Powerboat Racer

River Sunday Romance Mysteries, Volume 3

By: Thomas Hollyday

Narrated by: Tim Welch

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

An award-winning Black racecar driver is hiding from a sheriff’s murder charge. 

Harry Jacobsen is a disgraced failure of a foreign correspondent. Fired from a respected New York City paper, he takes refuge as editor for a small weekly in a quiet town on the Chesapeake. It’s not quiet for long. A trio of children come across the sunken hulk of a Black man’s racing boat, lost 30 years ago. The captain, Walker John Douglas, had crashed his vessel after killing two white women and burning down half the town in a period of racial unrest.

Harry knows Black lives matter. His investigative reporter instincts kick in, and he begins to delve into the history of Walker and the infamous inferno. River Sunday, evenly split between black and white, roils in chaos at his front page headlines. Half the town welcomes the fresh exploration of the civil rights actions, while the other half would rather leave the past alone. The streets are also flooding with tourists as the largest event of the season - a nationally acclaimed powerboat race festival - swells the discussion with high-profile personalities and racers who remember Walker’s racially charged legacy.

©2015 Thomas Hollyday (P)2022 Thomas Hollyday

Ok Story, Great Narration.

I personally found this story to be boring and corny. One thing that made this story bearable was the narration. I liked how the narrator used different accents for different characters; I think helped to bring them to life. Although I did not really like the story itself, I like how it brought to life the racism that exists in America. I think by highlighting these important issues through a story is a less controversial way to bring issues to light. I think centering the story around a powerboat race and the sinking of a powerboat was honestly a cringey way to bring up such a sensitive topic like racism.

Powerboat Racer

While I was not a huge fan of the story itself, I felt that the narration greatly enhanced the story of "Powerboat Racer." I am typically a mystery fan but I did not feel as intrigued as I have while reading past mystery stories. I do give a great amount of credit to the narrator for keeping me engaged, however. If there was bland narration, I don't think I would have made it through this story. This is not to say I will never again read a novel by Thomas Hollyday, but that this in particular, is not my favorite.

Audiobook Review

The story was boring and I found myself having a hard time getting though some of the chapters. The narration itself was not bad at all because it clear what the narrator was saying and there was a use of different voices as well that made the story feel somewhat real. The actual story itself however is very slow moving and I would have definitely not been able to get through this if I was just listening for fun. I usually enjoy mystery, just not this.