Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Absinthe of Malice 
SERIES: Sinners #5
AUTHOR: Rhys Ford
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
RELEASE DATE: October 3, 2016
LENGTH: 6 hours 49 minutes
BLURB:
“We’re getting the band back together.”
Those six words send a chill down Miki St. John’s spine, especially when they’re spoken with a nearly religious fervor by his brother-in-all-but-blood, Damien Mitchell. However, those words were nothing compared to what Damien says next.
“And we’re going on tour.”
When Crossroads Gin hits the road, Damien hopes it will draw them closer together. There’s something magical about being on tour, especially when traveling in a van with no roadies, managers, or lovers to act as a buffer. The band is already close, but Damien knows they can be more brothers of sorts, bound not only by familial ties but by their intense love for music.
As they travel from gig to gig, the band is haunted by past mistakes and personal demons, but they forge on. For Miki, Damie, Forest, and Rafe, the stage is where they all truly come alive, and the music they play is as important to them as the air they breathe.
But those demons and troubles won’t leave them alone, and with every mile under their belts, the band faces its greatest challenge overcoming their deepest flaws and not killing one another along the way.
REVIEW:
The band is going on a tour, but instead of the previous sold out, high tech revenues, they are starting from scratch, with dingy bars and no fame or fortune to their names.
Absinthe of Malice reads more like a “where are they now?” kind of book. It’s not a book that really stands on its own, so to fully appreciate it you need to have read the previous books in the Sinners series. We catch up with each couple as the band travel from gig to gig. Things happening along the way brings the past back into their lives and some will struggle more than others.
I’ve loved the other books in this series and have devoured all of them these past few weeks. So I’m really sad that I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the rest. To me it didn’t really fit it with the other books. It didn’t have the same vibe to it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not in a bad book or read, but compared to the rest of the series it is lacking. I missed the suspense, the intensity that was present in the other books. And what little was there was kind of hidden or brushed away.
Tristan James was back to his monotone way of narration. His voice is pleasant to listen to. And this might be an unpopular thought, but he has the kind of voice that should read bedtime stories because the listener will fall asleep in no time. By this I don’t mean they fall asleep of boredom of any kind. Just that his voice has this relaxing and calming tone which is perfect for bedtime stories of when you want to relax. For suspense or romance novels it feels a bit off. But this is my own personal opinion so feel free to ignore me.
While it was nice to catch up with them all and see them moving forward, I was expecting a bit more on the suspense that has been so prominent in the previous books. That being said, I am really looking forward to reading the next (and last) book in this series. That was one heck of an ending to this book!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: