Bobz

This was a delightful read! Unlike most murder mysteries that I usually read this was pretty non-violent and non-sexually motivated but that is not to say that its light-hearted and watered down as it has themes exhibiting of the of the worst traits of humanity but not brutal and in your face like other novels. Character driven with a strong ,likable yet somewhat mysterious lead and great supporting cast (although I do feel as the the story line with agent Nichol was underdeveloped and somewhat unfinished) the coziness of this little town was almost tangible. I very much enjoyed this first in the series and look forward to the next.

Full disclosure, I listened to the Audio book version of this novel read by Mirron Willis who, I am not a big fan of which may have swayed my verdict of this book just a little. That being said, this was a tough one to get through. I've been trying to read/listen to more novels by POC lately and this is the second novel I read by Walter Mosley and the first with this character Leonid Mcgill a unique but pretty unlikable character. He doesn't allow himself any happiness or room for reprieve from his difficult life and past transgressions just nearly constant misery. The story which seemed really drawn-out despite not being very long and the motive for the murders was exposed half way through the story but it continues on as if their is more to discover with subplots that don't quite further the main story. The disjointed nature of the storytelling was not a pleasurable experience as I had to keep going back to make sure that I didn't miss the point when the story took those sudden unexpected right turns, it seemed to be an attempt to provide background and substance to the Mcgill character but it was just confusing. His home-life with loveless marriage and the kids that aren't his own didn't really add to the story just like some odd Stepford situation, along with the woman that works at his office that he's involved with it would have seemed that she would be a bigger part of the story but after her introduction she is barely mentioned again. Like I stated at the start Mirron Willis reads the audiobook version was a bad choice to portray Leonid Mcgill; a short 50-something amateur boxer who up until recently spent his life conning and scheming others out of their money among other unlawful activity, is a very raw, cunning, street-smart, serious character and hearing Willis use Ebonics and street slang is totally unconvincing and ruined the illusion for me. Overall this was a disappointing read because of the disjointed nature of the story, the audiobook narrator and the final reveal was very very underwhelming as padded subplots seem to take priority over the main mystery, maybe after some time I'll give Mcgill a chance at redemption.

Short version: I liked this book and it was a worth conclusion to the Invisable life triolgy.

Overall this was a good read or listen I should say. Mirron Willis once again was the narrator of this audio book and though I am not a huge fan of his, he seems to be a good fit for Raymond. I don't really want to get into each individual character but there was nice development of returning characters even a few welcome surprises I was however let down that SPOILER Raymond and Basil didn't have one more night of heated bed-burning passion but whatevs. Raymond is still an unlikable character, he's very uptight which the author acknowledges but doesn't change and through Raymond (and pretty much all of the gay or bi characters) there is this not so subtle undertone of self-loathing based on their sexuality, it really gets under my skin personally. Anyways, don't want to use this review to drag the author or some of his problematic themes because overall I did enjoy this book series and their aren't really many (good, well-written) novels featuring primarily lgbtq POC so I applaud him for creating this world and these memorable characters during a place and time where many people could not have been very accepting.

I have to say that I was excited to read this book given the majority of positive reviews on Amazon and Goodreads; whose readers I feel, are much more critical, that's why I was pretty disappointed and confused with my overall take away from this story. It was struggle to finish this book as I was tempted quite a few times to stop listening (audiobook), give it a 1-star rating and a scathing review.

The first and probably the most blaring downfall of this book is the fact that the main character Rafe, is abhorrent. He is a self-loathing, judgmental, homophobic, selfish jerk who doesn't deserve Ben, one of this new friends that eventually becomes his love interest. As a matter of a fact the whole premise of this story is pretty much based on internalized homophobia and its incredibly problematic. Going to a new school to re-invent yourself is not an unheard of concept but what Rafe does is essentially go back into the closet after being an out, gay advocate. He lies to his new friends and schoolmates that he is straight, turns his best friend from back home into his girlfriend from back home. I understand that this is a coming-of-age story and these are high school kids who are still figuring out the complexity of sexuality and understanding themselves but this is a work of fiction and it could have been presented better. To play devils advocate I can somewhat understand Rafe/ the author's argument of not wanting to be defined by labels like being Gay, being the token gay, being the resident gay etc but the fact is Rafe hasn't accepted being gay (which is acknowledged in the book) , he treats it like it's something he can turn on and off, as if he is changing clothes. His asks his best friend from back home and his incredibly supportive parents to lie for him even though they pretty much tell him that this choice he made is a mistake and he'll regret it he just continues anyway, also he treats them terribly. He treats the other gay characters in the book as less than, especially if they are “flamboyant” or expressive in any way because they aren't “normal acting or looking” like he is.
Spoilers In the final chapters after he has wrecked his budding relationship with Ben he seemingly comes to realize the error of his lies and selfish ways but even after this realization, he makes homophobic remarks regarding one kid as “super queeny”.

The Good stuff Spoilers
Ben. He's basically a gentle giant but not afraid to stand up for himself or others. He's an intellectual and a thinker, he doesn't like to follow the crowd or the mindset of most of this jock peers. Also his friendship with his (former) roommate Bryce, I would love a spin-off just featuring those two and their friendship, hell I'd even welcome a story of Toby and Alby over Rafe.

The relationship with Rafe is actually pretty sweet and enduring, decent pacing, Ben actually starts off not liking Rafe (should have followed his first instinct) and when they finally consumate their feelings it was really tender and exciting (albeit short)

I like the excerpts from Rafe's journal throughout the book, even though they mostly provide more insight to Rafe's ungratefulness and overall awfulness it's still a nice touch from a technical standpoint. His English teacher, who assigned this journal to him acts as a guide to draw Rafe out of the facade he has created at his new school, I think the author relies on this to justify Rafe's actions but they the it happened-for me at least- it was too late.

Overall, Rafe is trash and the authors' point of not sticking labels was unfortunately lost in translation. The follow-up to this novel is out and it picks up right were the first one left off but from Ben's perspective so I will check that out in hopes that those negative, backwards themes are not carried over and there is less of Rafe with none of his thoughts.

P.S. Since I had the audiobook version of this novel I should mention that the narrator, Peter Cross, did an impressive emotional job (given the horrible character he had to work with)

This one was a doozy, very involved but ultimately a intense, well researched True-crime marvel. I have to say it is pretty frightening to think that someone like Bradley Cunningham existed in the free world. What the author revealed about this “person” is truly nightmarish, he rivals if not surpasses the worst of the worst of humanity not because of his body count but due to his outward portrayal but if there ever was an example of a wolf in sheep clothing it would be this animal. The terror he inflicted in the lives of the people who loved him and he should have loved seemed almost unreal, constant emotional, psychological and physical abuse, not even his mother could escape his cruelty. Bradley Cunningham is absolutely incapable of loving anyone but himself, including his 6 children. He is a self-serving, self-involved, narcissistic example of a failed human being. His victim, Cheryl Keeton, who was also his 4th wife, was a smart, successful lawyer and vibrant human being who wasn't perfect but only sought to please her husband and raise their 3 children she loved so much, she died trying to protect them from his wrath.

I was initially wary seeing the 19hrs runtime of this audiobook but the story was very interesting and while very detailed, the author presents the facts in a way that isn't too overwhelming and complicated and of course one of the most factors for an audiobook is the performance of the narrator which was excellent. Overall this was a Goodread though it was long, if I had one gripe about this book it would probably be that it mainly focuses on the murderer and his life before and (of course) after meeting the victim. Even the section of the book that is dedicated to telling Cheryl's background and past is littered with Brad.

Since I had such a lengthy review for “Openly Straight” I'll try to keep my review for the sequel relatively short. First, the good stuff:

-Ben. He's so much more likable than Rafe- by a long shot.

-The problematic theme of internalized homophobia is pretty much gone, although there have been some concern and debates about bi-invisibility but the author has addressed this in a length blog post on his website.

-The Peter Pappas subplot. I liked the fact that Ben was so curious about who this young man was and why the award was being given in his name.

-Ben doesn't take anything for granted

The not-so-good: **Some spoilers below**

-Rafe. He's still awful, selfish, privileged and unworthy of Ben.

-Hannah, or rather her and Ben's relationship. She was basically a casualty of Ben's uncertain feelings about Rafe, in the worst possible way, to the point where I would have rather her had a platonic relationship with Ben or not in the story at all. What was done with her character was probably my main dislike about this book, they met, she was used, then she was dropped about half way through the book, when Ben couldn't deny his feelings for Rafe any longer.

-Ben's relationship with is homophobic teammates. Seemed like for the most part Ben was giving them a pass on their homophobia just because they're teammates. When Ben would say something about their comments, a few mins later they would be friends again like nothing happened. It was confusing and didn't really have a resolution.

-I would have like to know more about Ben's home life mainly, his brother and mom. Reading the synopsis you would think that his mom would have played a bigger part in the story, I guess it is possible the author is saving that for a 3rd book since this one did have an open-ending with unanswered questions.

Overall this was definitely an improvement over it's predecessor mostly for the simple fact that this is Ben's perspective of life. He is insecure and inquisitive yet loyal and humble, unlike Rafe and we actually saw growth in Ben's character, also unlike Rafe. If not for the poor treatment of the Hannah character this would have gotten a higher score from me but overall I think it was a goodread and a unique perspective of sexuality.

P.S. The narrator's performance of this audiobook was great with no complaints from me.

Abridged audio version 3 good true crime tales

Audio book version Narrator rating 5/5

I want to preference this review by saying that I don't think I was the intended audience for this book but I was drawn in by the synopsis and great reviews. That being said, this was a tough book to get through. The combination of constant story side-stepping, numerous false starts and the overly toxic, ultra macho egotism that is riddled throughout this book made it a difficult listen. At the start, the story was interesting and engaging I was eager to go along for the ride the author promises in the synopsis with the two main characters but the book turned more into a 4 person biography but only one of those, that of the Pirate captain, is justified. The more I learned of these explorers the less I liked them especially John Chatterton, whom aside from his abilities as a diver has no favorable qualities. The constant rotating topic made this book hard to follow and by disc 4, I was dreading listening to the last 3 discs. Overall, they FINALLY find their ship with little to no respect to the Country and the people of which they are plundering their lost treasure, I think a better suited title to this book would have been “I'm a man who does manly things because I'm a man and that's what men do, I have a false sense of pride and I do dangerous things because I am not afraid to die because I am manly.”

P.S. I know that his is a non-fiction book and the author has no control of the facts including the personalities of the two main characters but I wanted to include that criticism in my review for readers who are put-off by those personalities and the supporting theme in the book of “macho pride” If none of that bothers you think you'd enjoy it, it is well written from a technical standpoint but I think an abridged version would have suited my taste better.

Nice read until the killer reveal so I'm only giving 3 stars. The connection to the MC was vague and barely established and didn't justify their motivations but other than that this was an enjoyable 4-star read.

DNF at 70%

This book grated my nerves. So many pages of nothing happening. Hollow, unlikeable TOXIC and utterly lifeless writing. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a product of AI-generated text. I also didn't enjoy the stiff performances from the two narrators on the audiobook version which made it a chore to listen to. The only reason I made it so far is because it was the selected read for book club and I wanted to try and finish. Please save yourself eleven and a half hours and avoid this book at all costs.

My rating: 3.6/5

So overall I enjoyed this book but I almost DNF'ed it 1/3 of the way in because the author did not do a great job with juggling multiple characters between past and present events. There are multiple pov's in this story and it can be difficult to know what's going on at any given time with who and when. There was also a good amount of unnecessary background between Willa and Robyn that ultimately leads to nowhere dragging out the story. When we FINALLY get to Leica's story and what happened to her the story picks up. Again, I liked the book and how it ended and I would normally round up to four stars but I just can't give it that extra star because of the confusing way the author handled jumping between the past and present.

Audio notes: The narration for this book was performed well but the actors need to work on their American accents lol

I feel like I should give this book a higher rating but honestly I feel like Mikey had a really weak and towards the end a nonsensical defense that in my opinion wasn't very effective. The minor twist at the end was nice if not totally unpredictable but aside from that, these books are standard affair which I still enjoyed and I'm moving on to the next in the series.

This is really a 4-4.5 star book but I had to withhold a star because of the ending. I really dislike vague, open-ended stories that create more questions than they answer, infuriating. However aside from that, I really really enjoyed this book about the rivalry between an 80- something and 8-year-old with a bit of murder on the side. Do yourself a favor and listen to the audio version of this book, the narrator (Maggi-Meg Reed) is fantastic.

Stupid ending and epilogue

Midway through the story kind of slogged and I found it not as enjoyable as the first 2 entries in the series but none-the-less, I find Pendergast to be quite a compelling, charismatic and deeply interesting enigmatic character.

Meh. Wasn't great, wasn't terrible. Classic whodunit set-up. A bunch of strangers get together, one of them is killed and everyone is a suspect. My main complaint is that the middle of this book is a drag and feels like a bunch of nothing is happening. I found it quite easy for my attention to drift while listening and had to rewind often to catch myself up. The book definitely could have been shorter but the end was satisfying enough, so not a total loss. This is the first entry in this series but I'm glad I didn't start here, I likely wouldn't have continued this series if that was the case.

Audio notes: The narrator's voice is a great fit for this story and these characters, my only gripe was that for a couple of the male characters she elected this odd, stilted voice that made me think of these men were being held at gunpoint and forced to speak while holding their breath. It was really distracting and took me out of the story every time.

DNF at 2.5 hours

I really wanted to like this book, however after 2.5 hours there still had not been a murder. A few of the chapters describing the sought after object felt like listening to a well written instruction manual. The writing is beautiful and witty, which is both a strength and weakness as I feel the author felt the need to make sure the reader knows this, but it's a bit heavy handed and the pacing suffers because of it. I am giving up on this book however, this author has a large catalog of work with mostly very well received reviews so I may check out another one of their other novels, this one just wasn't for me.

Audio notes: The narrator gave an above average performance and was paired well with this style of writing.

Real rating: 3.6/5

I liked this read it was a bit long for what it ultimately turned out to be. No real shocking revelations here and kinda surprised/ disappointed that a female author would employ the TIRED hysterical woman/mother trope here l, but I digress.

Audio notes: The cast did a perfectly acceptable job narrating this book.

Realistic rating 3.7/5

My first read in this series and it was enjoyable with good writing and a likable cast of characters. This is your basic murder mystery and I'm afraid the ending was a bit bland and the motivation for the murder was pointless. One other note, the performer does a great job with the narration and giving distinctive voices and dialect for all the characters except Amory, the main character. The voice she uses for her makes the character sound like a snobbish, uptight school headmistress in her 70's and I believe the character is in her 30's. Aside from that, I was entertained, and I think I may start this series from the beginning.

DNF'd at 56%

I was optimistic about reading this book due to the great reviews and the PLL/ One of Us is Lying-ish plot but this one is a slog. Dull pacing plus unlikable characters who are drowing in self-loathing due to their race and or sexuality didn't leave much more for me to stick around with this one. Even the bullying/harrassment by the antagonist “Ace” was boring and generic, aside from the sexual identities this story feels kinda dated.

Audio notes: unfortunatly nothing good to say here either, the actors were a bit monotone and made everything seem bleak like this was a apostapocolypic story vs YA teen drama.

This book was a bit of a letdown given all the great reviews. The story had a very strong start but for me, it lost its threading about halfway through when the story kind started going in circles. Also the abrupt POV changes didn't help. I may have gotten distracted and just couldn't get back on track with this one but like I said it did have a strong beginning so I'll give this author another go sometime.

Audio notes: Good performances from the cast here EXCEPT when attempting American accents, awful lol

Bad dialogue

Nonsensical characters

Stupid plot and ending

HORRID handling of social justice and race issues

Audio notes: Decent performances from the narrators given the bad dialogue but better directing was needed.

DNF

DNF, listened for 3 hours. Couldn't get into it.

Real rating 3.5

No new ground broken here, the characters are stupidly annoying but still I found myself entertained.

Voice notes: Another great narration by Leslie Howard.