Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Slay Ride

AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon

NARRATOR: Alexander Masters

PUBLISHER: JustJoshin Publishing

RELEASE DATE: October 7, 2019

LENGTH: 2 hours, 44 minutes

BLURB:

A wild and dangerous ride takes two lonely men into uncharted territory….

1943 Montana. Returning home to Montana after being wounded in the Pacific, Police Chief Robert Garrett was hoping for a little much needed peace on earth and goodwill toward man. Instead, he finds himself chasing after a cold-blooded killer on Christmas day aided – whether he likes it or not – by eager young reporter Jamie Jameson.

Jamie has idolized Police Chief Garrett most of his life. Despite a stolen birthday kiss seven years earlier, he knows his feelings are unreturned. Even if Rob felt the same, there’s no room in their world for such feelings between men. But while Jamie can accept Robert not sharing his feelings, he won’t put up with being treated like a troublesome kid brother. He too has a job to do and he intends on traveling this bloody and twisted road with Robert Garrett – no matter where it leads.

REVIEW:

Slay Ride was a sweet mystery novella. Set during Christmas in 1943 Montana it had a wonderful sense of place and time. Even though this book is short it’s packed with emotions, a great plot and likable characters.

I think what l liked the most, and maybe that’s the wrong terminology for it, because bottom line, it’s horrible and sad. Anyway I loved how Laynon portrayed the view of homosexuality in that time period. The difficulties Rob and Jamie faced if they were ever found out. How it was kind of a given that they’d try to change, to marry and have children. That they also expected to be alone for the rest of their lives. It felt so genuine – and heartbreaking. It highlights that some things have changed for the better – I only wish it had changed more in all of these years.

With this book I’ve met a new narrator – new to me at least; Alexander Masters. He was a perfect fit for this book, he gave you that sense of place and understood the characters. He brought them to life, made you get to know them. His voice was a bit gruff at times, but it was soo nice to listen to.

I loved the newsflash in the end, it was great. I loved that beeping sound that signaled the start of it, the tone and intensity of Masters. It made me sit up and take notice, and if I hadn’t been before I was transported back to yesteryears news bulletins. I love these kinds of special effects. They add to the listener experience in a big way. They might only last seconds out of the entire book, but they also show that the narrator have gone out of their way in producing the book.

I hope this duo will produce more books together in the future – or is that the past?

RATING:

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