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

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

The Devil's Due

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I think it needs to be longer. I am not a fan of being thrown into a story and not having a clue why things are like they are. It just makes the start a little confusing so maybe if it was longer we could get a little backstory first instead of having to get it as the series progresses.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I liked the narrator I thought he did a pretty decent job. he was easy to listen too.

Was The Devil's Due worth the listening time?

Yes, it's short and it was enjoyable and I am curious about what is going to happen next. If a person likes this type of novel then I think they will enjoy the audio. I know a few people who would enjoy this one.

Any additional comments?

I am a huge fan of action packed books but some times when it's all action and not a lot of backstory it can be a little confusing. We start out with the character on the run and trying to hid out in a town but things don't happen the way he wants and it seems like he is just always in trouble. It leave a lot of questions but I am guessing that was the point so that you would want to grab the next one to get some of those questions filled in. :)

Overall, I liked it.

Well written start. Good fun.

What made the experience of listening to The Devil's Due the most enjoyable?

The Story

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

Not entirely, but I don't think it was meant to be action packed throughout. It was a good story with good ups and downs. A story has to have exposition.

Have you listened to any of Ben Smith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't think so

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The times spent with Maisie.

Any additional comments?

This was a fun listen and had a good ending. I liked that it was not just a straight forward Jack Reacher clone. While the story telling did resemble what you would hear in a Reacher story, which is not a bad thing, the Reacher books are great. It separates itself from them in the fantastic and supernatural. I would definitely recommend this book.

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.

More than exceptional

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

The mystery of not knowing ahead of time what might happen. It was always a surprise.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jack. He was a mysterious person whose character evolved as the story progressed.

What does Ben Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His narration was exceptional. His range of voices for different characters was superb.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Wherever I go.

Any additional comments?

I was surprised by the book in that it far surpassed my expectations when I started listening to it.

I received this book for free in exchange for a review. I got far more than I expected from it.

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.

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.

A good hook-up on Jack's story...

If you could sum up The Devil's Due in three words, what would they be?

Fast-paced, action-packed thriller...
It's a book that keeps you reading / listening to. It's a fast-paced action thriller with quite a few unanswered questions and the main character we do not know much about except that he seems to be an honorable man (despite being the most wanted fugitive in the country:)). Equally fast-paced narration by Mr. Smith adds to the suspence and makes the listening experience similar to watching an action movie in the "Mission Impossible" style:)

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Devil's Due?

There are a few memorable scenes in the book, but I think (spoiler alert!) the most important is the one when we realize that Jack is not quite a normal human being, just after he escapes from his kidnappers and his body is described for the first time. The second one that will stay in my mind is the fight scene in the club, when Jack uses his powers against the thugs...
Also, as it's an action thriller, there are not many "moving" moments in the plot, but there are two particular scenes that I liked for their emotional load, both having to do with Jack making a decision to save somebody's life in spite of that decision having negative consequences for his own safety and well-being...

Which character – as performed by Ben Smith – was your favorite?

It's definitely Jack Carson. In Ben Smith's interpretation Jack really comes out as a live person, with his moral dilemmas and anxieties... The other characters in the story are also well interpreted, even though Mr Smith does not really make them sound so differently one from the other, but still I had no problem understanding who is talking to whom.
Also, I generally liked this interpretation of the book - the really fast pace of the narration was well-matched with the fast pace action packed plotline of the book itself.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

He's on the run but still helps the ones in need...

Any additional comments?

I liked the audiobook a lot so I went on Amazon and immediately bought both the first and second adventures of Jack Carson's:)

DISCLAIMER: I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Nitro fueled thriller!

The authors don't tip their hand as we piece together what's going on with Jack... All Jack wants to do is lay low and not attract any attention. Well, that's just not going to happen... Jack steps off the greyhound into what appears to be a sleepy little burg, and  doing so puts him right into the line-of-sight of those he wants to avoid!

Ben Smith's narration was spot on in this high octane, Nitro fueled thriller!

Good one

I did enjoy the story and the narrator is a good one. The only thing that made me not enjoy it that much is that for my liking the narrator was talking too fast and I didn't had the time to create images of the story in my head... I was trying to catch up to the next image and the next which in the end caused me anxiety. Still I loved his tone and how nicely he makes the story flow and brings each character to life.

A very different type of sci-fi?

This is a great book and the main character will surprise you. A must read, or in my case listen to. I received this audio book for free and voluntarily reviewed.