Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Lucky Town
SERIES: Badlands #1.5
AUTHOR: Morgan Brice
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2019
LENGTH: 3 hours, 9 minutes
BLURB:
Psychic medium Simon Kincaide and his boyfriend, Myrtle Beach homicide detective Vic D’Amato, find that the only thing more frightening than murder might be navigating their first holiday season as a couple.
A trip back to Pittsburgh to spend Thanksgiving with Vic’s large, exuberant family means dodging old frenemies and a bitter ex-boyfriend. A cold case comes back to haunt Vic when a murdered woman’s ghost begs Simon for justice. Then a new murder back in Myrtle Beach looks suspiciously familiar, and the dead man’s ghost isn’t playing nice. When Simon gets a vision of the next victim before the crime occurs, he realizes that all the murders are supernaturally linked. Catching the murderer will take his psychic sleuthing skills along with Vic’s street smarts to avert a tragedy. Can they do right by ghosts past, present, and yet-to-come without ending up in the crosshairs of a killer for Christmas?
REVIEW:
In this interlude we find Vic and Simon taking the next steps in their relationship. Not only are they moving in together, they are also going to Pittsburgh to celebrate Thanksgiving with Vic’s large and boisterous family. (Gulp)
The trip to Pittsburgh doesn’t go quite to plan. But then again, when do things go according to plan? The meeting of the family runs smoother than they expected and Simon is instantly hugged and welcomed to the D’Amato clan. Simon also made a friend for life in Vic’s mom when he delivered a message form a dearly departed family member. But old “friends” and an ex make themselves known and causes some drama. As if that wasn’t enough, the ghost of a murder victim visits Simon and begs him for justice. It soon becomes apparent that the cold case wasn’t that cold anymore and that serial killer do not appreciate when they are about to be discovered.
I liked that despite the shortness of the story there was quite a lot going on, but in a good way. It wasn’t too much or too crowded – neither was it lacking depth, it was just right. From the deepening of Vic and Simon’s relationship, to the murder mystery and hunt of a killer. But also that we got glimpses of Vic’s past and insights to both of their families. I liked it all and look forward to learning more.
I love the way Kale Williams narrate. He lives in the world with the characters and changes the tone and pacing after the situation and what’s going in. It makes you feel the suspense when the foe is near. Feel the anger when Nick, Vic’s old boyfriend re-appears to cause trouble. Feel the intensity of Vic and Simon’s lovemaking. It’s there in his word and voice. My only wish is that he would differentiate between the different characters, to make it easier for the listener to follow the story.
All in all this was a nice and rather uncomplicated visit with Vic and Simon. It was filled with family, holiday cheers, but also of course ghosts, visions and murder. It was all neatly packed into this holiday story.
RATING:
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