The Phoenix Egg

By: Richard Bamberg

Narrated by: John DiLeonardo

Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

The first time they tried to kill her, she went to the police. The second time, she knew better.

Caitlin Maxwell is on the run. They killed her husband, and now, they are after her. Alone and desperate, she turns to John Blalock, the one man from her past she knows she can trust. John risked his own life to save her once. Would he - could he - help her outwit and outrun her pursuers long enough for her to unravel the secret behind The Phoenix Egg?

©2003, 2017 Richard A. Bamberg (P)2018 Richard A. Bamberg

Fast paced thriller

I was instantly engaged in the story and the main characters. The Phoenix Egg is one of those audiobooks that you want to continue listening to, even if you’re sitting in your driveway. Richard Bamberg is a great writer and I expect to listen to more thrillers by him.
I gave 4 stars because I think the ending could be better. Perhaps focusing a bit more on the actual Phoenix Egg would have wrapped the ending clearer for me.

John DiLeonardo is a great narrator. His switch between characters is clear and he pronounces words correctly, which I can’t say for some!

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review.

2-3stars give or take

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

This blurb is usually the last thing I put in my reviews. However, I "read" this book at twice the speed so I could honestly review it. I decided that if the first 8 and a half chapters were removed I'd likely have given it another star.

My star ratings include these 5 elements:
.5★ story line
0★ engaging characters
1★ use of world building/descriptive
.5★ being well edited or narrated
1★ the ending

The concise plot about the "egg" was interesting. Finding out what was going on was so extremely painful though that I can't compel myself to give a whole star. A seasoned assassin who couldn't kill a silly girl. She may be in her 30s but many children have more common sense than she! An example, she and her "hero" are fleeing her parents summer house from men with guns. When she gets to the truck she stands there to just stare at the house. From other side of the truck he says, I didn't think anyone saw us leaving the house. Well, IDK she's an utter idiot! 😡 I might have had some respect for John except a man with his military experience would NEVER let a woman's feminine wiles usurp safety protocols because it's "easier" to not argue. Seriously, tripping a live wire & burying themselves wasn't that important of a possibility I suppose. So, yeah, I lost all respect for his character.

Ohhh & this book is NOT for children. Although, it is written like it is. Blah, blah, blah… as he enters her!! 😡😡 Romance books solely in the romance genre often don't even say or outright imply that they are having sex. Gahhh!!!

I'm going to give a 1 star for descriptions although, I considered taking away half for going over & beyond what anyone really wants to know how much hair a very minor character has. Smh 😱 Half for narration. At 1.5x the speed would have been perfect. The narrator ssspppoookkkee soo sslllooowww. Maybe he did so as to not tongue trip over all of the extraneous words/descriptions and chapters of useless proliferation.

If the story had been streamlined, an editorial team well involved, input from a beta or even ARC teams taken into account this could have been a good book. If you can get past everything else, the ending is satisfying and leaves room for another book.

Action Packed!

This book was provided at no charge for my review that said it was well worth the time. I would gladly have paid the credit for this story and will look out for a sequel. My only criticism and that is more of an observation is that times when the action was at its most hectic, John DiLeonardo's narration seemed to lag. His voices and characterizations were (are) excellent but I felt that a touch more urgency would have added a little spice. All in all though, I really liked this book Thanks

With a good Editor could be a great book.

What did you like best about The Phoenix Egg? What did you like least?

It is a good story with interesting characters but is jumbled with many issues that require a good Editor.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The basic premise of being hunted and followed is of course a classic outline for a thriller and mystery.I felt the Science Fiction aspect of the story was not needed.

Have you listened to any of John DiLeonardo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No......... but he is a very capable narrator he does a good job with the material he has to work with.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes the story has the potential to be a great movie.

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Is there anyone not after her?

What a fantastic story about the greed of international organizations and governments and secret technology. Caitlin’s husband is killed before revealing where the Phoenix egg is, so of course the killers turn to Caitlin. Realizing she can’t trust the police, she tracks down an old friend hoping he will help her. Pretty soon it seems she’s running from everyone, and with a little help, they try to find what these pursuers are after and why it it so important.

This is the fourth book I’ve listened to by this author and he’s definitely on my list of “I’ll read/ listen to anything they write”.

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator and I would listen to another. He did a good job narrating this book. His female voices could use a bit of refining and could be a little smoother so he’s more “telling the story” than reading it” but it was still an enjoyable listen. I listened in 1.25.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

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

EXCITING!! ACTION PACKED!!

this book was highly entertaining. I loved all the action! the simmering romance was great too. this was like an action movie!

I liked this book.

I believe this is a great cross-over type story. For the first 2/3 of the book, it's a very good detective story that turns into a better science fiction story. Pulled off extremely well. I highly recommend it. This is one that I will listen to again. Now for the obligatory: This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

A decent listen

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

This was an interesting and exciting story. I thought the author did a great job of building up the story and making me care about what happens to Caitlin. The narration was good, but I ended up bumping up the speed slightly to make it "fit" the pace of the story unfolding. This wasn't my favorite Richard Bamberg book, but it was still entertaining.

scifi thriller

This story starts with high action and doesn't stop til the end. An interesting premise, got my imagination going and thinking this might be possible. A great mix of scifi and thriller and a touch of romance, this story follows Caitlin running for her life after her husband gets killed while talking on the phone with him no less and she has no idea why. Reaching out to John, an old friend living in the city she is in at the moment, they unravel the mystery getting to the bottom of why and how, but with great sacrifices. It all ends well, but the listener does not find out till the very end having to journey thru the twisted journey along with the characters.

Loved listening to Mr. DiLeonardo's voice, flexible to suit each character, a true story teller I could listen to for hours. Looking forward to more.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and this review is voluntary.

An action filled mystery

This is a good action packed mystery. It has a lot intrigue. It has a lot of bad language. Caitlin's husband is killed for the Phoenix Egg and now the hunters are after her. She turns to an old friend to help her. It seems everyone is after her. There are some scenes that are a bit hard to believe like an experienced assassin missing his target...Caitlin is at her house with gunmen after her, she gets away to an awaiting truck and stands and looks longingly at her house. I enjoyed the book.

The Narrator did a very good job. I enjoyed listening to him

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