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Excerpt and Giveaway
Details
- Narrated by: Michael Harrity
- Series: Detective Al Warner Suspense, Book 2
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 11-09-21
A Detective Al Warner Suspense Novel
Mystery / Suspense
Too many infant boys of Palm Beach gentry are dying of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Only obstetrics nurse Casey Jansson is suspicious.
Al Warner, crack Miami homicide detective, is inactive, languishing on medical leave from a deadly shootout with the Angel of Death. He’s in the best physical condition of his life, but struggling to convince the
department’s shrink he is not suffering from PTSD.
Warner meets Casey at a local pub. They are attracted to each other, but misreading the other’s body language, remain reserved. Learning of the SIDS deaths from Casey, Warner concedes it sounds more than coincidental,
agreeing to help investigate and hoping romance develops later.
Then Danny O’Brien, a resident doctor and Casey’s best friend, whose research on the deaths is coming to a stunning conclusion, is killed when his little Honda is pushed into the path of a speeding
tractor-trailer.
Casey is shattered, but stubbornly continues her search for a culprit for these SIDS deaths. She receives Danny’s notes, mailed to her just before his death. Eager to investigate, she leaves Warner a message, and
then follows her suspect deep into the Everglades. Getting Casey’s message, Warner races after her, sure that she put herself in danger. But unlike Casey, who had an unwitting guide, he is uncertain where to look.
Casey’s obsession tangles her up in mortal danger. Only Warner can save her – if he can figure out where she went, and get there in time.
My Thoughts
Occasionally when listening to an audiobook, I wonder if I would have enjoyed reading it as much. Some narrators just have a way of bringing a story to life. However, in the case of Born to Die, it felt just the opposite. I think I would have liked reading the book.
The narrator did an okay job, and I can’t imagine how hard it would be to change voices and then remember who was what voice. And as I said, Harrity did a fine job, but it didn’t quite work for me. Especially the women’s voices. They didn’t flow and feel believable.
The story, though slow to take off, did capture my attention. And only when I started to review this did I discover that Born to Die is the second book in a series. So I can truthfully say it’s an easy-to-follow standalone story.
I was immediately concerned that this mystery does revolve around what might be a very sensitive topic to lots of readers/listeners: SIDS deaths.
When too many babies begin dying from SIDS at St Mary’s Hospital in Palm Beach, Florida, one of the nurses at the hospital becomes suspicious. She gets help from a detective and friend to try to solve this usual happening that no one else has questioned.
It’s definitely interesting and kept me waiting for the reveal, but I do wish the first half had moved faster and grabbed my attention like the last half of the book.
Final Thoughts
If this trigger warning, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is noted and you feel comfortable with the subject, then you might want to give this book a try. And in retrospect, I do believe a few more places might have been a little clearer if I’d read the first book. So you may want to start with Death’s Angel: A Detective Al Warner Suspense.
My thanks to Rabt Book Tours and the author for an audiobook and the ability to freely express my opinion.
Rating: 3 ☆☆☆
About the Author
George A. Bernstein, now living in south Florida, is the retired President
of a modest, publicly held appliance manufacturer. He spent years attending
writing seminars and conferences, learning to polish his work and developing
a strong “voice.” George is acclaimed by his peers as a superb
wordsmith and a crafter of surprise endings no one expects. He works with
professional editors to ensure his novels meet his own rigorous standards,
and all of his books are currently published by small indie press, GnD
Publishing LLC, in which he has an interest.
Taken is the sixth of his Detective Al Warner Suspense series, with the
first five; Death’s Angel; Born to Die; The Prom Dress Killer; White Death; and Sniper, all garnering rave reviews. His Detective Al Warner has attracted many fans, with readers likening Warner to James Patterson’s
Alex Cross. Four of his novels are also now available in Audible.
Bernstein’s first novel, Trapped, was a winner in a small Indie publisher’s “Next Great American Novel” contest, and received high praise, gaining many mostly 5-star reviews, reaching “Top 100” status. His second novel, A 3rd Time to Die (A paranormal Romantic Suspense) has also garnered mostly 5-Star & 4-Star reviews, with one reader likening him to the best, less “spooky” works of Dean Koontz & Stephen King.
Bernstein is also a “World-class” fly-fisherman, setting a baker’s dozen IGFA World Records, mostly on fly-rods. He’s written the popular Toothy Critters Love Flies, the complete book on fly-fishing for pike & musky.
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