Toxic Blonde

A Johnny Delarosa Thriller (The Delarosa Series, Book 2)

By: David Stever

Narrated by: Bill Lord

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Infidelity pays the bills, so says a wise old private eye. But for PI Johnny Delarosa, his routine cheating-spouse case turns into a tangled mess when his client, Mary Ann Bellamy, is run off the road and left for dead. Her husband, the owner of a cutting-edge aerospace technology firm, puts his career and marriage at risk by having an affair with his senior executive, the sexy, enigmatic Keira Kaine - the most brutal femme fatale to ever travel the realms of crime fiction. 

When a whistleblower appears, along with the FBI, Russian mobsters, and an eccentric computer hacker, the case weaves through a maze of surprises that lead to a violent and stunning climax. Delarosa, along with his assistant, Katie, and partner, Mike, must learn who he can trust before the case turns into a homicide - his own.

©2018 David Stever (P)2019 David Stever

Topnotch

I could not stop listening; it is that good. I look forward to book three.

Yes, please!!!

I didn't listen to this series in order but nothing was lost. It was a complete story from start to finish and Delarosa continues to be one of my favorite characters!

He ended up in a tussle with a femme fatale for the Russian mob in this listen. He did not always end up winning the battle. I loved it!! It was a great mystery with one heck of an ending!

This story is a great pairing of the written word with the perfect narrator. It's why this listen is so engrossing. I listened to this story in one sitting and now I'm sad. No more Delarosa.

Bill Lord does a fantastic job

Really enjoying this series. Bill Lord does a fantastic job with all the characters and the story always has a twist at the end!

I was given this book voluntarily in exchange for an honest review

Great Thriller!

This is the second investigation by Private investigator Johnny Delarosa, along with Katie, his assistant, and Mike, his bar co-owner partner. You can listen to this story as a standalone, but believe me, you don't want to miss the first book. The cast of characters is great and interesting. The storyline is well developed, intriguing, action packed, and suspenseful, filled with drama, secrets, and twists and turns. The mystery unfolds at a great pace, and its conclusion is intense, and nail-biting! I like the good humor and the little romance in this story, and I love this Series! Bill Lord did a great job with the narration. He has the perfect voice for this thriller. I enjoyed it, and highly recommend it! Looking forward for more Johnny Delarosa's investigations! I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

great followup

Toxic Blonde is a brilliant followup to Auburn Ride. Another great mystery/thriller, with tons of action but enough intrigue and character development to keep the reader grounded. Let me explain.

I love thrillers because they are easy reads that speed by. They are real page turners with constant action and nonstop plots, but not a lot of subtle puzzle solving opportunities. Like old school crime noir, Toxic Blonde takes its time building characters and subplots while events move the story along at a good pace.

Full of dark corners and undercover disguises, David Stevers brilliant series will take you back to the feeling of Agatha Christie in a modern day setting. Just imagine what Hercule Poirot could do with an iPhone and GPS tracking.

I'm specifically impressed to be so invested in a male/female relationship that isn't essentially romantic. While there is a hint of attraction between Katie and Delarosa and Katie have more of a mentor/mentee bond, with Katie helping to push the "set in his ways" detective to be better. So interesting and wonderfully different.

Bill Lord once again shines as a narrator. I have a little issue with his performance of female characters. This could be just me, but I feel like men can often make female characters sound less intelligent through their voice inflections. I think they are attempting to make their voices take on a more feminine quality, but end up sounding a little flighty or clueless. This is only occasionally, and overall, the performance is great. I forgot I was listening to an audiobook.

All mystery lovers should give this series a chance. I have no idea where this is going in the future, but I know I'm going along for the ride.

Nothing Toxic about this book.

This is the first book by this Author that I have read or listened to but I quite enjoyed it. This is book two but I don't think you need to listen to the books in order and going from this book they seem to be stand alone stories. I liked the characters and the introduction of computer Dude, I hope he sticks around for another book as he was a lot of fun although he might have to learn some new words not everybody needs to be called Dude.
Finding out if a man is cheating on his wife is Pi Johnny Delarosa's bread and butter and how he pays the bills but when he is hired by Mary Ann things get complicated very quickly. The client is run off the road and Johnny needs help to provide protection but he wasn't counting on getting it from some FBI agents. The company her husband owns work for the government making cutting edge technology for use in space but someone got past there high security clearance measures and a cheating husband soon becomes the least of Johnny's worries. The Russians have invested time and money in the project and now they want there money's worth. And they plan to get it at any cost. With guns blazing, car crashes and kidnapping Johnny and his team will have there work cut out for them.
The narrator is clean speaking and easy to understand, I wouldn't say his range of voices it that big but it is still enjoyable.