Whistleblower Trilogy Box Set

By: Jim Heskett

Narrated by: William Coon

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

This box set contains all three novellas in the Tucker Candle trilogy: Wounded Animals, The Legend of Kareem, and Both Ends Burning.

Meet Tucker Candle. Do it now, before they kill him....

While nursing some drinks after a terrible day at work, Candle spits out his rum and coke when a stranger across the bar turns water into wine. But did he? Or was it just an alcohol-induced trick of the light?

This stranger has a warning for Candle: skip your planned business trip tomorrow. If you go, I won't be able to protect you any longer.

With a clear head the next morning, Candle resumes his normal life, working for a company that's about to lay him off. That barroom huckster couldn't have been magical, or prophetic. He was just some washed-up weirdo with a few tricks. But when Candle comes back from his trip to find his pregnant wife missing and a dead man's blood seeping into his bathroom floor, the washed-up weirdo's counsel doesn't seem so foreign now.

Cops, friends, family...Candle doesn't trust anyone. As he searches for his wife, people around him keep turning up murdered. If he can't find her and uncover the mystery driving the chaos, the stranger's words might come true, after all.

As Candle sinks deeper and deeper into the conspiracy, he'll find danger around every turn. Can he save his family and uncover the truth below all this conspiracy? The answers will surprise you.

©2015 Jim Heskett (P)2017 Jim Heskett

Mystery, action and thrills

Any additional comments?

What an intriguing, action pack, mystery, thriller that is fast moving and holds your attention. Just when you think you have a handle on things they change, nothing is as it seems. What you will find between these pages is excitement, murder all wrapped around one man who has something they want and are willing to kill to get it.

Mr. Coon does a good job of delivering the excitement and thrills. His male voices are as good as his female ones. At times he sounds a little flat when I thought there should have been some excitement in his voice. There are no repeats of wording, no background noise or any volume changes. If a break was taken I could not tell. You have no trouble knowing who is talking, some of their emotions are delivered a little to flat for my liking but all in all the narrator does a good job. The audio is very clear and clean. This was a very enjoyable listen.

The plot is good leaving you guessing as you go along, at times it can be confusing but I believe that is what the author wants. It does keep your attention with some powerful story lines. It is kill or be killed to get their hands on merchandise they believe is theirs. The author does hold the cards close taking awhile to reveal the what and who of it. There were a few places I thought dragged on but I really did enjoy this. I loved the mystery, the twists in the plot. There are a few places where I went waooo I didn’t see that coming. I think you really have to read all 3 books to get the full impact of the story. I think most people will enjoy this. If you like mystery, rollercoaster rides, action thrills and lord have mercy moments I hope you will give this a listen.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Just A Great Manipulation

When I read the synopsis for the “Whistleblower,” it sounded like a great idea for a mystery thriller. The fact that the trilogy was offered as a boxed set made it even more appealing. Anytime you can finish the whole story without having to wait months or years to get all the volumes is always a good thing. Unfortunately for me, the trilogy just didn’t hold up to my anticipation of it. Author Jim Heskett is definitely a talented writer. I’ll gladly give him that. The setup for the story was excellent. Mr. Heskett had me exactly where any author would want to have his readers. I was totally hooked and if you’re like me, you will be too. At least, in the beginning.

The “Whistleblower” opens with average guy Tucker Candle being warned by a total stranger in a bar not to take a business trip. This stranger also seems to have what appears to be supernatural powers or at the very least, first rate magic skills. Either way, Tucker ends up on a business trip he had never planned to take and all hell breaks loose. People die, his very pregnant wife is kidnapped, he is forced to kill someone and that’s only about a quarter of the first book.

My problem with “Whistleblower” is that the rest of book one and book two is just a never ending repeat of the same with no explanation of what’s going on. I hung in for two of the three books without learning much of anything. At a certain point, the very things that hooked me and had me eating out of the author’s hand have now become just annoying, manipulative plot devices that don’t seem to be advancing the story. If there is a story, an actual reason for everything that has happened to the protagonist, I can’t tell. Even after backing up and listening to the multiple chapters over again I can’t find any answers in book one. In book two, the author just introduces more characters and more situations without answers. At this point, I just don’t care to listen to book three. My plan was to let some time pass until I’m not so irritated by all the manipulations to stretch the story out, I would go back and finally finish book three just to learn what everything was all about. At least, that was my plan until I learned there is a book four. There is just no way I’m sticking with this story for four books. Although I’m usually not a big fan, I will occasionally read a story that needs to span more than a trilogy of books to tell its tale, I must say when that happens, the author usually has enough of a story to warrant all those books. “Whistleblower” does not feel that way for me. If I hadn’t discovered it as a three book, box set, I know I never would have gone past book two.

Finally, this audio book was provided by the author at no cost in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Audio Book Boom.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Action, murder, and mystery

Any additional comments?

A very strange and mysterious story. Full of fun and weird characters. As the story progresses people drop like flies. The mystery at the center of it all gets more convoluted. A good time is had listening. I was provided this book by the author, narrator or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Trilogy

Any additional comments?

Jim Heskett is now one of my favorite authors. All of his characters and plot lines are well thought out, action-packed, entertaining, and suspenseful. I love getting all three books at once so I could continue listening without having to wait. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
William Coon is excellent, with the perfect sounding voice. His performance further enhances an already good book

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Whistleblower bed set

I enjoyed this series.The endings were a bit abrupt but picked up in the next part.A man is working for.a company where his boss seems to hate him.When he decides to quit his life is turned upside down.People around him die horrible deaths.Nothing is what it seems.A twisty turns fun read made better by narration by Jim Heskett.I was provided this book by the author, narrator or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Best I have ever heard

This story is amazing and it's a 3 book set!!! The story is written brilliantly and the reader does a fantastic job.
This is by far the best audiobook I have ever listened to.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Action Packed!!!

Huge fan of action packed genre. Story started out as a slow burn then blew-up with murder, suspense, espionage, and mystery! Jim Hesketts’ The Whistle Blower Trilogy will keep you riveted to the end! Narration by William Coon is outstanding, hoping to find more from the author and narrator. Recommending to anyone who looking for some action!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Much More Than I Expected!

Where does Whistleblower Trilogy Box Set rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This Story Was Really Good...So I'd Rank It Pretty High

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

It Absolutely Kept Me On The Edge Of My Seat..Lots Of Adventure And Newly Introduced Characters...

Which character – as performed by William Coon – was your favorite?

Tucker Candle Is An Absolute Bad Ass!!! I Loved His Bravery,Courage And Compassion! A Character To Remember...

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Lots Of Laugh Out Loud Moments...I Could Appreciate Candle's Sarcasm Through Out The Book..

Any additional comments?

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

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Above-average and kept me entertained

Overall, "Whistleblower" held my interest, but I admit I'd hoped for something a bit more "riveting." The major criminal plot responsible for ensnaring our main character, Tucker Candle, (along with his wife, co-workers, and others along the way) is certainly plausible in real life, but it isn't revealed for quite some time. I believe this trilogy could easily have been compacted into a single book, especially since each volume depends 100% on the preceding volume. Parts of Candle's inner dialogue came off as naive and simplistic at times, some of which I might understand for a character in his early 20's, but not for our 30-something whose job requires frequent travel and instructing co-workers in webpage design. Tucker's relationship with his wife didn't feel quite right, either. He was protective of her and worried about his future as a father-to-be, but Tucker's thoughts about Grace, as well as their shared conversations, seemed superficial and predictable, lacking depth and warmth. Despite those things, I still enjoyed "The Whistleblower Trilogy", especially Tucker's frequent acknowledgment and concern for "Kitty" and "Dog" whilst running from one setback and straight into another. I do intend to read Heskett's 4th book in the series, "Strike the Match," which is due out soon.

William Coon's narration gets a solid 4 stars out of 5. I would like to hear more from him and am curious to hear how his voice matures in the future. I increased narration speed to 1.05.

(I was provided a free copy of this audiobook by the author in exchange for my unbiased review. Many thanks to the author for this opportunity!)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very good trilogy!

If you could sum up Whistleblower Trilogy Box Set in three words, what would they be?

Suspenseful engrossing mystery

What other book might you compare Whistleblower Trilogy Box Set to and why?

I rarely compare books

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

I don't remember ever listening to this narrator before but I thought he did very fine job with this story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't have an extreme reaction but I listened to this while on a road trip and found it very entertaining. I loved the way one story flowed right into the next. It kept me listening to see what was going to happen next.

Any additional comments?

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

1 of 1 people found this review helpful