​Story 4
Performance 3
Overall 4


Author Kathryn Knight created so much more than just a ghost story in Gull Harbor. The characters all have well developed complex back stories including the ghost. The story has a great balance of heartache, romance, and paranormal. I felt connected to the characters. My only complaint is that in the end as the author was wrapping up all the loose ends it felt rushed and lacked some of the emotion that had carried on through the entire story. 

The narrator, Kristin James did a good job of drawing me into the story but i felt there could have been more feelings invoked from her. She fell a bit flat on the guys part. I didn't hate it, I just didn't love it. I will still check out other work from Kristin.

I spent my Spring devouring the entire Detective Kay Hunter Series written by Rachel Ampheltt and narrated by Alison Campbell.  It was fantastic!  Alison needs to narrate my life.  I love her!
​~Lynn

​Loyalty has a price.

Kay Hunter has survived a vicious attack at the hands of one of the country's most evil serial killers.

Returning to work after an enforced absence to recover, she discovers she wasn't the only victim of that investigation.

DI Devon Sharp remains suspended from duties, and the team is in turmoil.

Determined to prove herself once more and clear his name, Kay undertakes to solve a cold case that links Sharp to his accuser.

But, as she gets closer to the truth, she realises her enquiries could do more harm than good.

Torn between protecting her mentor and finding out the truth, the consequences of Kay's enquiries will reach far beyond her new role…
Buy Links
Buy on RachelAmphlett.com

​5 Performance
5 Story
5 Overall


I devoured all 5 of the Detective Kay Hunter books. The series as a hole is fantastic in both print and audio. Each book is better than the previous one and that is saying something. I want more!
Rachel Amphlett is a master at weaving an intricate, diverse, crime drama. I feel like I needed a suspect board this time around. There were twists and turns and OMG moments with every turn of the page and a shocking ending. The MC, Kay Hunter, is phenomenal. When she sinks her teeth into a case she doesn’t give an inch.

I adore Alison Campbell as the narrator. She has done a smashing job with the series. Through Ali I am connected to Kay on a more personal level. She really makes the story come alive around me. 

I highly recommend this series for any crime novel fans out there. You do need to read the all the books in the series in order for the best experience. You won’t be disappointed

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.
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Struggling to forget a crumbling marriage, 40-year-old Anna Lucia Lottol comes to Venice to visit an old friend - but instead of finding solace, she is dragged into the police station and accused of murdering a money-laundering count with whom she had a brief affair. A US Treasury officer with brains and athleticism, Anna fights to clear her name in a seductive city full of watery illusions. As she works to pry information from a cast of recalcitrant characters sometimes denying what she sees and hears, she succeeds in unleashing a powerful foe bent on destroying her. Will she save herself and vanquish her enemies, including her darkest fears?

A captivating tapestry of murder, betrayal, and family, Venetian Blood is a story of one woman's brave quest for the truth - before it's too late.

"A riveting whodunit that makes full use of its dramatic setting." (Kirkus Reviews)

​Audiobook Review

Story:3.5
Performace: 5
Overall: 4

I gave the story 3.5 stars because I felt like the author got bogged down in the details. She described Venice, its people, and the artwork in painstaking detail. There were parts I felt that did not lend themselves to the story much UNTIL I got to around the last 10 chapters or so. All that stuff I thought was miscellaneous rambling turned out to be relevant to the story. My point here is this, don't give up on the story. It is worth it in the end. However, I do think the author could have condensed some of her descriptions down a bit.

Despite that, this was quite an intriguing tale of murder, money laundering, infidelity, and secrets galore. The residents of Venice certainly lived complicated lives. You cannot take any of the characters at face value as none are what they appear to me. Everyone was hiding behind the proverbial mask. The MC, Anna, was smart, strong and resilient. She had to be as she attempted to proof her innocence in the murder of a Count.

I was pleasantly surprised by "who done it" and how all the major players were interconnected. The author did a wonderful job of spinning a complicated and torrent web with many characters and story lines converging into one at the end. There was a surprise gem at the end as well that i cannot go into due to spoilers.

The narrator, Gabrielle de Cuir, did a phenomenal job. Her accent and pronunciation was immaculate. She made me fall in love with Venice.Audiobook Review

~Lynn 

About the Author: Christine Evelyn Volker
Christine Evelyn Volker became intrigued by foreign cultures at an early age, which propelled her to study Spanish, German, and Italian. After securing a BA in Spanish and an MLS at University at Albany – SUNY, followed by an MBA at UC Berkeley, she was drawn to international banking and became a senior vice president at a global financial institution. Her career brought her to Italy, where she immersed herself in the language and made frequent visits to Venice. Venetian Blood marks a return to her roots in the humanities, and just won the Sarton Women’s Book Award for contemporary fiction.

She is currently at work on her second international mystery, this one set in the rainforest of Peru.
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​About the Narrator: Gabrielle de Cuir
Gabrielle has narrated over 400 hundred titles specializing in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. Her “velvet touch” as an actors’ director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost choice for best-selling authors and celebrities. Short list of those directed: Anne Hathaway, Emilio Estevez, Wil Wheaton, Dr. Daniel G. Amen, Elijah Wood, Deepak Chopra, Eric Idle, Nancy Cartwright, Michael York, Ed Herrmann, and Joe Mantegna. She is the writer and director of the Award winning short film THE DELIVERY, which deals with an Alice-in-Wonderland version of audio books. She spent her childhood in Rome growing up with her wildly artistic and cinematic father, John de Cuir, four-time Academy Award winning Production Designer, an upbringing that her to be fluent in Romance languages and to have an unusual appetite for visual delights.)
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~~~Interview with the Author~~~

Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
Yes. But it didn’t enter the choices that I made. If you’re a writer doing your job, you’re already making decisions based on the cadence of words, their sounds, how realistic your dialog is and how it would be spoken. All of these factors are critical for a good audiobook. After the first few drafts, I read the book out loud to hear how the words sounded and made changes if they didn’t work well together.

How did you select your narrator?
Gabrielle de Cuir auditioned, and I loved her voice – its pitch and expressiveness. She brought out the characters’ emotions while also creating interest in paragraphs of pure description. Once I heard her Italian pronunciation (I also speak it), I knew she could handle the super-challenging text I had written: lots of Italian and Spanish words, plus six types of accents in English. I checked her background. She had won awards, and was highly experienced. She didn’t have to learn the craft via my book. I used Audiobook Creation Exchange (acx). Despite the audition and the first fifteen minutes where the author listens to the narrator’s recording and provides feedback, going forward there’s a lot riding on faith. Faith that the rest of the voice actor’s work holds up to the standard of the first part. Given the linguistic and emotional complexity of my book it would have been easy for someone with less talent and experience to go astray.

How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?  
We worked together very smoothly. I spent a lot of time at the beginning by preparing six pages of written character descriptions, including minor ones. I boiled the key characters down, their attitudes, what made them tick, and where important, how I thought their voices could sound. This allowed her to reflect before she started, to figure out how she’d breathe life into their words. Since Gabrielle grew up in Rome, I didn’t need to give her Italian pronunciation tips. That was a huge boost. We did have a back and forth, surprisingly to me, about the first name of the main character, Anna. I didn’t have to consider this at all when writing the book. But Anna’s name would sound different when pronounced by Italians or Americans (“Ah-na” vs. “Anna.”) This could confuse listeners. Gabrielle needed to nail it down. We decided on the “Ah-na” pronunciation, no matter which character was saying it.

Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
Certainly there’s my visceral love for Venice which becomes a character in the novel. I tried to bring out the city’s rich and storied past, its faded glory and its contradictions. Venice still exists, against all odds. Then there are bits of my own life hidden away in the pages. In 1992, I went to Italy for work but also to seek space from a troubled first marriage, so I fused pain with my love of Venice and the desire to create. The time period for the book is the same. Also, wildlife is a sub-theme in the book; nature and the future of the earth are important to me.

Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
Definitely when there are two characters engaged in a suspenseful or moving dialog, like Anna being grilled by Detective Biondi, Anna and Pablo confiding in her about Sergio – the dead man, Anna, Margo and Agatha together later in the book when Agatha reveals shocking secrets. I’ve listened to my audiobook three times now, and its emotional punch is greater throughout. Whether it’s the fact that language is meant to be spoken, or that in our history, the spoken word came before the written one, or that many of us had the pleasure of hearing our parents tell us stories before we learned to read, or that listening is a more elemental pleasure than following dots across a page, or that hearing is something we engaged in before we were even born, or that it’s all of the above—I can’t say. But a well-narrated story is more gripping than the written one.

If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
This is a fun question. Anna: Rachel Weisz, Margo: Jennifer Connelly, Alessandro: Giancarlo Giannini, Detective Biondi: Daniel Craig (I think he can pronounce Italian well), Dudley: Gary Oldham, Agatha: Helen Mirren. Pablo: Javier Bardem or Edward James Olmos. I could go on, but I’ll stop there!

What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading?”
Stop being so judgmental. Each has its advantages. Certainly, it’s important for all of us to be literate, so reading is a skill we all must master. Assuming we have, then a written book or a spoken book is a choice we’re free to make. Technology made audiobooks portable, and that means people who endure commutes to work can benefit, folks who exercise can get involved in a story as they’re on the treadmill, and even dreaded housework can be made more pleasurable while listening to a book. Everybody’s short of time and may not be able to just sit and read. I fail to see a problem.

Is your favorite food, song, or city referenced in your work?
Yes. Anna manages to savor a lot of food in my mystery. We’re talking about Italy – so how could I leave food out? One of my faves is porcini mushrooms crowning warm polenta. Outstanding. I first ate it in Verona, but it makes its way onto Anna’s plate in Venice. I can’t resist getting into wine. The first time I drank fruity and sublime Amarone was at the Hotel Metropole in Venice with my husband, Stephan. Of course, I had to feature it.  
A unique and moving song I love came out around the time of the book. Eros Ramazzotti sings the story of two dolphins, Missie and Silver, almost from their point of view. They were real dolphins, kept in a small tank in England, and eventually set free. One of my characters, Angela, listens to the song; it has a special meaning for her. My favorite city, Venice, infuses the entire book, even when I don’t mention it.

What bits of advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Reach high, get uncomfortable, and repeat after me: “I am the only one who can tell my story.”

What’s next for you?
Polishing my novel, Jaguar Moon. It’s a mystery based in Peru, with a Latina journalist. She returns to Cusco to find out what happened to her parents many years ago. On assignment, her photographer goes missing. Her journey takes her through Cusco’s cobbled streets to the lushness of the rainforest. Will she be as fearless as her father in seeking the truth?

: In the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, something lethal is on the move.

Scuba divers travel from all over the world to visit the little island of Bonaire, with its crystal-clear waters and a host of beautiful marine life. After three years in the “Diver’s Paradise”, divemaster Boone Fischer thought he’d seen it all; but on a routine afternoon dive, he spots something that will turn his tranquil life upside down.

From the arid shores of the ABC Islands to the tropical jungles of Venezuela—from the ocean depths of the Southern Caribbean, to the lush islands of the Northern Leewards, Deep Shadow takes Boone and the reader on an action-packed adventure filled with danger and suspense.

"The age-old adage of ‘write what you know’ becomes very important when you write about a technical subject like scuba diving. When you get all the details right, and throw in just the right amounts of action, humor, romance, and suspense, you have a novel like this." - Wayne Stinnett, bestselling author of "Fallen Out".

Buy Links
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Overall 4
Story 4
Performance 4

​Nick Sullivan has woven a suspenseful and thrilling tale in Deep Shadow.  Having never been to the ABC Islands or scuba diving, I felt like I was right there experiencing it all.  Sullivan must be very knowledgeable of both because his story came off flawlessly.  If you are a fan of crime novels you will love Deep Shadows.

Who better to narrated your story than well, yourself.  Since Sullivan wrote the book, he knew exactly what he wanted to convey in the narration.  I felt that this made the story even more compelling. 

Nick Sullivan was fantastic on both sides!

​~Lynn 

About the Author/Narrator: Nick Sullivan​
Born in East Tennessee, NICK SULLIVAN has spent most of his adult life as an actor in New York City, working in theater, television, film, and audiobooks. After narrating hundreds of books over the last twenty years, he decided to write his own. Nick has been an avid scuba diver for many years and his travels to numerous Caribbean islands have inspired this series. His first novel, “Zombie Bigfoot”, hit #1 in Horror Comedy on Amazon.

NICK SULLIVAN has been narrating audiobooks for over twenty years, recording over four hundred titles and receiving numerous AudioFile Earphones and Audie nominations and awards. He has worked extensively on Broadway and at many U.S. theaters. His TV credits include The Good Wife, The Affair, Divorce, Younger, Bull, Madam Secretary, Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, Elementary, and all three Law and Order series. Film credits include Our Idiot Brother and Private Life. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA.
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​

1. When did you know you wanted to be an audiobook narrator?  Listening to Dick Estell’s “Radio Reader” in the 70’s. And my father recorded for the blind when I grew up. Then, driving 12 hours between Tennessee, various regional theaters, and New York, I listened to audiobooks constantly. It was during one of those drives that I thought “Yeah… I want to do this.”
   
2. How did you wind up narrating audiobooks? Was it always your goal or was it something you stumbled into by chance? I was at an audition and saw a notice on a cork board, asking from actors to narrate books for the blind for charity, for the Jewish Braille Institute. I put the number in my pocket. The next week I was shooting an NYU film, and the actress who was playing my wife said she recorded for Talking Books. I took their number. On lunch break I went to this device that used to exist, a “pay phone” and made two calls. First, to Jewish Braille, offering to narrate that week. Then to Talking Books… letting them know I “had experience narrating audiobooks… although I wasn’t available until the following week. I taught voice and speech at Rutgers and was good at accents, so I was able to convince them to see me. By the end of that next week, I’d made my first money as a narrator, with “A Day No Pigs Would Die”.
   
3. A lot of narrators seem to have a background in theatre. Is that something you think is essential to a successful narration career? I used to think that, but I’ve met some VERY skilled narrators that didn’t start as actors. And a few went the other way, getting into theater, tv/film AFTER starting in narration.
   
4. Is there a particular genre you feel unsuited for? Have you ever declined a project because you didn’t think you were right for it?  No to the first, yes to the second. I really enjoy narrating across all genres, and it seems like every company I work for has me in a different niche so I get to do that! I have occasionally gotten an offer and told them they really should get a female narrator… or a native Brit… and in once case, the main character had a LOT of dialogue and was from Chicago. That accent is my kryptonite… I just sound like the SNL “Da Bears” sketch, so I turned it down. Why use me when Johnny Heller is FROM there?
   
5. How did you decide how each character should sound in this title? I create a “VoiceScape” for everyone in the book, noting every single thing the author gives me about where a character is from, their physical appearance, personality, speech quirks. Then I just let the information form the voice… though I always go through and make sure I don’t have characters that are going to be too similar side by side.
   
6. If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go? Where did THIS question come from? Umm… I’d probably need to confer with scientists and philosophers before doing that. Left to my own devices, I’d probably go back and try to buy Apple stock at $5, pick up a Hell’s Kitchen Apartment in my name for $30,000, try to stop 9/11… but then I’d step on a bug or something and kill us all.
   
7. Do you read reviews for your audiobooks? Sometimes. It’s interesting, I know so many narrators who have declared “I stopped reading reviews”; and then I narrated a book by a mindfulness guru who sited a psychological study that a “negative occurrence” has about four times the weight as a positive one. And I think that’s true! We all want to be liked… so when you see a negative review, you want to say “Why don’t they like me?” One of the biggest names in the biz (I won’t say who) got all wound up by this incredibly tiny amount of bad reviews. It’s really like everywhere else in life, you can’t please everyone. I just do my best to please the author! I always appreciate “author approval” auditions for title assignment. It’s a good start to know that they chose your voice and performance.
   
8. What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”? I feel like I hear that less and less every year. It IS a different experience, I’ll give you that. The narrator IS going to influence how you experience the book… and that’s not always going to be a good thing.
   
9. What’s next for you? Nick the Writer is 30,000 words into “Zombie Bigfoot” sequel… but first I have to narrate a space opera sci-fi, three short romance double headers, and Wayne Stinnett’s upcoming thriller, “Enduring Charity”!
   
10.  Bonus question: Any funny anecdotes from inside the recording studio? The engineers at Talking Books made a “mix tape”: they collected years of actors laughing uncontrollably, narrating extremely steamy sentences, belching impressively, going on a rant about run on sentences. We had no idea they were saving these snippets and it was HYSTERICAL.
    

I am addicted to this series.  I cannot get enough of Detective Kay Hunter.  This series is fantastic, action packed, suspenseful, and highly addictive.   ~ Lynn 

When a road traffic accident on a dark autumn night uncovers a disturbing conspiracy, Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter’s investigation exposes a ruthless serial killer exploiting vulnerable young women.

With her enemies unmasked and her career spiralling out of control, Kay’s determination to seek vengeance for the victims brings her dangerously close to those who want to silence her.

Undeterred, she uncovers the real reason behind a plot to destroy her career and sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.

Could Kay’s need for revenge be her undoing, or will she survive to see justice served?

Hell to Pay is a gripping fast paced crime thriller, and the fourth in the Detective Kay Hunter series:

1. SCARED TO DEATH
2. WILL TO LIVE
3. ONE TO WATCH
4. HELL TO PAY 

A page-turning whodunit for fans of Peter Robinson, David Baldacci and James Patterson.

​Detective Kay Hunter has been investigating Jozeph Demiri for 2 years. It has been the underlying story line in the previous 3 books in the series. In this installment it comes to a head. There is also a connection to 2 of the characters from Book 1. (No spoilers here but a definite AHA moment.)

The Detective Kay Hunter series as a whole has been simply fantastic. Hell to Pay was no exception. I find that each installment is more gripping, darker, and seedier than the previous one. Jozeph Demiri just may be the most despicable bag guy yet. 

The reader also gets a lot of loose ends tied up in Hell to Pay. We finally find out who attacked Gavin and who has been altering files in the database. In the author's usual style the book ends with a jaw dropping moment that left me me clamoring for the next book. 

I love the MC, Kay. She is strong, independent, and smart. This series is smartly written and quiet the page turner. Rachel Amphlett has created a magnificent cast that is brought to life by the amazingly talented narrator, Alison Campbell. Campbell does a great job conveying the emotions and thrills involved in narrating a crime thriller. This is one series I will want to experience again.

​About the Author: Rachel Amphlett

​Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.
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