Mind Scrambler

A John Ceepak Mystery

By: Chris Grabenstein

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

John Ceepak and Danny Boyle are making the rounds in Atlantic City when Danny runs into his former crush, Katie. She's working for a magician named Rock, and her life seems to be in better order than Boyle could have hoped for. But Ceepak and Boyle soon find themselves on another case when Katie is found strangled to death. It is up to Ceepak and Boyle to find out who killed her. Their lives and the lives of others depend on it.

Don't miss other adventures featuring Sea Haven's finest, including (in order) Tilt-a-Whirl, Mad Mouse, Whack-a-Mole, and Hell Hole.

©2009 Chris Grabenstein (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Entertaining

Enjoyed the humor in this one. Good characters, interesting story. I kind of felt this was more of a Danny Boyle mystery than a John Ceepak tale, but that's really not a good or bad thing. I found the book similar in style and mood to other crime novels set in his region of the country, I was somewhat reminded of William Lashner's "Marked Man". Interesting... one reviewer complained about the author's "political sniping" If there was any of this going on, it was mild (and somewhat refreshing) and there were very few instances of it anyway. I can always enjoy a little poke at the right. If the author was truly political, he's have crucified Donald Trump. I'll read more by this author as long as the same narrator does the reading.

Too many characters for audio

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No - unless they bought the paper version. Too many characters for me when in audio form, especially as I usually listen when I'm doing something else at the same time eg gym, mowing the lawn). Also, it was about a quarter of the way in before the crime actually occurred - there is too much dialogue that doesn't really contribute to the story - just padding really.

What about Jeff Woodman’s performance did you like?

The narrator made an excellent job of creating different voices. There were a lot of characters, and he had a different voice for all of them. Faultless narration.

Did Mind Scrambler inspire you to do anything?

Inspired me not to get another audio book by this author. Too long and not fast moving enough, although it picked up a bit towards the end.

Any additional comments?

A bit too much swearing and a lot of it really didn't need to be included, although I know it's part of the characters persona.

Always deception and misdirection

(As posted in Goodreads)
Yet another book featuring John Ceepak and the questionable moralities and values of people with whom we have significantly higher expectations! Grabenstein continues to contrast the seedy realities and possibilities with the ideals represented by what we would like to represent our own morals- at the same time demonstrating that there are always challenges.
Excellent book

Another great listen!

I have listened to all the Ceepak books since they first came out and this one didn't disappoint. I love how both Ceepak and Danny's characters continue to develop. And Jeff Woodman is awesome as usual!

Very Good Read

Took a break from the Ceepak stories for a while and then went back and read this one. It was very well written, with a little less humor than most. This story has a lot of twists and turns, and the reader is outstanding. Well worth a credit.

Dark

I love Ceepak & Boyle but this was a little dark for me. Child prostitution, incest, pedophilia, S&M. Lighten up.

Narrator is the star

The Cepak books are a little "one note" for my taste, but the plotting and local color are fun and for a light read they serve admirably.

Jeff Woodman does a spectacular job of narration. He nails dialects (is he really from New Jersey?) and provides a wonderful variety of character voices which entertain all on their own in addition to doing their basic job of letting us know who is speaking at any given time. He captures the spirit of the book perfectly and enhances it as well.

Darker than others in the series

I thought it was an excellent installment in the series. Yes, it was a different environment, and the underlying crimes are disgusting, but that's probably what I liked about it - it was much darker and grittier and more bad stuff happens than in the Sea Haven based stories.

There were points where I wanted to smack some of the characters for being so frustrating and annoying and full-of-lies. Ceepak and Danny do make it through, but if it wasn't for the fact that they are essential to the series and you know they must prevail so they have to figure it out eventually, you might be worried that the bad guys will get away with their crimes.

The narration was excellent.

Good Mystery with light humor

What about Jeff Woodman’s performance did you like?

I believe he has the character spot on. Reminds me some of Parker's Spencer. Love that series.

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

At first was thrown by the humor and thought might be for younger listeners. Glad I stuck with it. Went back and downloaded all the other books in the series. I'm a fan.

Excellent as Always

I love the Ceepak and Boyle books and Jeff Woodman does a terrific job on the narration. Thank goodness Chris Grabenstein will get to continue the series so Audible make sure you continue with the audiobooks!