as good as the ebook

The story is always 4-5 stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook. I can't listen to an audiobook without knowing the book, that's not possible for me.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English. Nick J Russo is one of the top 5 narrators for me, I can listen without break and have no problems to follow.
I'm just not yet finish with the book, just over the half, but I listen enough to give a review.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:

5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening.
it's like a B

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Enjoyable Story

Enjoyable Story that is well written with likeable characters and good world building. The narration was very good as well.

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Dark, twisted, keeps you guessing

Narrator Nick J Russo tetracubed this delivery, guaranteeing a multitude of puzzle pieces falling perfectly into their slots. If you ever played Tetris, you know what I mean. As soon as you think the pieces fit and you maneuvered into the right angle or perpendiculars, the speed and projection of the pieces increases. Listeners will hang anxiously on every word for a clue to the mystery and drama unfolding just like the addicting Tetris game.

Murder, personal problems, and emotional struggles or turmoil fell like tetrominoes at a neverending pace. The author wrote one of the best, if not the best series of the year. All the pieces fit, and still, they kept coming and Nick J, neither slowed down nor did he stop the falling pieces. His extraordinary performance complemented the acceleration of the storyline. The deeper the emotional shit, the deeper the connection to the characters. I listened at 1.4 speed. I enjoyed the extra effort he put into differentiating the voices of the characters.

This author is new to me, but definitely on my radar from now on. Don’t let the covers fool you. These books are much darker and twisted, also deeper and so well written. Referring to shit falling from the sky, there is more than one storyline woven into one book, and the character-building is comprehensive and intrinsic.
I absolutely recommend this series.
Happy Listening

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very good

this narrator is usually a lot of fun to listen to. i enjoy how he brings the characters to life. their personality.. their emotions.. who they are as individuals and together.. it is a lot of fun to hear this story become live. i really liked it!

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Disturbingly thrilling

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.5 stars
🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 3.5
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration: 5

Disturbingly thrilling!

A gripping and twisted serial killer tale. There are so many characters and moving pieces to this story at times it was a little hard to keep straight but the overall thrill, hunt, deception, ambition and so much more held me captive as a deranged serial killer finds their next victim. I know I was warned about torture and violence but I will say I was surprised at the graphic detail and eventual happenings to one of the main characters! I get that this case is closed but Eagle and Adam have a long way to go to come back from something so brutal and in true cliffhanger style the last sentence had me screaming for book 2.

Well written, with a disturbingly psycho killer and fantastic narration by Nick, this is well worth a read!

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Superb narration!

Overall: 3.75 Stars! 

Narration: 5 Stars!

Story: 3.25 Stars

The narration was superb, Nick J. Russo has such a wide range of voices and can convey a lot of emotions with his performance, which really came in handy in a multi-perspective book like this one. My favorite has to be his portrayal of the killer(s), because damn, if he didn't do a fantastic job with them. I got chills on that last scene with them and Adam and Eagle.

The premise of a homicide detective Eagle Woodard and his BFF/roommate and criminal profiler Adam Coulter being recruited by the FBI to play a gay couple—which is what the killer(s) are hunting down—was good, although the execution fell a bit short for me. The fact that we learn who the killer(s) are pretty early on didn't exactly help matters, although I will admit that getting inside their head and seeing what they were capable of was scary as all hell.

I liked Adam and Eagle, although I frankly didn't feel that much chemistry between them. Perhaps it was the fact that they both slept with others on-page, or perhaps I found it difficult to understand why Adam was in the closet and didn't want Eagle to know he was bisexual. I don't know, I just wasn't feeling their connection or even the love they supposedly felt for each other and the whole calling themselves Tonto and Kemo, didn't really help.

Then we have Rick Kessler, who was a grade-A twatwaffle. Really, the man was insufferable and so unprofessional. I really have no clue how he'd gotten so far in the FBI with the way he handled this case.

Overall, the book was entertaining, despite all the things that didn't quite work for me. It was like a train wreck, I just couldn't put it down until I found out things would work out for Adam and Eagle. This is not a romance, so don't go expecting hearts and flowers, because you definitely won't get that here, and if you want a HFN/HEA, just pick a different book because this one ends in a cliffhanger.

Would I recommend it? Yes, although if at all possible pick the audiobook because Nick did a wonderful job with it.

Would I read/listen to the next book? Maybe? I'm on the fence about that, although Nick narrating it might sway me towards yes.

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Confused dot com

The fine narrator did what he could to lift this tale to something worthy, but the odd structuring and the confusing 4 male MCs referred to mostly as "he", made this tale almost incomprehensible. The graphic beginning and ending are appended to a mushy centre. Some re-editing could for sure clarify who's doing what to whom and perhaps instil more elements of the thriller to what sounded a good premise.

It took me four days to finish a 6 hour book, as I kept stopping to try to make sense of the action. FRUSTRATING

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1 person found this helpful