Random Acts of Murder

Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries, Volume 1

By: Christy Barritt

Narrated by: Sandy Rustin

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

When Holly Anna Paladin is given a year to live, she embraces her final days doing what she loves most: random acts of kindness. But one of her extreme good deeds goes horribly wrong, implicating Holly in a string of murders. Holly is suddenly in a different kind of fight for her life.

Only two other people know Holly was at the site of the murder, and one of them is the killer. Making matters stickier is the fact that the detective assigned to the case is her old high school crush and present day nemesis.

The clock is ticking as Holly is forced to play a dangerous game. Will Holly find the killer before he ruins what's left of her life? Or will she spend her final days alone and behind bars?

©2014 Christina Barritt (P)2015 Christy Barritt

Very enjoyable story

I really enjoyed this story, well written and good character development. However, I did not enjoy Sandy Rustin as the narrator. For me her voice was just too high pitched and I struggled listening to her.

Could have benefitted from a better narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I wouldn't say time well spent but it was okay since I was crocheting while I listened. There was too much focus on Holly's illness, which by the way, did not make the book better!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Certainly didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. But since since I wanted to see if it was going to Develop into a really good mystery hung in there. That never really happened.

What three words best describe Sandy Rustin’s performance?

Didn't enhance book!

Could you see Random Acts of Murder being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, plot is not strong enough or suspenseful enough.

Any additional comments?

I am glad the only thing I paid for was the Audible version. I didn't have to pay for the written version because I got it from Pubabooks which I love since I love books but am on a very limited fixed budget. I like to review the books and give my honest opinion. It seems that good, really good, narrators must be in short supply because most that I have listened to recently are not what I would really call good. In this particular book the narrator's voice was weak. I know Holly Anna, the main character, is in her twenties but ...... The voice for some of the characters, like the one Holly found on her sofa who had been shot, sounded like a ten year old. That is part of the problem with this narrator. Maybe she will get better!

Cute but predictable

There's something very tiresome about the smart, pretty, naive girl as a main character. Cute if you like teen romance novels.

One of Christys Best

This is one of my top favorites from Christy. I love all her books but this is on my top three. Great clean romance, great suspense, great story. Also, the narration is really good in the audiobook version.

Good Book

It was a good book but I had a hard time with the reader. The reader sounded to young.

Christy Barrett is the best!

I love all your books, and wish I could listen to all of the not just a selected few on audio.

Pollyanna, Holly Anna, How I Love Thee :)

Clean, refreshing, funny, and a great story . . . social worker, Holly Anna, just diagnosed with a rare cancer, with only a year to live, keeps the news to herself . . . choosing instead to bless others through random acts of kindness . . . most think her humility and world view are hokey . . . her faith in God a silly thing . . . and even her siblings treat her like a child . . . but she stays the course . . . only her best friend, Jamie knows that Holly has been served a death sentence, and both of them struggle with what lies ahead . . . when Jamie's van is reported leaving the home of one of Holly's "random acts of kindness" deeds (cleaning the house of one of her clients) . . . where Holly has just found a man murdered and lying in the floor . . . a string of mysterious murders begin, all eerily similar to the one which Holly fled . . . including the presence of more cleaning supplies just like the ones that Holly left behind in her haste at the first murder scene . . . add to that, the appearance of Chase, the police officer assigned to the case . . . and an old high school heart throb . . . and you've got a recipe for . . . well, for a deliciously written mystery and romance . . . and a clean one! This is a well written, fun-to-listen-to story, with many layers . . . filled with family, friends, real life issues that are dealt with in a godly but realistic way . . . excellent resolution to the mystery . . . can't wait to listen to the next in the series . . .

i found my favorite narrator in Sandy Rustin

the narrator made the story come alive for me. The raw emotions were so relatable. I had to push pause a few times because of the bad decisions Holly made at times just to recoup. lol I just bought the next book....