This was one of the audible monthly free listens.  I listened to this at work while binning and while I would love to say I couldn't focus on it because of the job, that's not the case.  It was a fun-ish listen; the stories had some comedy, and intrigue that made me laugh or gasp, but it was nothing to write home about.

I feel as though it was a good effort and the stories were decent, but I could only manage 3-stars.  The stories all take place during the "current global situation" and I can appreciate the thought behind it.  A little something to make you giggle during quarantine, or something the spike your heart rate.  I get the intentions behind it, and I applaud the authors and editors, as well as the narrators.  I just didn't love it.  It was not quite distracting enough.

But it's a quick listen with comedy, quarantined mobsters, estranged brothers stuck together in their childhood home, and a woman who is certain one neighbor murdered his b=husband and is slowly disposing of the body in pastry boxes every day. So it's worth a listen, especially if you're an audible member.

The Crimson Parrot - A genuinely funny take on what happens when the hard-case criminals from classic noir detective novels have to work from home.

The Cape House - fun story progression as the characters reveal themselves

Stop Motion - meh

My friend, who probably has better taste than me and far more in the way of patience, graciously allowed me to borrow her hardcover copy of this tome. Me, being me, knew I would never finish it in this decade and decided to read it the old fashioned way and in audio so I could speed my way through it. 

That did not happen.

Juliana AKA Alex is a chemist/torturer/super smart lady who is on the run from her former employer who was up to nefarious deeds. They have already murdered her mentor who was the only person she cared about in the whole wide world. She fears she’s next because, well, her mentor is dead! So what does she do next? She accepts an assignment from her former employer hoping they will now leave her alone and she can live a somewhat normal life and won’t have to suit up with toxins and weaponry and sleep with a gas mask on her face every night. I was a little confused on this logic but I could’ve mixed things up because I might’ve been daydreaming a little when the many boring details began to lose me.

Anyway, her next assignment includes abducting a man suspected of carrying a biological weapon capable of starting a plague. He is a handsome, long haired, hazel eyed school teacher whose wife left him years ago because he wasn’t able to give her the life of luxury she felt she deserved. He even builds houses for Habitat for Humanity in his spare time. Clearly a good guy, right? But wait. Alex has pictures proving he is up to no good! Even though it seems improbable, she has proof that he’s been having secret meetings with the nefarious evil-doers who, along with his help, will unleash a devastating plague upon the population.

Yes! Count me in.

Alex doesn’t usually speak to her targets but she makes the mistake of chatting up this one and it turns out he’s quite alright. Seems like a nice guy even and he’s really cute. But she has a job to do and she jabs him with an ecstasy/truth serum blend she’s cooked up for the occasion and she learns that he is most likely innocent and that he likes her face. I suppose I can guess where this is going and it won’t end with the plague.

Darn it all!

It’s here that things went from a little boring to insta-romancy in the blink of an eye and I’m left wondering where the “gripping page-turner” the blurb promised me ran off to. 

But I plundered on and wish I hadn’t because, call me a wuss if you will, dogs have now died. Smart, loyal, beautiful, innocent dogs have lost their lives for these two incompetents and I am pissed off, sad for the doggies and disappointed with the way this book is going and doubt it will ever recover enough to grab my attention. And though the narrator is competent, this story has dragged out for way too long.



I’m calling it a day at just over the 50% mark. My dear friend had good intentions but this book was not meant for me.

Usually I would categorize this series as a mystery, but it was more a small romantic snippet of Julia and Brisbaine's relationship and some changes that have happened. I have no idea why I stopped reading this series - well I have an idea but I won't mention it here - but now I'm back. Really good short story.