Grave Peril – The Dresden Files series, Book 3

Books:

1.  Storm Front  (July 2002)

2.  Fool Moon  (April 2003)

3.  Grave Peril  (July 2005) – 4 out of 5

4.  Summer Knight  (March 2007)

5.  Death Masks  (October 2009)

6.  Blood Rites  (April 2010)

7.  Dead Beat  (April 2010)

8.  Proven Guilty  (April 2009)

9.  White Night  (April 2009)

10.  Small Favor  (April 2008)

11.  Turn Coat  (April 2009)

12.  Changes  (April 2010)

13.  Ghost Story  (July 2011)

Author:  Jim Butcher

Narrator:  James Marsters – 5 out of 5

Length: 11:59, purchased on audible 

Summary:

In the Chicago Yellow Pages, there is only one entry under “Wizard.”  If you lost something, need a ghost removed, or a charm to ward of bad spirits, you can call Harry Dresden. No love potions, please. Most people in Chicago think Harry is a joke, but most people in Chicago don’t know that they walk among werewolves, vampires, the fae, as well as witches, wizards, and ghosts. Those people also don’t know that most of Harry’s paycheck comes from his contract with the police, keeping the people of Chicago safe from the supernatural.

Taking place a year after Fool Moon, book 2, Harry and Michael Carpenter, a Christian knight, have been running ragged all over town, banishing an unusual increase of harmful ghosts that are invading Chicago from the Nevernever at an alarming rate.  While he’s busy trying to keep Chicago safe, Harry must also keep himself safe from the two women who want him most.  One woman wants Harry alive.  Dresden’s godmother, the faerie Leanansidhe, wants Harry to finally fulfill a pact he entered long ago to serve her in return for her giving him enough power to escape his prior mentor.  Lean is determined to have Harry for a hellbound. The other woman wants Harry dead.  Bianca St. Claire, a vampire who runs a bordello and has been promoted to the head of the Red Court, blames Harry for the death of her friend and human servant.  In Storm Front, Harry protected himself from Bianca by attacking her with a handkerchief filled with sunshine.  The attack injured Bianca so badly, she ended up feeding on her friend until she died.  Bianca is determined that Harry pay.

 

Harry Potter all grown up:

You have to love Harry Dresden, the wizard.  He can make fire with his fingers, fling off bullets with a word, and make ghost dust from depleted uranium so Michael, the templar knight with a sword made from a nail off The Cross, can dispatch the ghost back to Nevernever. This audiobook opens up with a forward by Jim Butcher, in which he references that many consider Grave Peril to be a turning point in the Dresden Files. This is so true. I enjoyed Storm Front, but I wasn’t blown away by it.  I had felt that the characters were archetypes, including Susan Rodriguez, who was set up in that first book as the future love interest.  Her character – and the relationship between her and Harry – deepens in this audiobook.  The interesting part about this audiobook is its lack of focus.  Storm Front was vampires.  Full moon was werewolves.  Grave Peril was supposed to be about ghosts, but it also concentrates on the vampires and introduces the fae. This audiobook sets up the rest of the conflicts extrapolated in the Dresden Files series, and you can really see that in the ending with Harry and Susan.  Of course, the best part of Grave Peril is what draws all reader and listeners to the Dresden files: Jim Butcher’s unique and engaging voice.  He has such fantastic descriptions, like when Harry watches Michael interact with his wife, and describes himself feeling like a “hungry orphan in a Dickens novel,” looking at something he can never have.

On Narration:

James Marsters does not do voices. He’s a storyteller, but he’s no Lorelei King, Cynthia Holloway, or Tavia Gilbert, who give you consistent characters with specific and recognizable voices that become part and parcel of the characters’ identities to the listeners.  James Marsters has only three voices: (1) male – the voice for basically every character; (2) slightly British male – the male voice with a vaguely English accent for Bob, the ghost, and Thomas, the Vampire; and (3) female – the male voice, but softer and quiet. So why do I rate Marsters 5 out of 5?  No, it is not because he played Spike on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. It’s his style in reading that really brings the Dresden Files to life.  Sure, his lack of voices makes figuring out what’s internal and what’s external when it comes to dialogue hell, but he has such a perfect, raspy, film noir way of reading these paranormal mysteries that not only works but connects the purpose of the audiobook to the listener.  For example, Grave Peril starts out with a rather frightening scene where a ghost is about to kill a nursery full of babies in a hospital.  James Marsters’s reading is down-right haunting.  When the ghost starts losing it, remembering her death, and recalling the axe she used to dispatch her abusive husband, I had goosebumps on my arms.  Also, his lack of a “female” voice – that is, pitching his voice high to make it sound girly and instead choosing to read in his normal voice but at a quieter tone – works great.  Frankly, when men do “female” voices, I usually wind up giggling, which works fine with comedies, but with thrillers, not so much.

The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf – Naked Werewolf Series, book 2

"Insert awkward pause in which I stare at Nick as if he's whistling 'Oh, Canada' out of one nostril."

Books:  
1.   How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf  (February 22, 2011)        – 4 out of 5 

2.   The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf  (March 29, 2011)       – 4.5 out of 5

Author:  Molly Harper

Narrator:   Amanda Roncini - 4 out of 5

Length: 8:04, purchased on audible

Summary:  

At the end of How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf, Maggie Graham, a young female werewolf, has finally received the recognition she so richly deserved after dispatching the conniving Alpha-apparent, Eli, and after her older bigger brother, Cooper, settled down with a thoroughly human Mo to have a human family in Grundy, Alaska.  Now, Maggie is the pack alpha of the Crescent Valley werewolves – the sheriff of this-here town.  Unfortunately, too many of the more traditional wolves are waiting for Maggie to find a big bad wolf for a mate to take over that sheriff role.  With furry suitors knocking down Maggie’s door, the last thing she needs is Nick Thatcher, a sexy zoological anthropologist who’s convinced that werewolves exist, and what’s more, that they exist in Grundy. Maggie tries to make Nick go away.  Instead, she gets closer to him than she ever meant to.  Even worse, after Nick arrives, it appears that someone is trying to kill Maggie and attack her packmates.  Can she carry on a romance with a human, protect her pack, and still maintain her alphahood?

True Comedic Pack Mysteries:

It’s no secret that I love Molly Harper, as noted by the short interview posted here. Her writing is snarky, funny, witty, and a joy to sit back and listen to.  I was a bit worried about the book being from Maggie’s point of view as Maggie comes off as a rather flat hard-ass character in How to Flirt, but fifteen minutes into the audiobook, I knew I was not going to be disappointed.  

This book paces better than How to Flirt. We understand the main conflict immediately, and Nick enters Maggie's life almost from the first part of the audiobook.  And then there’s Nick himself – a tall, sexy, educated, blond-haired, blue-eyed, bearded Viking look alike (mentally, I pictured Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy, but with glasses).** A multimillionaire, self-hating Trekkie with family issues of his own, and a passion for werewolves. I would never think someone like that would appeal to someone like Maggie, but then again, who would imagine Mo and Cooper hitting it off so well in the prior book? 

Another thing this book had on How to Flirt is a few good mysteries, which is not something I expect from this author – she’s hilarious, so I read for the comedy (and there’s plenty) but not for the twists and turns.  This audiobook contains at least two “Oh!” moments.  That’s when the audiobook presents enough suspects with enough motives that you don’t see it coming, but there is also enough foreshadowing specific to the perpetrator that you kind of should have.  The result is that when the book lets the cat out of the bag, you actually, audibly, say “Oh!” 

"Never underestimate the excitement of sex with the crazy," Sampson said, wincing when Mo smacked the back of his head. "It's like a tilt-a-whirl and a scary movie all in one."

On Narration:

All of Molly Harper’s audiobooks, including this one, are narrated by Amanda Roncini.  Her voice is perfect for the part.  It’s bratty, snarky, and bit tom-boyish even. It should reminds me of Amanda Roncini’s reading of Mo, in How to Flirt with a Werewolf, which I reviewed here, but I think I didn’t give her enough credit.  It’s not just that she reads the story with great snark.  She knows how to read comedy, how to carry punch lines so they hit home.

**  UPDATE:  Thanks to Twitter, Molly Harper informed me that Charlie Hunnam, the actor who plays Jax Teller on Sons of Anarchy, is actually who she based Nick's physical description on!

Monster Hunter International - MHI series, Book 1

Why can't we ever fight cute, helpless monsters, like the ones on Sesame Street?"

Books:

1. Monster Hunter International (March 15, 2011)–4 out of 5

2. Monster Hunter Vendetta (March 15, 2011)

3. Monster Hunter Alpha (August, 2011)

Author: Larry Correia

Narrator:  Oliver Wyman – 4 out of 5

Length: 23:35, purchased on audible  

Summary:

Owen “Z” Pitt is not your average 24-year-old accountant from Texas.  He’s a giant of a man, speaks five languages, a marksman, a genius, and paid his way through college by fighting in illegal underground rings a la Fight Club.  He was trained by his war hero father to use every sort of firearm ever since he could walk.  “Glock” may have been his first word. All that gun love paid off when one full moon while working late, Owen got attacked by his werewolf boss, who Owen managed to shove him out of a fourteenth story window.  Now, without a job, with scars he can’t explain, and with the government threatening to kill him if he talks, what’s a gun-totting, scar-faced pencil-pusher to do?

Then comes a $50,000.00 check from a government fund for dispatching the werewolf, and a strange job offer from Monster Hunter International, a paramilitary family business, established in 1895 by gun-loving rednecks in Alabama. They don’t just go after werewolves, but vampires, zombies and every video-game monster target you can think of.  Thanks to the government-sponsored PUF fund that pays bounty checks for dispatching such unfavorables, it turns out to be quite a lucrative business.  It helps that the job offer came from Julie Shackleford, the MHI boss's granddaughter, who reduces the big man to the social skills of an 8^th grader.

 "My heart went out to her. Her home was burning down, and her undead mother was intent on drinking her blood. It was a really crappy evening by any standard."

Killin’s my business and business is fine.

Where has all that Lovecraft gone? It’s here, in Monster Hunter International. We don’t just have the usual monster, but monsters of impossible, mind-bending proportions.  The main villain, the “Cursed One,” is not just a mwahaha villain (although, I assure you, C.O. has that market cornered). Larry Correia also lets us inside C.O’s head through his memories in Owen’s ghost-guided dream/nightmares that recall C.O.’s journey from a “mean son-of-a-bitch” conquistador to one very megalomaniacal, unearthly, tentacled, flesh-wriggling being who is intent of stopping time itself. Other monsters were really fascinating as well, but this audiobook is long, and a substantial part of it is spent on describing fights were almost every single villain, and some heros, get killed and regenerate everything back at least twice. That makes for very long scenes.

And the hero?  I think I’m in love. He’s giant. And a gun nut. And an accountant.  If he’s willing to convert to Judaism, I call dibs. Owen Pitt is inherently epic – like Karen Marie Moning's Mac and the amulet. My only criticism here is that it’s really hard to let the listener know how epic Owen is through first-person narration without it sounding over-the-top or silly.  Like when a master vampire tells Owen he has the strongest will of any mortal she’s ever met, or when one guys says to the other that he shouldn’t mess with Owen because he has “one hundred pounds of muscle” on him. Or worse yet, when Julie reads his file and we find out Owen’s a marksman/genius.  It rang silly for me – like Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen, who’s so cool he must have had “hundreds of girlfriends."

Is this book cliché?  Yes, in the best way possible.  It's like 1 part monsterish gore, 1 part comedy, and 1 part all sorts of artillery. It's like Hot Fuzz is cliché, where it is obvious and downright appealing. Guns aside, the best cliché is the boy meets girl connection. Not to give anything away, but Owen falls for Julie pretty hard.  He has a thing for smart gun-totting chicks with glasses, since he’s a scar-faced gun-totter and therefore is attracted to girls with impaired vision. The two have a very middle-school, pg-13 tops, romance, and it totally satisfies that giggling school girl in me. 

 On Narration:

Oliver Wyman is great.  This is the first time I heard him read, and his style is perfect for Monster Hunter International.  He has a rather macho tone with just a bit of immaturity, and again, the term “epic” comes to mind to describe his style. His reading of female voices didn’t make me burst out laughing, which is what usually happens when I listen to male narrators read girls’ voices.  The only thing that jarred me was how seriously Oliver Wyman took those vocal direction. I usually comment on whether narrators do a good or bad job at distinguishing internal monologue with external speak when audiobooks are in first-person, like this one.  The listener has no problem with distinguishing the two in Monster Hunter International, because Oliver Wyman reads the directions in a rather calm soft voice, while reading the actual words with the proper emphasis, instead of splitting the two. So, it’s something like, [sotto voce – ‘My arm snapped. It hurt like a bitch.] “AGH! THAT HURTS!!!!” [sotto voce – ‘I screamed’]  I jumped at least a few times from the dissonance between the internal and the external readings.

Audacious – the Kris Longknife series, Book 5

Books:

1. Mutineer (May 22, 2009) – 3 out of 5  
2. Deserter (May 22, 2009) – 4.5 out of 5 
3. Defiant (May 22, 2009) – 4 out of 5  
4. Resolute (July 28, 2009)
5. Audacious (July 28, 2009) – 4 out of 5
6. Intrepid (July 28, 2009)
7. Undaunted (October 27, 2009)
8. Redoubtable (February 1, 2011)

Author: Mike Shepherd 

Narrator: Dina Pearlman  – 4 out of 5 

Length: 12:41 hours, purchased on audible 

Summary:

At the end of Resolute, the Navy is done trying to keep Kris Longknife, a princess and a Navy lieutenant, on active ship duty.  Not after Kris removed a war-hawk, maverick commanding officer in Mutineer, and inspired a class-based revolution on Turantic in Deserter, on Hikila in Defiant, and on Last Chance in Resolute.  It isn’t only that no commanding officer wants that sort of a subordinate.  At the end of Resolute, Hank Peterwald the 13^th, the son of the Longknife’s arch enemy and greatest political competitor, died after a direct confrontation with Kris, and now the assassination attempts are up.

In the beginning of Audacious, Kris’s mission is to buy paperweights and similar supplies on the safest, most evolved, civilized planet in the universe, New Eden. So what is Victoria Peterwald, Hank’s twin sister, doing there?  No sooner does Kris land on New Eden then Vicky tries to kill her, and it becomes obvious that not all is well on the economically advanced planet.  For Kris to legally carry her firearms, she needs to document at least three assassination attempts with the police, and even then, they seem hesitant to let her or her entourage of marines to carry.  Even more interesting, ever assassination attempt is swept under the rug, and all involved are reported by the news to have died in skiing accidents.  While investigating the short-leashed media, Kris discovers that only those descended from the first freemen to arrive on Eden have the right to vote.  Others, either immigrant or who descended from indentured servants, have no representation even though they are citizens who work as police officers, teachers, etc. It doesn’t take long for Kris to realize that the status quo government fears she will lead another class-based revolution and has no qualms with her leaving New Eden, even if it's feet first.

Ode to the first two Amendments

Audacious goes back to the wonderful military feel of the original Mutineer. I know not whether Mike Shepherd is politically conservative or liberal, but Audacious can be read as a cautionary tale for any society that considers itself evolved and safe simply because it is technologically advanced.  The major conflict of New Eden, without a doubt, is its lack of suffrage for all citizens, but the reason why living on New Eden is unsafe boils down to a lack of the first two amendments. There is a lack of free press, and the powerful pay dearly to keep the media ignorant of any crimes.  This includes a scene toward the end of the audiobook where Kris has to threaten the life of an official to get medical assistance to a battle scene after the police set up a roadblock, more interested in keeping the media back then letting in ambulances to save lives. The second is the right to firearms.  New Eden is a “safe” society, where no one, not even the military, should have deadly weapons. The problem is that in New Eden, like in most of our cities, those who operate outside the law already have weapons, leaving the law abiding vulnerable.

As I mentioned, the military is back in this audiobook.  There is an inspiring scene where Kris is invited by the marines to jog with them in the morning, but after she is detained by local authorities, a bunch of marines, including one who is injured, join to stand by her.  Kris realizes at that moment that, even though she’s Navy, she has been adopted by Corps.  Kris’s spine straightens when she realizes that they’re willing to die for her and, in return, she’s willing to die for them.  I also enjoyed the scene toward the end of the audiobook when after rendering honors to fallen Marines, Kris and her men leave New Eden to a futuristic rendition of the Marine Corps Hymn.

    From the Halls of Montezuma

    To the shores of Tripoli

    We will fight our country's battles

    On land, space and the sea

This audiobook also gives us a lot more on Abby.  We meet her mother, sister, and niece, and get to see the neighborhood on New Eden where she grew up.  It explains a lot about her motivation and character, and she even gets a possible love interest in this audiobook.

On Narration:
Dina Pearlman’s reading of Audacious reminded me of her reading of Deserter. She was back to a faster pace, the authoritative tone, and the solemnity necessary for war and battle.  I miss her Tommy accent, but there were no Irish or Lorna Dune people, so I was out of luck on that count.

Rosemary and Rue: An October Daye Novel, Book 1

Books:

 

1.    Rosemary and Rue (June 8, 2010) - 4 out of 5
2.   A Local Habitation (March 2, 2010)
3.   An Artificial Night (September 12, 2010)
4.   Late Eclipses (TBA)
5.   One Salt Sea (TBA)
6.   Ashes of Honor (TBA)
7.   The Chimes at Midnight (TBA)

Author:   Seanan McGuire  

Narrator:    Mary Robinette Kowal   - 4 out of 5

Length:  11:16, purchased on audible

Summary:

October “Toby” Daye had it hard growing up.  Being a changeling, the daughter of a very powerful fae and a human dad, she was forced to grow up in faery where she was treated as a second-class stepchild while her mother’s grip on her sanity slowly faded from being ripped away from her human husband. It didn’t get easier when Toby moved to the San Francisco area.  She tried it as human, finding a husband and having a little girl.  Then her job as a knight for the Duke of Shadowed Hills got in the way when the Duke's evil twin cursed Toby into living as a koi for 14 years.  Now, with her bounty-hunting business gone, her husband and daughter refusing to speak to her and her human life basically ruined, Toby refuses to have anything to do with her fae life, working as a night-time checkout girl, and living with two cats by herself returning no calls and dreaming that one day her daughter will call her back. And still, Toby can’t catch a break.  Before Countess Evening Winterrose is murdered, she forces Toby to find her killer and bring him or her to justice.  With no choice to do otherwise, Toby is dragged back into the world of the fae.

Love you more than fairytales: 

Once, about a decade ago, I read Christopher Vogler’s The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Maybe a few hours into this audiobook, I was getting flashbacks on The Writer's Journey. The structure of Rosemary and Rue is very formulaic, but for the record, that’s a good thing.  All good stories, all interesting plots, have certain features in common. The story, the twist, the archetypes, are all familiar, even mythical.  There is a very strong call to action here in the form of a binding – Toby must find the killer or she dies. There’s a mentor or two, and there are the gatekeepers involved. Less Odyssei and more Tobys, I say!  Overall, the audiobook presents a great mythical journey set in a modern-day fairy tale.  You get gripped from the first of Toby’s mishaps. Although, I have to admit that even though the storyline was very good, I only truly connected with Toby on the second part of the audiobook, after the awesome car scene over the Golden Gate Bridge.

The use of fantastic elements in Rosemary and Rue is pretty phenomenal. I’ve mentioned before here that I enjoy imaginative use of the fantastic in paranormal books, but I particularly enjoyed Seanan McGuire’s take on some of the more interesting fae.  For example, the kelpie you meet in the book is fascinating – a large black horse with glowing red eyes that just happens to smell like the sea, and of course have very, very sharp teeth. But what sets this kelpie apart from let’s say Patricia Briggs’s kelpie in the Mercedes Thompson series is that we don’t actually interact with Seanan McGuire’s kelpie.  This one is just part of the background of San Francisco’s other world. Oh, and there is nothing cuter than the idea of the rose goblin – a kitty cat covered with rose thrones that rattles them when it gets upset.  I, for one, always wished more cats were like porcupines.  It’s also nice to see a few more tales, tiger stripes, and fox ears on characters outside of anime.

Rose Goblin by Alicia "Kat" Dillman
http://darkkitten8.deviantart.com/

However, I had this terrible feeling of sadness throughout the audiobook.  I’m hoping that as the journey progresses the listener might get to see Toby return to a more normal world, where she might be reunited with her human family, or find some sort of a happy existence beyond constant nightmares, living alone barely on minimum wage, in fear for her life.  Throughout Rosemary and Rue, it seems like the universe is out to kick Toby when she’s down.  Even the title itself is a terribly sad reference in the book that you only understand at the very end.

On Narration:

This is the first time I’ve heard Mary Robinette Kowal read.  She is also the author and narrator of Shades of Milk and Honey. It was an excellent reading, very appropriate for the character. The narrative voice is light and young-sounding, but with enough of an edge to pass for what I would consider the voice of a half-fairy, tiny, light, bounty-hunting kickass woman.  There are a lot of interesting accents, and moments of injury and weariness in the audiobook, and Mary Robinette Kowal’s reading carries the emotion.  My only criticism is that some of her more interesting or intricate accents, for Tybalt and Lilly, for example, require her to slow down her reading and enunciate very carefully, which does drag out certain parts.

Other Comments:
There are spoilers in this Review.  If you have already listened to this audiobook, read the book, or hate surprises, please click/continue below:

Men of the Otherworld: A Collection of Otherworld Tales

Novellas in Collection – 3.5 out of 5

• "Infusion," narrator Malcolm Danvers (short story, released 2005) 
• "Savage," narrator Clayton Danvers (novella, released 2003) 
• "Ascension," narrator Clayton Danvers (novella, released 2003) 
• “Kitsunegari," narrator Jeremy Danvers (novella, published 2009 in Men of the Otherworld)

Author:   Kelley Armstrong 

Narrator:    Charles Leggett - 3 out of 5

Length:   11:08 hours, purchased on audible 

 

  

 

Summary:

Among the humans live werewolves.  Men only, who are born with the gene that manifests after puberty.  They exist under the radar, living longer than humans, their aging slowed by the werewolf gene. Their society is loosely policed by the American pack – a singular, barely functional group that is dedicated to keeping the existence of werewolves a secret by killing all mutts (non-pack werewolves) whom they happen to cross.

In the 1940’s, Malcolm, a werewolf, is seduced by a strange Asian woman who gets pregnant after one night and runs away with their son, Jeremy.  The son is a wolf, but not completely.  Unlike Malcolm, he is quiet, almost a pacifist, and Malcolm can’t seem to beat the werewolf back into his boy.  But Jeremy sees the bigger picture when, for the first time, a young boy turned werewolf is discovered by the pack living by himself, abandoned in the Bayou of Louisiana.  Clayton was seven, or so about, when Jeremy found him living in the swamp, socialized him, and took him home to upstate New York. Clayton survives as the only child werewolf, growing into a passable human, and takes Jeremy’s side as father and son clash over who will take over the American pack.   

On Narration:

This audiobook is read by Charles Leggett.  I haven’t listened to his narration before, but he’s very competent with the voices, which are almost exclusively male in this collection.  His Cajun accent seems alright, but I’m not very familiar with the way it’s supposed to sound.  His general reading is sincere and believable. My only criticism is that I had a hard time between the external and internal dialogue from Clayton’s point of view. For example, when Jeremy takes Clayton to the airport, Clayton recognizes a plane, but I did not realize he said it out loud until Jeremy responded.  Kind of makes you wonder how much of the internal dialogue was really internal.

Domestication of Wolves to Men:

There are spoilers in this Review.  If you have already listened to this audiobook, read the book, or hate surprises, please click below:

The Bone Yard: A Body Farm Novel, Book # 6

Books:

1.         Carved in Bone

2.         Flesh and Bone (January 24, 2007)

3.         The Devil’s Bones (February 5, 2008)

4.         Bones of Betrayal (February 27, 2009)

5.         The Bone Thief (March 23, 2010)

6.         The Bone Yard (March 8, 2011) - 4 out of 5

Author: Jefferson Bass

Narrator: Tom Stechschulte - 3.5 out of 5 

Length: 9:40 hours

FTC Disclosure:  Harper Collins Publishers has graciously provided me with an audio version of this book for reviewing purposes.  Aside from this courtesy copy, I have received no payment or services in exchange for this review.  

Summary:
Dr. Bill Brockton is a world-renowned forensic anthropologist – yes, like the chick from Bones – who teaches at the "Body Farm" in Tennessee, an institution for hands-on training in forensic science. It is summer when Dr. Brockton gets a call from a former student and a forensic specialist with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, asking for his assistance with her sister’s murder investigation.  An investigation that Angie St. Claire is conducting on her own after the small-town cops in Georgia deem her sister committed suicide by laying down on a couch and sticking a shotgun down her throat hours after she and her husband had a fight.  Bored to death with classes over, papers waiting to be graded and articles waiting to be written, Dr. Brockton rushes to the assistance of his student.   While visiting Northern Florida (more southern Alabama really), an old skull from a murdered child is discovered and the Florida police ask Dr. Brockton to take a look. As the bones start piling up and witnesses start getting killed off, a diary from the 1960s shows up to light the way.

Scientific Suspenseful Heartbreak:

A) The Science

In many ways, this series and this novel blur the edges of reality and fiction.  The author’s afterword explains in detail exactly which parts of this novel are true, but even without giving anything away, the basic science underlying the novel is factual.  First of all, Jefferson Bass, like Ilona Andrews, is really a pen name for two writers.  One of the authors, Dr. Bill Bass, like the fictional Dr. Bill Brockton, is a world-renowned forensic anthropologist.  The Body Farm, at which the fictional Dr. Bill teaches, is a place that the real Dr. Bill founded, officially known as the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility. Because the real Dr. Bill writes a first-person point of view of the fictional Dr. Bill, there’s tons of information on forensic science that’s accurate, or at least sounds accurate to me. For the most part, this was well done, but like in A Discovery of Witches, the academics are sometimes a bit too much, and although I appreciated it, my mind did wonder.

B) The Suspense 

The book is a mystery and a thriller, but I’ve listened to plenty of mysteries and thrillers that fail to engage the reader.  The Bone Yard works.  It’s all in the pacing.  So you’re listening to the scientific information, to the description of the scenes, to the description of the hotel, of a memory, and then the sentences start getting clipped. The descriptions start slowing down, and zooming in. It’s almost as if there’s that creepy background music behind the words. You know that something’s coming around the corner, and when it does, you still jump. There aren’t many such situations in the book, but when they pop up, they catch you.

C) The Heartbreak 

Early in the audiobook, Dr. Bill describes watching a documentary on child soldiers of Sudan, and how listening to something so horrible done to a child made it difficult for him to sleep at night.  That’s a precursor to some of the parts of this audiobook.  When the police start to suspect that the skull they found dated back to the 1960s, I was a bit disappointed.  It’s hard for a listener to connect to a tragedy that happened far away or long ago.  That’s where the diary comes in. Jefferson Bass does a great job writing from the point of view of a very young boy. Of course, it’s written much better than most adults can tell a story, but the voice is sincere and authentic.  It grips the reader immediately. You empathize with the boy, feeling what he feels.  And that’s pain.  The main conflict hurts to listen to don't listen to it before going to bed.

On Narration:

This is the first time I listened to an audiobook read by Tom Stechschulte, and the first thing I noticed was how much he sounded like an adult Tom Hanks.  His voice has a nice tenor to it that works well with the narrative tone in The Bone Yard.  It’s part film noir and part professorial. I was a bit put off by Tom Stechschulte's female voices are off, but inauthentic female voices are rather usual for male narrators.  That aside, Tom Stechschulte’s villain voices are epic.  He actually puts a slight growl in the reading.