding like it was speaking into a tunnel, got talked over by the main narration. Not Ellis' fault, that was poor sound editing.

I could give a recommendation for someone who likes mysteries and who is looking for a short read or listen. It's not that difficult to figure out who the murderer is but his motive is a little more hidden.

I requested and received this book for free from Audiobookboom in return for my promise of an honest and unbiased review. 3.5 stars.

A Good read / listen

Jacqueline Willoughby - A great storyline, but it should have been longer. I felt it was a bit rushed and needed to be longer with more detail and background to the main characters and plot.
I enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it, and I will be looking for more from this author.
The narration by Scott Ellis is excellent and time and story fly by, and all too soon we reach the end of a good novel.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.