Whiskey Rebellion

By: Liliana Hart

Narrated by: Connie Ventress

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Addison Holmes, and I teach history at James Madison High School in Whiskey Bayou, Georgia. You might be under the assumption that my life went to the dogs when my fiancé left me at the altar for the home economics teacher, or when I got notice that my apartment building was going to be condemned, or even when I was desperate enough to strip to my unmentionables to earn some extra cash. The truth is that I'm pretty much used to disasters following me around on a daily basis, but I could have gone without finding my principal dead in the parking lot of a seedy gentlemen's club.

After the initial shock of finding my first dead body, which included throwing back shots of Jack Daniels like it was water, I decided to take stock of my life. I was in a desperate situation and if the school board ever found out I'd been a stripper, even a bad stripper, I'd be jobless as well as fiancé-less and homeless.

Fortunately, I had a friend who felt sorry enough for me to give me a job doing some surveillance work at her detective agency. Not to mention the fact that I was now able to stick my nose into other people's business for a good cause, find a murderer, and pick up helpful tips from an incredibly attractive detective. Come check out my story and be thankful your life is relatively normal.

©2011 Liliana Hart (P)2012 Liliana Hart

Great start to a promising series

The book starts off right in the middle of things and then jumps back a bit to catch the reader up on events. It is definitely a great way to hook the audience from the get go.

Addison is a bit like Stephanie Plum, she falls into detective work and lucks into solving things. She is far more inept and scatterbrained to actually be a detective in my mind. She is not as bright as one would hope a history teacher would be, many clues get dropped but she misses them. Still she manages to be charismatic and engaging.

The mystery is all over the place, much like the heroine. There are many red herrings to take things off course. The mind spins at moments, maybe a few too many cases going on at one time. It tends to muddy things up for the main mystery. I had a bead on the culprit but the tricky twist through me off for a second. Definitely keeps you on your toes.

The romance is a nice diversion, Addison and Nick have a great chemistry. Things are more sexual tension than full on bedroom action. Things get into heavy petting and hot kisses but the bedroom stays empty. Sigh, such a tease, but I figure things will spice up in the next book.

This is first person, it is easier to handle in audio than straight reading. Addison has a very interesting POV, she really is flighty. Her quirkiness adds to the fun feel of the read, nothing too heavy. Her ice cream obsession is delightful!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Connie Ventress, she does a wonderful job. As the main character is Southern she has a think accent. The accent is great, reminds me of my youth in the south. It really enhances the story and makes it sing. She has a fantastic pace in the read, it moves along, flowing beautifully. I can not wait to hear more of her in this series and elsewhere.

Overall, this is a fun read that keeps you enthralled from beginning to the end. It isn't perfect but it is always entertaining. I am definitely intrigued by where this series is headed. I am ready to jump straight into the next book!

Great laugh therapy!

hilarious, amateur-sleuth, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, family-dynamics, no-gratuitous-erotica

If you want to laugh yourself silly, you need this book! Full of situational and verbal humor, more twists than a Dairy Queen cone, and thwarted acts of space invaders. The town of Whiskey Bayou is home to a history teacher turned stripper (not a good idea) turned consultant to her best friend's investigation agency who is also a royal klutz and seems to keep finding trouble and corpses. And then there's the Savannah cop who wants more than her testimony!
I lucked out and got this as Whispersync on the cheap courtesy of Book Gorilla.
Connie Ventress did a marvelous audio interpretation.

Stephanie Plum with a Southern (fake) Accent

If you've ever read a Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich, you have read this book.
This book has a young women as the central figure who is accident prone; eats all the junk food she wants, but keeps a desirable body; has a love affair going with a police detective; takes on a new risky job because she is broke.... beginning to sound familiar. The only difference is this young women has a southern accent, which is done poorly by the reader. Either the reader is is not a southerner making an attempt to sound southern, or a southerner who is way overacting.
The same old reused plot of every Stephanie Plum novel became tiresome long ago. A ripoff of it is really tiresome. Spend your money elsewhere.
By the way, I noticed this novel only because there is a very good piece of historical fiction with the same name. I recommend it whole heartedly.

Narrator ruins what could have been an ok book

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Anyone that enjoys horrible narrators with fake accents

If you’ve listened to books by Liliana Hart before, how does this one compare?

n/a

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The main character was supposed to be 30 from Georgia, the narrator was obviously much older and not from the south. Seriously the most cartoonish Southern accent I've ever heard. And the recording quality was horrible. Sounded like it was recorded in a large room, it was echoey. Several times the editing was off too and the narrator would repeat sections that had just been said.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I think if i had read the book, then I might have found it fun. 100% hate-listened. I am not sure why I event finished it.

Clumsily Charming!! Ms. Addison Holmes is.

Would you consider the audio edition of Whiskey Rebellion to be better than the print version?

Don't know, didn't read print version.

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

Hell yes it did!

Which scene was your favorite?

She was fired from a strip club!!! How could that not be the best scene EVER!!!

If you could take any character from Whiskey Rebellion out to dinner, who would it be and why?

SAVAGE!!! Read the freakin book and you'll know why...grrrr I want him LOL

Martin Sensmeier or Derek Hinkey are my idea of Saveage - groans- Sooo yummy!!

Any additional comments?

In all honesty, this is a very cleverly written crime romance mystery and I truly enjoyed meeting all the characters. I found myself laughing so hard because Addison is by far the most sophisticated nut ever to be created.

I just love her!!

Nice story; OK Narration

I almost returned this audio because of the narration. However, I pushed through it in small portions. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I read it myself.

Fun and Entertaining

This was a fun and entertaining story. I enjoyed the characters, drama, mystery and humor. Connie Ventress did a great job bringing the characters to life and giving them a voice. I can't wait to start on the next book in the series.

Very disappointed

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I haven't got a clue who would enjoy this book. Someone who isn't looking for a fun book, someone who hasn't read a Janet Evanovich book, and someone who likes sex scenarios in their books. That's not me.

What didn’t you like about Connie Ventress’s performance?

Her voice was too old and too tired for the character. I'm glad it wasn't a computer-generated voice though.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It kept me from going to sleep on the drive home...I just kept listening, hoping it would get better or at least give me a small chuckle. I though the story had potential. It was coherent and organized and it was a fair mystery.

Any additional comments?

I was expecting an ice-cold fizzy fountain Coke book, but got a flat, warm, diluted, generic cola-book instead. It isn't the worst book I've read, but I am not going to order any more by this author or narrator.

Horrid narration

The stunningly bad fake southern accent by the narrator made this book intolerable to even finish.

Promising author; terrible narrator

Story is a romantic mystery comedy and makes for an entertaining read although a little farfetched. Narrator uses an exaggerated affected southern drawl and is a terrible voice actor.