Watch Me Die

A Novel

By: Lee Goldberg

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Harvey Mapes is a 26-year-old security guard who spends his nights in a guard shack outside a gated community in Southern California, reading detective novels, watching reruns, and waiting for his life to finally start…which happens when Cyril Parkus, one of the wealthy residents, asks Harvey to follow his beautiful wife. The lowly security guard jumps at the opportunity to fulfill his private eye fantasies and use everything he’s learned from Spenser, Magnum, and Mannix. But things don’t exactly go according to the books…or the reruns. As Harvey fumbles and stumbles through his first investigation, he discovers that the differences between fiction and reality can be deadly.

©2010 Lee Goldberg (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Lee Goldberg bravely marches into territory already staked out by some fierce competition - Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block, the early Harlan Coben - and comes out virtually unscathed." ( The Chicago Tribune)

Language

I would have given this book a 5 if not for the foul language. I don't like it and won't buy another book by this author.

70’s and 80’s P.I. tribute with teenage sex focus

Harvey as self-admitted loser security guard taking investigation tips from his favorite TV shows was an interesting choice for an MC. The mystery was rather convoluted, but the entertainment was more about how Harvey investigated it and not the actual solving of it. The story mostly worked for me, although the constant focus on sex (by himself, watching it on TV, or with his lady) made him seem 16 rather than 26.

Quick and easy listen that's well written!

This is a quick and easy listen featuring a well written storyline that's cohesive. Really enjoyed this book!

My kind of humor, silly and unpredictable

What made the experience of listening to Watch Me Die the most enjoyable?

The main character is so human it's funny. You don't get James Bond here, but a likable almost looser who starts to better himself in very humorous situations.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot did keep me listening. I listened on a long drive to Colorado and enjoyed it the entire time.

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

No, but I will look for more of his books.

Any additional comments?

This book is funny, but crass. It has language and some images of bodily fluids and bedroom activity. Not for the kids, but funny for the adults.

The story was better than the cliches it copied

A intresting pusudeo-nior thriller. Calling out the clichés doesn't excuse them but the book doesn't suffer for it.