Left To Die

Narrated by Abigail Reno

This review is all spoilers, I'm marking the major ones.

I was so behind Inktober that when I found a Friday off, I decided I'd work on catching up. But I didn't want to do that in complete silence, so, since I discovered that drawing goes very well with listening to books, I went ahead and looked for something to read while drawing and I found this book. The audiobook is about 8½h long and I didn't think I'd finish it in a day, but I somehow managed to do it.

Now. I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed Abigail Reno's narration, she did a very good job, each character has their distinct voice, the pacing is great, and that might be the only reason why I didn't drop this book. The plot was catchy enough, but from the get go I had a few questions. I am curious to know why Adele is the way she is. How did Blake Pierce construct her, why make her have triple citizenship? While I think that's a great idea, I don't feel like it's been dealt with as best as it could have. Her status stood up to me instantly and not in a good way.

Then let's talk a bit about John, Adele's DGSI partner. This French guy named John. John Renee with a French accent. I might have dropped the book at his third 'American princess' if I would have read it physically. I might have chuck it straight into the bin. I don't know if the plot would have been enough to keep me interested. He was infuriating, rude, and, to quote Abigail, a pig, only that unlike Abigail I mean it.

There was also this other character, already forgot her name, some tall lady who looked smart. She had a clever look. What is that all about? Literally, all I know about the lady is she had a clever look and it felt so odd having that bit repeated over and over again. I can't figure out why that had to be repeated, what was the purpose. What I do know is that whatever Blake Pierce wanted to do there, it didn't work.

And there was another character, forgot his name too (wow, I just finished this and I can't remember most of the characters' names), the second victim in the book, the one who escaped the murderer. That bit was probably the most exciting part of the book. The way the attack was described, the unknown if he's going to be rescued or not and then the relief when he actually got away, I liked that part a lot. Only to not have that one character mentioned for the rest of the book. He was taken to the hospital and that was it. No interrogation, no follow-up, no mention on how he's doing.

The plot overall was fine. I mean, it was not the best, Adele is obviously one of a kind heroine, she just figures things out and is the perfect candidate for a out of the hat new job that benefits multiple agencies (yes, she's that valuable), she's outstanding. She is likeable, she seems like a good agent (or detective? I don't know what her job description says, probably agent), but in reality she is really good at guessing. And somehow the first thing she hears about this mysterious murderer is true and no other leads are needed (not that anyone offered).

The murder plot was not as sharp (ha!) as the author intended, in my humble opinion, it is just a series of lucky events. Adele had luck, not skill. Her only—not quality, but I can't think of a better word—is that she has triple citizenship. That's all. Without that, the character Adele Sharp, the agent Adele Sharp, would not exist.

The book left some question marks for the next instalments, some unsolved conflicts and some mysteries, but it did not make me curious about what's next for Adele. Or to know more about her past. I could skip all of the other books just so I won't have to deal with Renee again, the amount of eye rolling I did cannot be okay for me.

The narration did a very good job at keeping me interested and I tend to rate the book higher than I normally would (again, I would have probably dropped it if I would have had the book in my hands) only thanks to the excellent job Abigail Reno did. I feel like her narration shouldn't be overlooked. I'm in a pickle now.

Let's settle for this, the stars on this review are for the book (with something extra for the writing style because I liked it), but Abigail Reno gets the full five stars.