DP54Cover - Deadly Pleasures

DEADL DEADLY DEADL
AUDIO
AUDIO
PLEASURES
PLEASURES
Mary Mason Reviews
TWISTED by Andrea Kane (Brilliance, $36.95,
12 CD’s). Read by Joyce Bean. Ratings: Book, B;
Reader B+ Sloane Burbank was an FBI agent before a
suspect attacked her. She lived, but suffered damage to
her hand. Not content with a desk job, Sloane left the
bureau and became a consultant, training law enforcement
and private parties, and giving self-defense exhibitions.
She gets a call she can’t refuse, the parents of one
of her girlhood friends want her to investigate their
daughter’s disappearance. No body was found, and her
parents hope she is alive, though it’s been a year. When
another young woman goes missing in similar circumstances,
Sloane wonders if there is a serial killer at large.
Sloane pulls strings to get included in the FBI
investigation, and even gets one of her former co-workers
pulled off a big investigation to help. Little does she know
that the man they are seeking is targeting her, and it may
just be someone she knows.
The listener is afforded a look at the man behind
the abductions, and though we aren’t told who it is, the
clues are there, as are a few red herrings.
The book had some fairly explicit sex scenes,
which I fast forwarded through. There was one big hole that
made me rate this book much lower. SPOILER: When the
killer is identified, the cops are told of a property he moved
to after leaving NYC. That was never researched, to find
the address or otherwise acted upon. That really bothered
me, and I was a bit distracted while listening to the cops
work after that, wondering why they weren’t following up
on a BIG clue. END SPOILER. There was another scene
where Sloane’s body guard was attacked, and didn’t
immediately call for help. I also had a hard time warming
up to Sloane. I liked the reader, she did a good job with all
the voices. Time permitting, I’d listen to another in the
series, if it is a series.
THREE SHIRT DEAL by Stephen J. Cannell
(Brilliance Audio, $36.95). Unabridged, 8 CD’s, read by
Scott Brick. A Shane Scully novel. Ratings: Reader B+,
Book B+ Shane Scully is still working on his marriage to
Alexa. After nearly losing her life in a shooting, Alexa’s
personality has changed and life together is very difficult.
Shane is approached by a woman who feels a man has
been falsely convicted of his mother’s murder. Internal
Affairs detective Secada Llevar hopes that Alexa and
Shane can assist her in reopening the case.
Deadly Pleasures
61
Shane is open to the proposition when he finds the case
was handled by Brian Devine, a cop Shane had bad
dealings with. He doesn’t doubt that Truit Hickman’s case
was mishandled, and he and Secada start an investigation
that has far reaching consequences.
Shane and Secada risk their lives in many confrontations
with criminals who should only be found in the
worst nightmares. They work well as a team, and eventually
bring justice to the case.
While I’m not current with the Scully series, I
always enjoy listening to them. I thought the reader did a
very good job, and always kept my interest. One thing that
might help the enjoyment of audio listeners is Brilliance’s
short tracks. If you stop and have to restart a track, you
don’t have to forward or reverse though a lot of text. That
helps if you’re like me and have many tapes to “read.”
LOST SOULS by Lisa Jackson, Read by Joyce
Bean. (Brilliance Audio, $38.95) Unabridged, 12 CD’s.
Ratings: Book B-, Reader B Kristi Bentz is the
daughter of a cop going off to college and away from her
New Orleans home. Her father Rick wishes she’d stay
near, as Kristi survived an attack from a serial killer.
Kristi exerts her independence and heads off to
All Saints College. She is not aware at the time that an exboyfriend
of hers is filling in for a teacher in one of her
classes. She’s also not aware that many young women
have disappeared from the college. Kristi soon finds she
has rented a room formerly lived in by one of the missing
coeds.
Kristi soon discovers there is a cult on campus.
The members wear vials of blood around their necks,
conduct secret meetings, and attend a class on vampiric
literature. Kristi decides to infiltrate the group, though
doing so puts her life at risk.
Although I enjoyed this book, I felt a bit adrift at
what had happened to Kristi, perhaps in an earlier book.
The ending was one I didn’t see coming. I did skip over a
couple of explicit sex scenes.
CHARLEY’S WEB by Joy Fielding, Read by
Susan Ericksen (Brilliance Audio, $36.95). Unabridged,
11 CD’s. Ratings: Book D, Reader: - see review.
Charley Webb is a single mother of two children. She
never married either of the men who fathered them. That
is cause for some nasty letters from readers of her weekly
newspaper column. The column deals with popular culture,
or anything on her mind. Sometimes it includes family
matters which always garners some mail from readers.
Charley's family is a bit complicated. Charley is
the oldest of four siblings. She is the only one who has
memories of their mother. Their mother left the home to
run off to Australia with another woman. Their father
became distant and bitter, though he did raise the children
on his own. Her two sisters are successful. Her brother
isn’t. He’s got a history of substance abuse, and Charley
often needs to rescue him. Charley is the only one of the
siblings who will have contact with their mother.
Charley is not a likable person. She mentions that
she has no friends, and has alienated her neighbors. When