The Cari Porter Series: The Complete Collection

By: Mike Ryan

Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson

Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From USA Today Bestselling Author Mike Ryan...

Cari Porter has just woken up in a motel room. She doesn’t remember anything about her past, how she got there, where she’s going, or even who she is. But she does have a list of names that she has a burning desire to kill. But those aren’t her only problems. There are also people after her. She doesn’t know them, either. But they’re coming… and they plan to kill her.

Follow Cari's journey as she discovers who she really is, and who she is running from, across several continents, meeting old friends, and new foes. Along with a trail of bodies along the way. Will she be able to escape her past? Or will she succumb to the life she used to lead?

All six books are included in this thrilling collection.

The Porter Complication
The Porter Predicament
The Porter Incident
The Porter Dilemma
The Porter Obstruction
The Porter Resolution

©2022, 2023 Mike Ryan (P)2023 Mike Ryan

Fast paced thriller

I listened to this series in only a few days. I couldn’t stop listening. Storyline and narrator were great

Box of Rocks Cari

Even if no one else sees this, the author needs to. This is a genuine critique.

The Good: Female character, strong morals, lots of action. Not superwoman as she does deal with several injuries. Narrator does a great job, but how she wasn't rolling her eyes through it is beyond me.

The Bad: (1) Nearly everyone she comes into contact with dies.
(2) Most people are the heroes of their own stories, including the villains, yet each of these characters "in the life" have "willingly accepted" their deaths...all fatalistic and thereby sacrificial lambs for the main character, no real reason why this "loyalty" is ever given is explained... there's just "something about her" 🙄
(3) Cari constantly leaves behind money, IDs, anything that could be used to help her, no matter who was endangered or lost their lives to help her obtain these things. Heartless!! Willfully, stupidly leaving clues behind that help this "agency" find not only her, but everyone who helps her...causing a trail of dead bodies to pile up in her wake.

Ok, let's be clear that I'm female and seriously wanted to root for this character. But, here goes....

The Ugly: (1) If this was the first Mike Ryan story I'd ever listened to, it definitely would have been the LAST.
(2) Could tell author is utilizing California law as a template. How and why? Because of the constant inner debating over whether this "trained assassin" from the same place that trained her to be an "assassin" is injured enough from a hand2hand fight with her, FULLY INTENDING TO KILL HER and in the full "knowledge and understanding" that they will continue hunting her yet she leaves enemies alive, often unconscious but never seriously injured. She won't even do anything that puts them out of the fight semi-permanently like injuring an arm or leg. And the whining whenever she has to kill..."this" is a "trained assassin??"
The boast is that she "knows anatomy, has extreme medical training" yet she NEVER Shows any evidence of having that training. 🤔 So much for her vaunted skill set that just "happens" whenever she needs it. 🙄
I looked the author up, he's a Creative Writing Prof at one of the California UCs, or at least he used to be.
(3) She REFUSES to see patterns or learn from her mistakes. Has a tracker taken out of her shoulder yet continuously falls for the trackers on vehicles that she doesn't check for, even after it's established that she knows how. Refuses to change her appearance, even cutting or coloring her hair or doing anything to change the shape of her face. Constantly sitting in front of windows or going online which triggers searches in whatever place she's taken to for safety. Stands out in the "open" asking stupid questions which gives cameras time to see not only her, but whoever is helping her, even allowing time for someone else to get away that she'll demand help to find later. Won't eat or rehydrate whenever she has the chance, yet this is a former military trained operative? Sheesh!!!
(4) Zero patience... ungrateful to those helping her, unwilling to recognize that organizing escapes or healing injuries Takes Time!! Woefully predictable because of that impatience. Jumping from 1 trap into another without even attempting to strategize or plan. Author repeatedly says Cari is "smart" then proceeds to show how "thought-less" she is, ad nauseum, in detail.

Cari, is a box of Rocks.🦜 Had I not read the "Silencer" series first, I'd have never listened to another one of his books. The template is there to have a great series, but unfortunately it was wasted this time. He could have used this series to encourage women to get self defense training having Cari take out a knee or ankle so she has legitimate time to get away safely, use real common sense tactics like "not staying out in the open" in dangerous situations (getting off the X) or the importance of rehydrating in situations by simply having Cari express that thought as she actually drank her coffee or added electrolytes to her herbal tea. Instead she often held a cup, yet doesn't drink, while waiting long time periods, then he has her get up to run long distances while getting progressively weaker. A symmetrically cut wig can change the shape of a face as can properly shaded makeup, making it harder to recognize her.

Do better next time.

I wanted more when I reached the end!

The series is slow to start, but once you are hooked, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY HOOKED!!!

Same story line over and over!

Books 1 -5 are all the same, everyone she loves gets killed! Book 6 was the best of them. After 30 hours of listening book 6 left you feeling like you got ripped off . If book 6 would have been a standalone, then it would have been okay. But 30 hours to get that ending...

Failed to grab me

If you are, like me, a fan of the Silencer series you'll be bitterly disappointed with this series. Storyline is virtually the same over and over again except for the last book; it was the most enjoyable but that certainly didn't make it great. While the narrator has a very pleasant voice, she does not have the ability (at least in these books) to build suspense. Still like Ryan but will definitely due a little more research prior to purchasing any of his books.

Finished First Book Hoping

There is very little story, almost no character development and non-stop repetitive violence. I was hoping that it would get better but stopped after book 1. Books 2-6 may be better but I doubt it, The narrator was good and did the best with what she had. Waste of a credit.