Assassins and Liars
Written by Charles Dougherty ⎮ Narrated by David Bosco
Author: Charles Dougherty
Narrator: David Bosco
Length: 5 hours and 3 minutes
Series: J.R. Finn Sailing Mystery Series, Book 1
Publisher: Charles Dougherty
Released: May 31, 2019
Genre: Mystery
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Synopsis
A man with secrets meets a woman on the run.
Finn can't discuss his career; it's classified. He's about to leave Puerto Rico on a mission when he meets Mary. She wants to hitch a ride on his sailboat; she doesn't care where he's going.
Finn thinks she's a rootless kid looking for adventure. He'll take her along; she'll provide cover for his clandestine activity.
They're preparing to leave when Finn learns there's more to Mary's baggage than her backpack. He has second thoughts about giving her a ride, but it's too late. They need to get away from Puerto Rico in a hurry.
As they sail down island, Finn grows fond of Mary. She's had a run of bad luck, and he's sympathetic. When they reach their first stop, they discover that she didn't leave her troubles behind.
What's Finn gotten himself into? Listen to Assassins and Liars and find out.
This audiobook was provided by its author, Charles Dougherty, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thanks, Charles!
Laura's Review
5 Stars
This is the first book in the JR Finn Sailing Mystery series. It is a standalone book with no cliffhanger ending. However, it does not completely answer all of the issues raised within the story and does set up the continuation of the series.
I found this story to be engrossing from the very beginning. I could not put it down. There's lots of action woven through the compelling narrative making this a real "page turner". I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series.
I loved the setting of this book - from Puerto Rico to various Caribbean islands and the time spent on the boat sailing from one island to another. The stunning and relaxing settings were a great contrast to the nefarious actions of the main characters.
In order for this story to work, the reader has to develop some sort of an affinity for the two main characters and a desire to learn more about them given their indifference towards violence and their penchant for lying. This well written story is told from the point of view of Finn - so everything you learn about Mary or anyone else is through his filter. Questions arise about Mary's credibility almost from the start. But, Mary was so crafty that she was able to weave a new story from the ashes of the old story or she would just start anew. So as I listened, I kept wondering - what, if anything, was true about Mary? But, just like Finn, I was completely intrigued to learn more about Mary and wanted to believe every lie she told.
Usually, only one character will be a bit of a mystery in story. Here however, Finn is almost as much an enigma as Mary. While you have more information about Finn because you know his thoughts and his actions, he still kept you guessing. What I found really interesting about Finn's character were his moral and ethical boundaries given what he did for a living.
Narration Review
The narrator, David Bosco, did a great job. He has a wonderful barritone voice and narrates at a good pace. He uses different voices to create distinctive characters - even the female characters are done well - which can be a real comical miss for some male narrators. I really enjoyed how he was able to rachet up the tension or emotion of the story with his vocal performance abilities.
More from Charles Dougherty
Laura is an avid audiobook listener, hearing more than 300 audiobooks a year. She’s always up for a good listen and enjoys being transported to new worlds. Laura believes narrators are integral to creating a great listen and loves finding new authors in just about any genre – from Cozy Mysteries (especially ones with animals), Romance, and History to Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thrillers, and Horror.
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