Stolen Obsession
Written by Marlene M. Bell ⎮ Narrated by Katina Kalin
Author: Marlene M. Bell
Narrator: Katina Kalin
Length: 9 hours and 38 minutes
Series: Annalisse Series, Book 1
Publisher: Ewephoric
Released: Nov. 28, 2018
Genre: Mystery
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Synopsis
People die, but legends live on.
New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury recently lost her best friend to murder. The killer's identity may be linked to her friend's expensive missing bracelet, a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.
Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears, despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act. Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner's son to help, even though she's afraid he'll break her heart.
Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse's concerns, until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.
Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his mother, feared dead or kidnapped. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse's back, can her plan to rescue Alec's mother save them all?
Willow's Review
5 Stars
This audiobook was provided by its author, Marlene M. Bell, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thanks, Marlene!
Marlene Bell created a novel to remember—the suspense, romance, drama, heartache, betrayal, murder, greed, and triumph riddled the pages of Stolen Obsession with page-turning excitement! Bell does have a knack for believable and endearing character creations and a profound ability to write a fictional story with gritty realism.
Annalisse, the lead protagonist, worked as an antiquities appraiser in New York and led a reasonably normal life. Or at least, as normal as working in the art world in New York City would allow. Annalisse’s life changes rapidly due to the sudden and eventful murder of her dearest and a best friend named Sam. Heart-broken and determined to help solve the murder, her life took a dramatic turn that eventuated to finding a 500-year-old missing bracelet that belonged to Sam that is imbued with a tale that few could possibly imagine. Allegedly the bracelet carried an ancient curse that will pommel the wearer with unspeakable evil and tragic events.
PTSD had affected Annalisse’s mental status from the traumatic events that had ensued. And she decided to direct her energy into working on catching the hellish murderer via her dedicated efforts and relentless detective work. Annlisse met the dashingly handsome self-proclaimed playboy Greek god named Alec Zavos with a body that was the embodiment of the perfect male specimen. The two began their romantic encounters fairly soon after meeting—with flirty yet, fairly steamy dialogue to accompany the implied adult activities.
Narrator Katina Kalin did a brilliant job bringing the characters to life with realistic vocal inflections, cadence, that were accompanied long with changing accents to bring life-like realism to the many different characters throughout the chapters. Most of the cast are quite distinguishable with the vocal effort Kalin has put forth into their narratives.
Stolen Obsession was well-written with plot twists that will surely motivate the majority of readers to stay up past bedtime to see what happens next between solving a heinous crime or the steamy romantic relationship between Annalisse and Alec.
As the title eluded, Stolen Obsession is the first in the series. The following book is titled Spent Identity! Happy listening!
Willow Moon Greymoor follows her lifelong passion for literature and writing. Working as a professional book reviewer is truly part of her soul’s calling. For over 14 years, Willow has been reviewing books, writing, beta reading, and offering professional advice to authors around the world.