The Jacq of Spades

The Red Dog Conspiracy, Volume 1

By: Patricia Loofbourrow

Narrated by: Machelle Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

In a far future US, the once-beautiful domed neo-Victorian city of Bridges is split between four crime families in an uneasy cease-fire. With social disparity increasing and its steam-driven infrastructure failing, a new faction is on the rise: the Red Dogs.

Jacqueline Spadros has a dream life: a wealthy husband, a powerful family. But her life is not what it seems. Kidnapped from her mother's brothel and forced to marry, the murder of her best friend Air 10 years before haunts her nightmares. She finds moments of freedom in a small-time private-eye business, which she hides in fear of her sadistic father-in-law.

Air's little brother disappears off his back porch and the Red Dogs are framed for it. With the help of a mysterious gentleman investigator hired by the Red Dogs to learn the truth, Jacqui pushes her abilities to their limits in hope of rescuing the child before the kidnapper disposes of him.

©2015 Patricia Loofbourrow (P)2016 Patricia Loofbourrow

Different to what Title had made me envision

I enjoyed the audio rendition of this book, which I had been given an advanced copy of and had never wanted to read, purely because of the title. This I now regret, as I quickly became engrossed, by this futuristic tale of a world where crime families once again rule, and the general population is mere servants to those in power. However, it is difficult to leave your roots behind and although now Mrs Spadros, Jacqui had been a "gutter rag" , what was classed as the lowest in this society. She had been enforced into her marriage, but still wanted to help those that could not help themselves
Yes, an interesting yarn, with much intrigue and drama. I cannot wait to see what the next episode reveals.

The Jacq of Spades

The book is not quite what I expected. The authors summary says its a far future US, I felt like it was more steampunk. Its a time when women of means were not to work. You must really respect Jacqueline for going against the times and hiding her own work, knowing one day she may need the money. The start of the book is a bit confusing as it throws a lot of characters at you really fast and I could not keep up with who was good and bad. The mystery was a good one and these families are somewhat ruthless. Nice job on the narration.

Very intriguing, suspenseful

I loved the complexity of the story, the characters and the narration was excellent. You could hear the distinct character voices and it helped you track through the story. Great job!

Mob and Drugs Steam Punk Style

Drugs and mob families done 1800's steam punk style. Jacq, married to a mob boss and working secretly as a private investigator, is a modern woman in olden times. She smokes, drinks, and is a crack shot with her pistol. While searching for a kidnapped boy, she becomes the target, It later appears that she was the target all along. Great visual descriptions combined with mystery and action. I was gifted this from Audiobookworm for my honest review.

love it.. heart pounding and suspenseful

I received this audible edition for free for my honest review.. especially great .. mystery murder and drama easy to follow. believable characters, highly recommended...

Great atmosphere, clever writing

I thought this was an interesting and clever book (I thought all the characters' names were really clever, especially). That being said, I actually found it a little difficult to connect with. I really loved the atmosphere/setting, as well as the characters and their back stories, but I feel like I missed some critical element of the story. I don't know if that was because I wasn't paying enough attention at the right spot, or if it wasn't exactly clear. That being said, I'm really interested in reading the next book in the series because I feel like this book and the series have a lot going for it.

I listened to the Audible audio version of this story narrated by Machelle Williams. I really liked her voice, but it took me a while to find the correct volume to listen to her, as I initially had a hard time hearing her. Once I got everything adjusted perfectly, I really enjoyed her narration.

Can't wait for the next one!

If you could sum up The Jacq of Spades in three words, what would they be?

Surprising, unpredictable, unique

What did you like best about this story?

the unique setting and characters

What about Machelle Williams’s performance did you like?

spot on interpretation of the tone of the book

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book kept me on the edge of my seat

Steampunk Mafia

This book is a unique combination of Sherlock Holmes-like detection, Mafia families and steampunk. What's not to like?

Jacqueline Spadros is the wife of a Mafia boss, Anthony. The Spadros family is one of four ruling families in Bridges. Jacq is a former pot-rag, brought up from the poorest of the poor in the quadrant. Raised in a brothel, now she has to be the perfect lady.

On the side, Jacq has a detective business, trying to help those from the Pot with their petty problems. When the younger brother of her childhood friend is kidnapped, Jacq has no choice but to get involved.

The depth in this book is amazing. I will admit that listening to the book on Audible was difficult at times, because the story is told from Jacq's viewpoint. Her frequent flashbacks/memories jump into the current story and it is often hard to keep track.

The characters are well-developed, the intrigue is palpable and the scenery is dark and gloomy. This book is obviously one of many to be set in this world and I look forward to reading more of the series. The ending leaves a lot of room for further adventures.

The narrator does a great job, also. I was given the opportunity to listen to this book and chose to review it.

certainly wasn't predictable, which was a big plus

In 1899, four crime families - the Spadros, Diamonds, Hearts and Clubbs - rule the domed city of Bridges, which is divided into four quadrants accordingly. The city is characterized by social and class divisions and growing social discontent. A new group, the Red Dogs, has appeared. The protagonist, Jacqueline, grew up in the poorest part of the city. Her mother was a prostitute, her father sold Jacqueline to be married to Tony Spadros, the son and heir of one of the leaders of the city. The Spadros family is heavily involved in the production of 'Party Time', an illegal drug.

This is the first book in the Red Dog Conspiracy series, and as with many first in a series, a lot of characters and numerous storylines are introduced. The main one here is the disappearance of a young boy. Jacqui, who secretly works as a private investigator, becomes involved in the search for the boy, as he is the little brother of her deceased childhood friend whose death Jacqui is still trying to come to terms with.

Initially, I found it difficult to get into the story. The action takes off right from the start without much of an introduction to the world it is set in. With the (for me) unusual setting, the numerous characters and the various subplots, there was so much going on, it was a little confusing at times.

I was wishing I had the eBook as a companion, to sometimes go back a page or two, to look up names, to work out who is who. The story is told from Jacqui's first-person perspective with occasional flashbacks to her youth. I wasn't sure I liked Jacqui to start with. She is still yearning for her childhood love, while "working" her marriage as best as she can. She doesn't love her husband, but she doesn't hate him either. Her relationship with her father-in-law, who is a really nasty piece of work, is filled with hatred and distrust. However, Jacqui grew on me with time. She is having a difficult time maneuvering between her past as a poor, helpless woman and her elevated status as the wife of an influential man, where she has to fulfill certain expectations. The author has created an interesting and unusual protagonist, which I found quite intriguing. She is a strong heroine but also very vulnerable.

The story certainly wasn't predictable, which was a big plus. While the mystery of the missing boy is solved, the book left me with more questions than answers at the end of it. There was a thread regarding the inventors each of the crime families have and the problematic nature of the power resources sustaining their world. This was left unresolved undoubtedly to be picked up in the second book. I also wanted to find out more about several of the other characters (e.g. Joseph, Blaze, Black Jack) and their relationship with Jacqui. So I guess if you want the full picture, you need to be prepared to follow this up with the next book in the series, The Queen of Diamonds, to be published in October 2016.

It took me a little while to get used to the narration. The voice artist has a very distinctive voice. There were times where I wished I could more clearly distinguish between the different characters, which was down to my overall confusion with the sheer amount of people involved in the story. The production quality was ok. There were several instances where it was possible to detect where the narrator had paused and then re-started recording again. But it was a minor distraction.

You don't need to be a major fan of steampunk novels to enjoy this. I think it would appeal to any listeners who enjoy mysteries with a historical element and/or a strong female heroine.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Conspiracy all over the place!

I’m not sure what’s not to love with this collaboration between Patricia and Machelle. It was wonderful to listen to for both the narration and the story! This conspiracy world is crazy, filled with some romance but mainly danger, death, suspense, and lots of mysteries! I loved what this author did with this plot. She took me on a journey and I am super excited to get to the next book in the series to see how that journey continues. I absolutely loved all the little details that came up when you least expect it! This is going to be a listen to/read I’ll need to do in order so that I don’t get lost! I give it. 5/5 Stars both Narration and story!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Patricia Loofbourrow. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.