• The Devil's Due

  • A Jack Carson Story, Book 1
  • By: CM Raymond, LE Barbant
  • Narrated by: Ben Smith
  • Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (40 ratings)

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The Devil's Due  By  cover art

The Devil's Due

By: CM Raymond, LE Barbant
Narrated by: Ben Smith
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Publisher's summary

Doing the right thing ain't cheap...not when you've got to pay the devil's due.

After a lab explosion leaves him changed forever, wanted fugitive Jack Carson knows only one thing for certain - he's just one wrong move away from a fate worse than death. Struggling to make sense of life on the run, Jack assumes that middle-of-nowhere, Iowa would be the safest place to lay low. But small towns can hide big secrets.

When a free drink and a misguided act of chivalry blows the town's sleepy veneer straight to hell, Jack is left to deal with the mess. Blackmailed into criminal service by a backwoods gangster with delusions of grandeur, Carson finds himself faced with the ultimate choice...save the town or save his own skin.

Can Jack use his otherworldly powers to rescue the town's beautiful bar owner and bring the small town mob to their knees? Or will a pair of ambitious federal agents find him before he has the chance?

The Devils Due is a heart-pounding new thriller. If you like edge of your seat thrills, harrowing suspense, and nonstop action then you will love this new installment from CM Raymond and LE Barbant -The Devils Due!

Note: The Devil's Due is a novella with 34,000 words of action.

©2015 Smoke and Steel Press (P)2017 Smoke and Steel Press

What listeners say about The Devil's Due

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good start.

Jack Carson just wants to find a place to lay low and stay hidden. He has little money, no ID and a watch that has stopped at 2.42. He enters Ironwood with the hopes that this will be the place, but things are never that easy!!

This is book one of A Jack Carson story but in all honesty, I felt like we were dropped into the middle of a series and were left not knowing what was going on. Now I know by the way the story was written that we will eventually find out everything, but it was a little frustrating not having a little more of the back story. I had so so many questions!!!

Other than that, this was a really good story. It's well written, with plenty of mystery and intrigue and had a cast of awesome characters. I really liked Jack and the cast of characters he meets in the bar. I'm intrigued to find out more bout the special agent trailing him!! I also can't wait to find out who the girl in the picture is!!

There is a lot to like about the book, and it points to a series that will be action packed, intriguing and very entertaining. The authors have created a very interesting world and one I can't wait to dive back into. I'm hoping book 2 will answer a lot of the questions I have!!!

In all, a solid start. It was intriguing, entertaining and held my attention throughout.

This is the first book I've listened to that was narrated by Ben Smith. He was pretty good. He had enough tones and voices to distinguish each character and knew how to increase the tenseness when needed. There were a few minor issues with the production, a few noises and a sentence repeated, but nothing to detract from the overall book. All in all, he read it well.

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Engaging thriller with interesting main character

There's been a horrific bombing at a major industrial site in Pennsylvania, and two Special Agents who don't much like each other are off to hunt down the suspected terrorist behind it. They have only a grainy, black and white picture of him, and no I.D. Everyone at the site was killed; the CEO is in Europe and not back yet.

Jack Carson is on the run, and he's got only thirty bucks and a Polaroid of a beautiful woman on him. He doesn't seem like the terrorist type, or any other kind of mass murderer, but he is running from that bombing, and is determined to avoid the authorities.

We don't know why. We do find out that there's something very peculiar about his body, and he must have an interesting backstory that's only hinted at in this story.

Jack figures a small town in Iowa will be as good a place a any to stop for a day's rest. In Ironwood, he meets the town's bar owner, another beautiful woman, and a possibly unwise act of chivalry lands him in the middle of the seemingly sleepy town's internal troubles. He's soon facing the choice of saving the town from its local, rather nasty gangsters, or saving his own skin.

That's assuming, of course, that he can do either before the federal agents catch up with him.

Some things here seem just a bit too pat, but both Jack as a character and Jack's situation are interesting. A novella can't have the depth and complexity of a full novel, but there's enough here to make me interested in the next installment. The narrator reads well, and has a good, clear voice.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the authors, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A different kind of hero

What did you love best about The Devil's Due?

Short but action-packed and great story.

Which scene was your favorite?

The fight at the club.

Any additional comments?

Loved this story. Great characters and lots of action. Jack is an intriguing and mysterious character and the listener finds out bits and pieces about him as the story moves along and hints of things to come.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Unusual and action packed

I enjoyed this first book in the Jack Carson series. Hunted by the authorities, changed by a lab accident and trying to come to terms with his new reality, Jack Carson finds more trouble than he bargained for when he stops in a small rural town. This story has lots of action and suspense, it is fast paced and you quickly become attached to the charcters. This is the first audiobook I have listened to by this narrator (Ben Smith) and I thought he did a great job of both the male and female voices. He moved the story along at a good pace and brought out the emotion and tension well. This is an unusual and interesting book, but I would have liked to have seen just a bit more of the back story as it felt a bit like the reader was dropped in the middle of a story. Knowing more of what actually happened to Jack and perhaps more about the women in the photo (without revealing everything) would have created better depth, while still maintaining some mystery. I look forward to seeing what happens next in Jack Carson's life.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

"A place as good as any."

From the very beginning of this intriguing thriller we know that Jack Carson is running away, but not why. Only that it is serious. Serious with a capital S. Blanket news coverage serious. Bad enough to have called in a Special Agents team to find him even though they don't know exactly who, or what, they are looking for. But a lot of people have died.

Jack is running away, looking for somewhere he won't be noticed. Somewhere to start again. So he gets off the bus at the small town of Ironwood with almost no money, no cards or driver's licence, just a stopped wrist watch set permanently at 2.42. And, of course, a small town is just the place not to be. He seems like a nice guy, just frightened and sad. Just what is his story? As the book progresses, the reader learns more, but never enough, because there is something very different about Jack ...

This is a great action thriller in every sense of the word, with the risks of discovery, being caught, fights and conflicts not associated with the reason he is on the run as well as some which are. There is a gentle relationship which builds up between Jack and this poverty stricken little town and couple of people within it. But there is also the mystery of why he is there, what happened to send him running, cause his nightmares and place a large reward on his head. The writing is cleverly constructed, dropping hints without revealing the full picture which slowly increases the tensions as the story progresses, right up to the explosive climax. The characters, too, are skillfully drawn, from the workaholic special agent and her less pleasant partner, through townsfolk, friendly and otherwise, to Jack himself with his wanting to do the right thing versus his need to stay hidden.

The narrator, Ben Smith, is the perfect voice for Jack. With a lightly nasal speech pattern, Mr.Smith captures the almost naive feeling radiated by him and the injuries he sustains during his time in Ironwood. Each character is given their own distinctive voice, too, in an overall excellent performance. The text is read briskly, too fast for me, actually, but by reducing the speed to 0.9 percent, I found the perfect pace without any distortion of the original track..This, however, is just personal preference.

I was both surprised and delighted by this short but incredibly well packed book, which I was fortunate enough to receive as a gift from the rights holder, via Audible Access. Thank you for introducing me to this new and enigmatic protagonist, Jack Carson, also known as Jack York. I very much hope that this is just the first in a new series and that further insights into Jack's past will emerge at a later stage. Recommended to all thriller fans, especially those who like their thrills to come with an additional twist of mystery.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Road House if Patrick Swayze had super powers!

Jack Carson is on the run. The Government is searching for him, thinking he blew up an industrial complex, making hiim a huge terrorist. Theres a lot more to that story though. Jack rolls up on the Greyhound in to Ironwood, Iowa, a flea speck down on its luck town. He wanders over to the local bar, and meets the usual assortment of townies.After some drinks, he stops a local from beating the bartender, and avoids getting stabbed as the guy leaves, in an unusual way.

The bartender, the owner's daughter, agrees to put him up for the night. The next morning, he misses the Greyhound out of town and gets a job cooking in the bar. Of course, that leads to him getting jumped and captured by the brawler from the night before. This leads to the revelations of what Jack is (although its a slow reveal, and the true extent isnt revealed in this book).

This is where the the Road House similarities really kick off, as Jack has to fight the crime lord that has a piece of everything in town, and everyone lives in fear of. Its a wild, adrenaline filled thrill ride as Jack takes on the whole criminal underground in town to save the people he has come to care about, all while trying to avoid getting captured. I am interested in seeing where this series is going.

This is the first Ben Smith Narrated book I've listened to. He did a good job moving the narration along, and had a decent variety of voices for the different characters. I would listen to his narration on other work.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good read

Any additional comments?

The Devils Due by CM Raymond and LE Barbant was a good read. Jack Carson is a wanted fugitive who was changed forever after a lab explosion. This book follows Jack to a small town in Iowa. This was a good read.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Intriguing!

Any additional comments?

I received a copy of this audio title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

How to describe the book? I think The Devil's Due is what you get when you throw Lee Child's Jack Reacher into a blender with a copy of Road House, perhaps a dash of 24, and a heaping spoonful of the XMEN, then mix on high for ten minutes. Let me just say that I am a fan of all the previously listed properties, so I was pretty much predisposed to like this story. But then the writers only poured me half glass of their wonderful concoction.

What do I mean? First off our hero Jack breezes into town and get's caught up in local trouble. (familiar theme to fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books). The trouble? One guy thinks he 'owns' the town. (instantly made me think Road House). Something is off about Jack, he is running from something and he is wanted by the FBI. We are lead to believe it is related to some kind of terrorist incident which he caused, which has something to do with some strange power he might not fully control. (this is the 24/XMEN bits)

The book instantly hooked me, the man on the run, the strange power..tell me more. Well, they don't. What happened? How did he get the power? What happened that set him on the run (besides the obvious of course, I mean what caused the 'terrorist' incent) And who is the girl in the polaroid? Lots of questions....but no answers. But I'll be honest. I'm not that mad about it. I've read other series where a ton of questions get asked, but aren't immediately answered. I would have liked a few questions answered or maybe a couple of things fleshed out a bit more, but as long the authors intend on eventually letting us know what happened I enjoyed the story enough that I'm willing to wait and come along for the ride. Already checked and I see that book 2 is available on kindle already, though I also see it's only 100 pages or so...so I'm pretty sure I won't be getting too many of those answers I'm looking for in this next volume. Seems the authors may be doling out the story in little bite sized chunks, which as long as they don't wait too long between installments won't bother me too much.

Now onto Ben Smith's narration. This is my first time hearing his work. For the most part he does a good job, but I do have one issue. I noticed a few times that when the action of the books picks up, his reading speed also picks up. I wouldn't normally consider this to be a bad thing, I've listened to other narrators do the same thing, attempting to help convey the intensity of the situation, but the problem is that when Ben does it he sometimes runs the sentences together too fast, with his delivery not being as clean/clear as it could/should be. Overall I think he does a fine job, but that was one issue I noted. It didn't bother me enough that I wouldn't listen to him again. In fact I already checked to see what else he's done and noted he's recorded a couple of David Dalglish novels that I've been thinking of checking out.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good short listen

The Devil's Due is the first book I've listened to or read of L.E. Brabant and C.M. Raymond and I'll be seeking more. This short story is about a man on the run following an explosion. As the story unfolds, with action, fights, attempted murders, mystery, and inhuman abilities the listener learns that things portrayed in the media may not be exactly true (that never happens...<cough, cough> 😉). The Devil's Due was interesting and fast paced which held my fleeting attention span! I was truly disappointed when it ended! I hope to find another story about Jack Carson! I want to know what was done to him & why! The narrator, Ben Smith, also did a great job!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What or you are you Jack?

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

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.This book was amazing. I was not expecting this story at all. The beginning started off fine and dandy but then it went left. (Left is good lol) I was not expecting all of these surprises from Jack. This is only 3 hours long and it felt like it. It went by to fast. There are so many questions that I need answered. What is Jack? I want to know about his past? Who is the woman in the photo that Jack carries around? What really happened that has Jack on the run?Every time that I think the authors will answer a question they seem to say, 'No thank you! you must continue on to the next book.' I will be picking up the next book because I need to have all of the questions answered.

Any additional comments?

I really wish that this book did not go by so fast. Ben Smith did a great job narrating and I will definitely listen to some of his other narrations. He brings the story to life and it is sometimes difficult to find a narrator that does that.

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