The Shiver Men

Detective Byone, Book 5

By: Ricardo Fleshman

Narrated by: Nicholas Patrella

Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

In a gripping tale of obsession and betrayal, The Shiver Men delivers Detective Moses Byone at his finest. Forced out of the country on a personal mission, Moses must confront his own demons in one of his greatest cases to date.

Set against the exotic paradise on the island of Trinidad with Armond Fontenot and the mysterious and alluring Lorena Hemingway, it is more than death that threatens the detective, he must also confront his own haunted past. Intriguing to the last, Detective Byone mounts a masterful return!

©2015 Ricardo M Fleshman (P)2016 Ricardo M Fleshman

Quick Voodoo mystery

Any additional comments?

Having never read any of the previous books in this series, I didn't know what to expect. What a great mystery novel. The short length helped it always feel forward moving and highly suspenseful.

I was especially impressed by the narrator. Holy cow. The voices, the accents, the seamless switching, the horrid yelling. Honestly I could have done without that last one but still, he did it well.

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

Not as good as previous books of the series

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I had listened to book 3 and 4 of this series, also narrated by Nicholas Patrella. Both of those books were absolutely fabulous. Hence I had high hopes with this book #5 too. But surprisingly, this book took a different path and told a very different kind of story, quite dark and upsetting than the previous ones in this series. I wouldn't say it wasted my time, but I didn't quite like where this story went.

Would you ever listen to anything by Ricardo Fleshman again?

His previous books of the series are awesome. This one book disappointing me doesn't take those away. I will surely read another book from him.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I had likes Nicholas Patrella's narration in the previous two books. He did a fantastic narration for those 2. Somehow in this installment though, I didn't feel like I'm listening to the same narrator. Something felt missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it was just because of the content of the story.

Any additional comments?

I voluntarily received a free copy of this book from the author / narrator / publisher and I'm leaving an unbiased review.

Shiver Men

I went into this book not realizing that it was part of a series and not the first installment. That explains my general confusion about the characters - I had a sense that there were things I was supposed to know about the characters that weren't being explained. I do not believe this book stands alone well, it should probably be read in order. That said, I enjoyed the exotic setting of the book and the story itself was pretty decent once I caught up with what was going on. There are so many detective series though and i couldn't in good conscious recommend this one when i know of much better ones. Not bad - just not awesome for me.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Good Short Book

Detective Byrone is back, so be sure you're seat belt is on nice and tight because you're in for one ride you won't forget. Once you listening the book flows well. As you listen to the book you will be drawn in and become a part of the story. This time not only does Detective Byone have to solve a crime, he also must confront his own past. Will he be able to confront and face his past? Will this crime be solved? Is Detective Moses Byrone finally back? This was another excellent, suspenseful read for me. I gave it 4 stars because it was a short book.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review but I enjoyed the book so much I am going to check other books from the author.

Nicholas Patrella was very good with the delivery of the story

My first exposure to this series

Unlike other reviewers who are natives of this character and series, this is my first. I don't usually like jumping in the middle of a series, as it upset my OCD reading preference, such that I prefer to start from the first in a series. However, since I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, I can't indulge in my preferences this time.

That being said, I must say I was pulled in quickly. I am not generally a fan of stories that focus on the character's haunted past, but this was forgivable because Detective Byone was compelling enough to allow a past to deal with.

In glancing at other reviews, I am stunned that other reviewers would downgrade an audio book for its duration. Seriously? What a cheap shot. A book is however long the author decides to take in order to tell the complete story. Should the author throw in a lot of junk and subplots to fill up another 4 hours , just to give you "your money's worth"? This disgusts me, and it's all the more reason that I enjoyed this tightly woven, well-told mystery that didn't waste a lot of time on wordy, unnecessary rambling, like other novels do.

I've read books where scenes go on for pages that could have been concluded in two exchanges of dialog. It's called good writing. Well, my rant is over, but I sure hope this series is not. I look forward to the next one, but I have a problem - now I have to go back and start from the first in the series to catch up to where I am now! Highly recommended.

The Voodoo Detective against evil.

Second look at this series and it is again a good book. The Voodoo detective continues to hunt down his brother.

Nicholas Patrella delivers another good performance.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Trinidad, Byone takes on voodoo

What did you like best about The Shiver Men? What did you like least?

I like the premise of Mose Byone character. I listened to Death on Canal Street a few weeks ago. Shiver Men is darker, in my opinion, that isn't a good thing.

What could Ricardo Fleshman have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Murder on Canal Street took place in New Orleans. Doing a good job portaying the life pulses of the Crescent City and its residents.

What does Nicholas Patrella bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nicholas is a very good narrator, the script of this novel contained material necessitating yelling, screeching by Patrella. That turned me off from listening.

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

As a stand alone, NO. I understand that an Amazon series is in the works tentatively titled The Dying Dance of the Detective Byone Series of novels by Ricardo M Fleshman. The series contains The Dying Dance, The Devil's Serum, The Cemetery Paintings, Death on Canal Street, The Shiver Men and The Voodoo Detective. I'll probabaly give it a look when it comes on.

Any additional comments?

There is a lot to like in this series. The Shiver Men just didn't work for me.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Suspenseful!!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Shiver Men to be better than the print version?

I had not previously read the Shiver Men series, however Detective Byone seems like a detective well worth further reading.

What other book might you compare The Shiver Men to and why?

I thought the detective in this book was very gritty - along the lines of Mike Hammer or Travis McGee. He has darkness in his soul and personal history that are well represented in the story line.

What about Nicholas Patrella’s performance did you like?

Nicholas Patrella did a great job portraying the emotion of the different characters by using speech patterns and accents. Really made the story easy to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I don't want to give too much away, however, there was a huge fire scene that figured in the storyline. It was hard to not be a little anxious as to who would survive and who would perish.

Any additional comments?

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

Different from others but good

I think this might be my favorite listen so far in the Detective Byone Series which is a little surprising since it was not even set in New Orleans, one of my favorite things about the other books. This book has a big creep factor that really works (and look at that cover art! Awesome!)
When I started listening to this, I thought I had skipped over a chapter or two by mistake. It literally starts right in the action and you have to hang on - no getting ahead of this one. There is also a tenderness that perhaps is highlighted because of the violent nature of the rest of the book.
I say in every review that Nicholas Patrella's voice just doesn't quite do it for me. I think Detective Byone should have a deep rich voice and so on. Well that took a back seat in this book. I was stunned at the different voices he came up with for different characters and changed back and forth without disrupting the flow. That can't be easy. And the accents! I was very impressed.
This is a really good series. I have plans to listen to them all back to back - I think I would get more out of them that way.
I was gifted this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.