Priceless: A Tropical Authors Novella

Tropical Adventure Series, Book 4

By: Deborah Brown, Nicholas Harvey, Don Rich

Narrated by: Kristie Dale Sanders

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Ransoms can be expensive, but a great friendship is priceless….

When a wealthy woman and her best friend are abducted during a charity event in the Cayman Islands, no one has reason to suspect they're missing...except one curious witness.

Rella and Harper's best hope of survival rests in the hands of strangers whose paths are crossed as their merciless kidnappers lead them on an exhilarating chase from Grand Cayman to the shores of Virginia.

In book four of the Tropical Authors collaboration series, Deborah Brown, Don Rich, and Nicholas Harvey come up with another thriller featuring characters from each of their series.

Whether you’re new to these fan-favorites, or an old friend along for the ride, you’ll love seeing them weaved together in this tropical action and adventure thriller featuring:

Rella Cabot and Harper Finn from Deborah Brown's popular Biscayne Bay series know there's no avoiding the drama in South Florida. The two besties aren't looking for trouble - but somehow it always finds them.

The Florida mysteries are "great as stand-alone reads, but you won't be able to devour just one!"

Rikki Jenkins and Casey Shaw are fishing pals from Don Rich’s action-packed waterfront Coastal Adventure Series. Set on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay on Virginia’s Eastern Shore peninsula, there are always plenty of boats, beer, and villains in every book. And you can always run a tab at Mallard Cove’s Beach Bar….

Ex-pat Norwegian turned island constable, Nora Sommer, kicks off the story in her unique and direct, no-nonsense style.
Nora Sommer and AJ Bailey (making a brief appearance) are the two reluctant heroines who can be found in USA Today best-selling author Nicholas Harvey’s Nora Sommer Caribbean Suspense and AJ Bailey Adventure series.

©2023 Nicholas Harvey, Deborah Brown, Don Rich, and Tropical Authors (P)2023 Nicholas Harvey, Deborah Brown, Don Rich, Tropical Authors, and Wild Yonder Press

A “Snackable” Tropical Mystery

4.5 out of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Priceless by Deborah Brown, Nicholas Harvey, and Don Rich. What I’ve enjoyed from the beginning about these Tropical Author novellas is the delightful “snackable” format of them. They are typically about 4-6 hours long (in audio format), making them perfect for those moments when you want a quick, engaging read that you can easily finish quickly. The fact that they are standalone stories, unburdened by the need to follow a complex series of interconnected plots, is a refreshing aspect. This flexibility allows you to dive into any of the novellas without worrying about the order.

In each of these stories, I particularly appreciated the subtle thread that connects each author’s main character to the storyline. Even if it’s just a brief encounter, this connection adds a layer of fun and intrigue to the reading experience. It’s like getting a sneak peek into the worlds of these authors and their main characters before fully immersing yourself in their respective books (and this has introduced me to at least a few Tropical Authors I didn’t know before this)

As for the story itself, I was pleasantly surprised by how captivating it was. Initially, I didn’t expect to be so invested in the fate of a kidnapped (which sounds weird, but they were extremely wealthy individuals). However, the authors skillfully crafted a story that made them genuinely likable and relatable. This made me genuinely care about her safety and well-being throughout the story – hoping that they would get home safely.

The plot’s pacing was well-executed, keeping me engaged from start to finish. The buildup of tension and suspense was masterfully handled making this book absolutely fly by. And speaking of the ending, I must say that it was incredibly satisfying. Without giving away any spoilers, I can say that the climax was a rollercoaster of action that held my attention until the very last moments.

Overall, Priceless was a delightful read that ticked all the right boxes for me. The novella’s format, the lack of rigid reading order, the clever character connections, and the intriguing storyline all combined to create an enjoyable experience.

Mixed with the performance by Kristie Dale Sanders, I thought this was a well-told and well-performed story without any major issues.

An island pace for an story in paradise

“Priceless: A Tropical Authors Novella” is the fourth audiobook in the Tropical Adventures Series. The story was both intriguing and mysterious but at times it felt like it was a bit more islandy feel than the previous audiobook in the series. This audiobook is authored by a few people who are newer to the series (Deborah Brown and Don Rich) along with one (Nicholas Harvey) who has been involved in a few of the previous ones. The audiobook’s narration was performed by Kristie Dale Sanders, and this piece appears to be her premiere work on Audible at the time of this review. Unlike some of the others in the series, this one opened a bit lighter and consisted of more mystery than action. This is not a bad thing. However, that is why I said it had more an island feel, it was more laid back to start and continued along the way until nearer the end. If you have enjoyed the other audiobooks in the series, I would say that this one is still worth a listen. It feels slightly unpolished compared to the others in the series, but the journey that I was taken on was still exciting and shadowy; simply different.

Overall, I enjoyed the story along with the journey the authors took me on. It kept me engaged and wanting to listen until the end. That is one of the nice things with an audiobook novella that provides five and a half hours of entertainment, it may have a few bumps along the way but still quite enjoyable. For me, I found the writing to be a bit more verbose and detailed than I usually enjoy. I like when an author sets up a scene while leaving room for my imagination to flow as well. The initial setup of the story was a bit longer than some of the others in the series and took just a bit longer to get the hook landed. Don’t get me wrong, there was action, it just had to percolate more at the start before it started a steady flow. Where it may lack in action, the story does not lack a high level of mystery and suspense. Again, simply more relaxed and steadier in its flow, like being on island time.

I felt that the setup and situation was unique and interesting. Some of the writing and analogies were presented well and gave more visual cues. The bad guys were said to be mercifully cruel, and I liked that aspect of dichotomy. The two main antagonists were your traditional thugs, and they had to deal with brilliant people that would pit one against the other. There were a fair number of kidnapping and kidnapper tropes in this story, with just enough difference to make it interesting. There were a few situations that felt somewhat unbelievable to me, but again, I still enjoyed the story as a whole. As I mentioned earlier, compared to the others in the series, this one seemed to lack that always-on action button until one gets closer to the end of the audiobook. I enjoyed the main characters, and I thought the authors did a good job of adding in a few details and character personality traits that provide both emotional and a feeling of despair along with the characters. One thing that was a bit unique was that the story starts in paradise and concludes back in the States. For me that was a bit of a surprise. Lastly, I felt the ending came to rapidly. I would have preferred to have had a bit more closing details and such, but I understand that this was a novella, and you can only get so much story packed in a shorter audiobook.

About the audiobook’s narration, it took me some time to get used to the narrator and understand her flow. A few times I struggled to understand if I was having difficulty with narration or was it simply the writing which she was narrating. I did enjoy some of the added audio effects such as when there was talk over a radio, etc. I did not notice any pops, clicks, or other background noise, so the audio itself was professionally produced. I feel that for a premiere work from this narrator, there is room to grow and that only comes with experience. I would like to listen to some other works from here in the future just to hash out my thoughts overall.

For parents and younger listeners, there are a few uses of vulgar words in this audiobook, but these are few and far between. There is some subject matter that may not be appropriate for younger listeners such as kidnapping and cruelty towards other humans. However, being more of an island novella, much of the story could be enjoyed by most ages around teenager or older.

In summary the story and narration are laid back from other audiobooks in the series. Some lighter action, but more suspense and mystery. But the full thing was still rather enjoyable. The narration took some time to adjust to, but once that was done, I did not experience any future issues. I liked it, but I can say that of the current audiobooks available in the series, this one fills a different void and it is always good to challenge ourselves and listen to a variety of works across authors and narrators.