Negative Girl

By: Libby Cudmore

Narrated by: Libby Cudmore, Jay Karnes

For fans of Cottonmouths by Kelly J. Ford comes Negative Girl: an evocative, moody, neo-noir thriller that explores obsession and people dying across America's forgotten spaces.

Martin Wade lived hard in his youth, but unlike many of his former bandmates and roadie friends, he didn’t die young. Instead he hit the recovery path, cleaned up his life, and became a private investigator in a dying city in upstate New York.

When his heavily tattooed and scarred assistant Valerie sets up an appointment with a young woman who needs help keeping her biological father away from her, none of the three realize that the father is Martin’s old bandmate, still using, and on a destructive path that will soon be headed straight for Martin’s clean life. As Martin struggles, Valerie becomes increasingly obsessed with their new client’s life.

©2024 Libby Cudmore (P)2024 Datura Books

Outstanding murder mystery

This book is a treat. Its characters are well drawn. Music is interwoven into the storyline in a way that enriches it. The author keeps us guessing. Addiction is introduced in a way that feels realistic and tragic. Recommended!

Good story but issue with narrator

I enjoyed the story. The author’s narration of the female character was not poorly done to the point of being distracting. The male narration was well done.

The weak male character

Martin (male lead) and his band mates are selfish druggies absorbed with themselves and the past. They harm the people around them, often with no time to repair their damage. It gets old and irritating. There’s an element missing that would make this a 5 star listen. Perhaps it’s the monotone plane of the story. The few positive events are simply equal to the negative. The heart is missing.

A Standout Mystery

First Libby Cudmore book I’ve read/listened to & absolutely loved it. A great mystery superbly plotted with plenty of twists, but the characters are stellar. I approached it with apprehension because of the problems with addicts, but every aspect felt authentic, heartbreaking at times & uplifting at others. These aren’t characters but people I’d be proud to know.

Nice world. Want more

I really like this book. I think it was a really good start. I would love them to develop the mystery just a little bit more and have more adventures for these two. One thing that is a personal thing, but not a dealbreaker in this book is the narration. You can almost always tell when an author narrates their own book. There is a sense of timing that is off. Like they’re reading something rather than inviting in the characters. I think Libby did an incredible job but still a little offputting with the narration. I wish they had more professional actors next time. Definitely worth listening to. And I enjoyed it very much.