The Middle Finger of Fate

The Trailer Park Princess, Book 1

By: Kim Hunt Harris

Narrated by: Sandra Murphy

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Salem Grimes stumbles onto a dead body on her way to an AA meeting, she does what any self-respecting Christian would do - freaks out and screeches words that would make Jesus blush.

However, learning her ex-husband, Tony, stands accused of the murder spurs Salem into action. Eager to help, she makes the bold decision to investigate the case as an amateur sleuth. What she lacks in skills, qualifications, or a general clue on how to find, well, clues, she makes up for with the genuine desire to help.

With her octogenarian best friend, Viv, and beloved dog, Stump, by her side, can Salem’s faith lead her to answers that will clear Tony’s name? Or will this be one more element of her life she has boggled up?

From USA Today and Wall Street Journal best seller Kim Hunt Harris comes a hilarious and heartfelt mystery full of side-splitting laughs and shocking twists!

©2013 Kim Hunt Harris (P)2020 Kim Hunt Harris

Fun, heart-warming read!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, given the title, but what I did expect was that it was going to be a gripping story told with a wicked sense of humor and it didn’t disappoint! And, the title fits it perfectly! Harris tells the heart-warming and hilarious story of Salem Grimes, a recovering alcoholic/born again Christian who, while trying to find herself in her sobriety finds herself embroiled in a murder case that brings back to life all of the things that had plagued her in the past. Together with fellow recovering alcoholic, 80-year-old, zany Viv, and Salem’s best friend and confidant, her dog, Stump, Salem sets out to discover the truth and in doing so, discovers herself, and the true meaning of her Christian faith. I can’t wait to listen to her other books!

The Middle Finger of Fate The Trailer Park Prince

Salem Grimes is a recovering alcoholic who is on her way into a church when she stumbles over the body of a woman. She does what any self woman would do in this situation....she hyperventilates and panics then calls the cops. It isn't easy getting people to believe you when you've been a major alcoholic mess for years until things turn really serious. Her ex/not ex husband is arrested for the murder and it's up to her to clear him. She just didn't realize what a kettle of a mess she was walking into!
Sandra Murphy is fantastic narrator who brings each character, especially Salem, to life.
Fantastic audio and story!!

Fun Listen with Unexpected Depth

Salem Grimes is a hapless, imperfect heroine who survives any number of catastrophes merely by getting up more often than she falls down. A recovering alcoholic with a shabby upbringing, she’s finding her way to what she hopes will be a good, maybe even normal, life with the help of her earth angel, Les, and her dog Stump. She lives in TrailerTopia Mobile Home Park, bathes dogs part-time for minimal wages at Bow Wow Barbers, and finds solace in greasy fast food, which is why she can’t figure out what to wear in the morning — most of her clothes no longer fit. She prays a sigh of relief when her wreck of a car starts and prays for help when it doesn’t.

Salem has had scrapes with the law because of her drinking and is still on probation, so finding a dead body at church on the way to her AA meeting creates even more problems, especially since the investigating officer knows Salem from her past record and bad behavior. It’s one thing for Salem to find out her ex-husband, Tony, is the number one murder suspect and another to find out she’s really not quite divorced.

This audiobook version is at times laugh-out-loud hilarious, but it’s also a story about honesty, finding faith, experiencing redemption, and learning to believe in others and oneself.

Narrator Sandra Murphy’s twangy Texas accent is dead-on for Salem and her cronies; the remaining cast of characters have easily distinguishable voices. Viv, Salem’s octogenarian partner in crime (technically the twosome is working to solve the murder, but Viv, especially, doesn’t always color within the lines). Viv is a character gem. She’s pushy, rich, and been married enough times to know how and when to work the system, much to Salem’s horror. They are a perfect twosome as Murphy uses author Kim Hunt Harris’ words to distinguish between the two women’s life experiences, personalities, and modes of operation.

If for no other reason, you need to listen to this one in order to visualize an over-sized, overturned pickle bucket as a driver’s seat in an ice cream truck. Believe me — and do not try this at home!

I was given a review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left a review.

The Middle Finger of Fate

This book was a fun listen and kept me hooked from start to finish. I loved the church relationships with characters that some people may believe they are beyond saving and seeing how anything is possible. The murder case was so fun watching it be solved by two characters that definitely should not be questioning others since you know they don’t have a clue as to what they are doing. A great book!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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laugh-riot, AA, situational-humor, verbal-humor, murder, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement*****

This is the beginning of a series about Salem Grimes, a recovering alcoholic with a dodgy past and a history of bad choices. But. It's also a story about living in a Texas trailer park, a unique story with a mix of mystery and gospel, about a spoiled dog named Stump, and the much older investigating partner. This is a hilarious tale full of laughs and well worth the money.
Sandra Murphy is a great narrator who really makes the real characters come alive and really adds to the fun and suspense.
I won this audiobook in a giveaway. I win!

Great Christian mystery

Murder mystery and coming to Christ-a great combination to hold your attention throughout.

Sandra Murphy did a good job narrating.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Delightful start to a new series.

I have to say I enjoyed the heck out of The Middle Finger of Fate. Great characters, an engaging story, and enough laughs to fill a trailer park. Salem Grimes has to be one of the most flawed and yet lovable main characters I've come across in the long time. She also has some of the worst luck, Luckily she has some wonderful if insanely odd friends in her life willing to help her out. And boy does she ever need help. When her maybe kinda sorta but not really ex-husband gets accused of murder, she makes her mission to clear him. All I can say is buckle up, you're in for one wild ride. Sandra Murphy does an absolutely wonderful job breathing life into the oddball cast of characters. I definitely hope we get more of these books in the future. I received a copy of this audio title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Makes me want the next one!

The short review: I really enjoyed this so much that I want to listen to the next one right away. I could go through these books faster than Salem and Frank go through Star Crunches.

The main character is Salem, who is a recovering alcoholic in AA and a new Christian. When she finds a dead body on the way to her AA meeting, it sets in motion a cozy mystery in the best tradition of them. There are lively side characters, possible love interests, unexpected twists and turns, the works.

This story could have been heavy-handed, but I think the author was deft at creating the world of someone new to sobriety and Christianity. Salem does pray, and she gets help from her AA sponsor and another woman in the program. For me with my life experiences, this is believable and accessible. Salem is doing her best. She struggles, gets knocked down, gets back up, and ultimately wins. She's a heroine you can cheer for.

All of that is without counting Viv, who is a woman who might be old but has been married to enough men to have special skills for any mischief they need to get into. Such as pick-pocketing or method acting the sweats to go with a fake heart attack. Viv is what you'd call a "hoot"!

Definitely recommended. I'll be on the lookout for more audio in this series.

Disclaimer: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Super fun listen!

Great story, great comedy and a mystery..what else could you ask for? Buy it now!

Great start to a new series

I've never experienced a trailer park mystery before so I was sufficiently intrigued enough to want to know more. This listen was a great start to a new series.

I liked the recovering alcoholic aspect of the story and how the heroine kept stumbling into the whodunnit. Having an 80 year old sidekick made for some fun situations as well.

The narrator did a great job. The voices could have easily been a caricature and a farce if not performed well but that was not the case. I don't know if I'm invested enough to want to listen to book two but I'm glad I got to experience book one.

Funny but real...

How many times have you done something that profoundly negatively affected you for, well, ever?Nobody is perfect, but the world we live in is all about condemning a person for the most trivial things these days. When did our world drop into a real-life hell? The better question would be, "How did we not see we were ALWAYS living in hell?" This is a great story, it's just crazy how it fits in so perfectly with the insanity of today's world.
Loved the narration as well.

"This is the most fun I've had in fifteen years."

She was at the church when she found the dead body. It totally freaked her out. 'You don't expect it to look so dead.' She called the police. She wanted a drink. But that wasn't possible as she was a recovering alcoholic. Her sponsor, Les, believed, and told her constantly, that God loved her, just pray. And she tried the Christian thing, she really did, but if God heard her prayers, then he must be laughing at her. No money, no car, but she did have a dog and an (ex?) husband - and he was the one accused of the murder. So she and her geriatric friend Vic decided to find the real killer.

This is such a fun book with totally quirky characters conducting a bizarre investigation. Yes, there is a lot of God stuff, which would usually have me groaning and putting the book aside, but it's not the sickly sweet smiles and self congratulations usually preached at the reader. This is a God, if he is there, mixing the pot. Told in the first person by Salem, the former drunk, herself, there's plenty of room for self doubt and recrimination - she hadn't been a very nice person but for all that she engages the reader's empathy as does her disreputable, snippy old companion in their adventure. Salem's character is effectively, and delightfully, captured by Sandra Murphy in her excellent performance - fine pacing and modulation and strong Texan accent combined with full 'in persona' angst and emotion. Her other character voices are good, too. Superb. At ten and three quarter hours in length, this reader was really sad when it finished.

I was most fortunate at being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of The Middle Finger of Fate, at my request, by the rights holder via Audiobook Boom. Thank you so much. Looks like there will be more to come in this hilarious Trailer Park series, and I can't wait! Recommended? Absolutely.

Loved this book

I enjoyed this book. It is a nice, funny mystery with some very interesting characters, I especially liked the feisty octogenarian as a sidekick and the way she leads the charge into battle. The main character was pretty interesting in her own right with the struggles she is going through and you can't help but like her, even with her screw ups she is likable enough for two men to still be interested in her. The mystery it's self was interesting and I liked the way it came to a conclusion. It had the right amount of suspects to keep you guessing (and laughing) and held my interest until the very end. There was a lot of faith talk which could have got a bit preachy but I thought it worked well in the story because the murder took place in a church and it also lead to some light entertainment in explaining why she ended up driving a pickle car (you will have to just read it or listen to the book to understand that reference, no spoilers here). I hope the author has plans to record more audio books in this series, as I am looking forward to the next adventure for Salem.
Salem thought her biggest problem was not drinking but that all changed when on the way to an AA meeting she finds a dead body. Worse still the police are looking at her ex husband for the murder. So Salem does what any alcoholic would do she teams up with a fellow AA member, a board octogenarian to solve the murder. Part of the AA programme is to right wrongs done in the past now is Salem's chance, as long as the killer doesn't target her. But with God on her side what could possibly go wrong?
I like the narrator and am really pleased the author decided to you use Sandra Murphy as the voice of Salem. She is one of the better narrators out there and always puts in a good performance.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.