The Highland Murders, Book 1

By: J. S. Donovan

Narrated by: Tia Rider Sorensen

Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

A detective with a tragic gift, a victim violently resistant to justice, and an elusive killer engage each other in the seediest parts of the Appalachia.

©2018 DBS Publishing (P)2018 DBS Publishing

Interesting read

The Highland Murders by J.S. Donovan
This was an interesting and intriguing story. The audio narration is also well done. For me, it seems just when I was really getting into it it ended on quite a cliffhanger. Seemed a bit rushed

I liked it

I was given this book for free from audiobook boom and asked to leave an unbiased review for the author and narrator. I really like the stories about Rachel Harroway and think that Mr. Donovan is a good writer. I just wish he would make the stories longer rather than put them into a series. I don’t use credits on books less than 8 hrs, so I wouldn’t have used one on this story, but only for that reason. I still can’t figure out the proper order to listen to the books and series though. I like Tia Rider Sorensen’s voice and think she does a good job when narrating, other than her habit of words ending in lse (she pronounces them as eltse, pultse) which irritates me. She can also work on her various character differentiations, its hard to tell who’s speaking unless the book says something like “Rachel said”, but at least she tries to make it interesting rather than just reading the book. She also needs to work on her pronunciation.

An intriguing book that goes over a rare seeing dead people kind of vibe

This book was quite interesting as it follows the tale of a detective who is undergoing a type of gift that lets her see and talk with the dead. Though this power has its limitations as well as its strengths and weaknesses. The plot seemed very strong in the first half, the second half started leaving me with more questions than answers though. The performance was fantastic so overall I’d say it was well worth the read. I’ll likely see about reading the second book as well.

Good enjoyed

Rachel and Jensen join to find a killer, a good series with good narration to enjoy Given audio for my. Voluntary review

Engrossing

Secrets on secrets, puzzles hidden in plain sight. If you want an eerie mystery, this is it. Listen with the lights on.

Seriously Creepy, But Not Without Flaws

Two things at the top: 1) I am NOT the target audience for this book, and 2) I was provided the audiobook free in exchange for an honest review.

This compelling tale of a homicide detective with supernatural powers has a lot going for it. The writing has teeth and actually spooked me in sections. The characters are fairly well developed for such a short listen and the author did an amazing job "showing" through actions and plot rather than "telling" through endless exposition. And last, the narration and audio production were professional quality. Aside from a bit of excess sibilance the sound was excellent and the narrator was perfect for the role, imparting the appropriate tone for the story and setting.

Sadly, this book was not for me. The ending was abrupt and stopped on a cliffhanger of sorts, plus gave me the uneasy feeling that I spent three hours being groomed for some kind of supernatural romance series. There was also an underpinning layer of religion that, while likely appropriate for the book's setting, left me worried that I was being groomed for a Christian supernatural romance series, which has completely turned me off of the author, the series, and I now need to read something gruesome and dark to balance my brain.

Certainly this probably scratches the right itch for some. To them I say, "Enjoy!" To the rest, your credit is best spent elsewhere than this short, partial installment of the series.