Nanci Rathbun

If there were just one thing I could praise about this book, it would be the protagonist. Angelina Bonaparte is the class of protagonist you don't see often. A middle-aged divorcee, with grown-up children and grandkids of their own, who decided that she wanted to do something different with her life and got herself a P.I. license. A woman who is not afraid of her body, who carry a healthy sexual life and who makes no secret about how she keeps herself fit and attractive: she works for it.

But show more it would be unjust to the rest of the things that makes this an amazing book. The plot is fantastic, the writing compelling and perfectly paced, so you simply don't want to stop.

And the simply glorious multiculturality of it! Angelina is of Sicilian origin, her boyfriend, Polish, her associated, Japanese, her client, Serbian. And it feels like a truly necessary and refreshing, so welcoming slice of life!

I'll say this: I'm dying to submerge myself in the rest of the series. Here to a new favourite author.

Regarding Kieren Calland Metts narration, what can I say? It's superb. There are so many characters, so many different accents, and it must have been terribly difficult to manage and keep everybody straight, but she does it. Amazing job! show less

Angelina Bonaparte is a tough 50 something private investigator. She is clever, resourceful, and she has connections.

She makes friends easily, but of course, due to her profession, she makes a few enemies along the way, too.

Her first case is a tricky one, because it looks as if the suspect is guilty of the crime he is charged with, plus, at first, it is a conflict of interests, because she was looking into said suspect on behalf of his betrayed wife.

Angie, a betrayed wife (now divorced) show more herself, is reluctant to accept the case, but in the end, she does, and sets out to find the true killer.



I like Angie. She does a tough job, but at the same time, she doesn’t try to be manlier than a man, but uses her charms and looks, her femininity, and not least her wits and connections to get what she wants.

She is quite obsessed with her clothing and her looks,and describes herself as a ‘hottie’.

I have to say, that nearly put me off, and the detailed descriptions of what she wears for which occasion quite lost me, but I guess it may appeal to some readers.

However, her sense of family, and her being a grandmother and being proud of it got her some bonus points in my book. On the surface, she seems to identify herself through her clothes and her looks, and the sex or lack thereof, but there is more to her than that. She is quite the family gal, though she loves her independency.

Her view of society and how it works is sharp and accurate, and she can be funny.

I love the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, I was very nearly tempted to look them up.

The case as such, and how she goes about it, are quite convincing, even though there is some luck involved, but I didn’t grudge it.

Kieren Culland Metts does a very good job at narrating the story. She doesn’t sound too young nor too old for the part, but exactly right. Her pronunciation of foreign words is fine, and her character voices are distinct.

This was a good listen, and I’m looking forward to the sequels.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Nanci Rathbun. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. show less

I love that our hero in this tale is an independent, older woman. Angie Bonaparte is an independent investigator that often works closely with the local Milwaukee police. However, she’s also got some character flaws that made it difficult for me to like her. She’s really hung up on looks and comparing herself to other women. Angie assumes all women do this and she does so through out the entire book. I would have liked more self-confidence in her character. She trades some petty gossip show more about her boyfriend and that puts her in Mean Girl territory. I felt it was small of her… but then I liked how things ended there and felt she deserved it. So, yeah, I had a love/hate relationship with Angie. Despite that, I have solid hopes that she will grow as a person and do better in Book 2.

The plot itself is solid and I quite enjoyed this aspect of the story. Anthony Belloni, a mob boss, is the obvious suspect when his dish on the side (Elisa Murano) gets murdered. Angie was hired by Gracie Belloni (Tony’s wife) to look into whether or not Tony was having an affair. After digging around in Tony’s affairs, she believes Anthony was honestly re-prioritizing his life with the imminent birth of his 4th or 5th kid by his wife. Of course the local police assigned to the case are way more skeptical.

I especially liked Ted Wukowski, one of the police detectives assigned to the case. He’s grumpy and not personable but Angie sees there’s something more going on there. It was a joy to see the back and forth between these two.

The story does beat on one particular drum quite often: a woman’s independence. Angie comes from a very traditional Italian family that expects women to be stay at home wives and mothers. Angie, after her divorce, has broken away from that. She went even further by choosing a traditionally male occupation. I like all of this but, even so, sometimes that drum beating was a little too often. Angie has a bit of a chip on her shoulder while also being a bit silly worrying over her personal sex appeal. I would have liked the story a little more if this aspect had been toned down a bit.

The pacing is good with clues, some action, character building, and this budding relationship between Angie and Wukowski. Over all, I look forward to Book 2 and seeing if Angie can gain some self confidence. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Kieren Calland Metts was OK for this book. Her narration needs some polishing all around. She has a decent voice for Angie and her pronunciations are very clear. She is hesitant with any accent so sometimes it came out a bit fumbled or over-accentuated. Her male voices need some masculinity. The pacing is a little slow and the volume sometimes fluctuates a bit. 3/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Nanci Rathbun. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. show less

Note: Even though this is Book 2, it works fine as a stand alone novel.

Private instigator Angeline Bonaparte is growing on me. I was on the fence in Book 1, but I like her better in this story. She’s a bit more mature and not as lacking in confidence as in Book 1. The plot is tighter than Book 1 and the mystery takes a bit more to solve. I also enjoy the continuing relationship between Angie and Ted Wukowski.

I didn’t care for all the fashion name drops and the repeated descriptions of show more Angie’s underwear. I don’t care that much about her matching bra and panties, even if Ted does. I liked that a 50+ year old single woman enjoys her sexuality, but I don’t need to know her daily choice in under garments. I don’t pay attention to fashion name brands, so dropping those names to describe what characters are wearing was boring for me. Honestly, I’m not going to go google what this type of hat is or that type of jacket.

Back to the plot: Adriana Johnson is a young adult who recently lost both her parents in an apparent robbery gone bad. Now she’s inherited millions of dollars but she’s got lots of questions. Her family didn’t live like they had money so Adriana has suspicions about where this money came from. Considering her family has a bloody past, I think this prudent of her. Adriana has a mix of distrusting nature and innocence. She doesn’t know how to do her own makeup but she’s wise enough to hire a PI to look into this money.

It’s a small cast this time, so it soon becomes apparent who’s the bad guy, but tracking that person down and keeping Adriana safe isn’t so easy. Most of this tale is about the hunt which I liked. Angie carries concealed & knows how to handle her gun, which is great. The fact that she feels she needs to repeat this was a little tiring. Angie had a chip on her shoulder about women working in traditionally male jobs in Book 1; she’s still got that chip in this book. I don’t mind the point being made, but to keep hammering away at it is a little tiring.

Ted and Angie continue to circle each other, figuring out just how deep their romance really is. I liked the back and forth between them. It’s quite sweet how their families get pulled into it. I didn’t feel that Angie should have to apologize to her dad, but I also could see how a traditional Italian family might take the minor ‘scandal’. This tale ends on a sweet, happy note. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Kieren Calland Metts did OK with this narration. Her pacing is a little slow but she has a very good voice for Angie Bonaparte. Her masculine voices are better than in Book 1 but could still use a little more masculinity. Metts accents are hesitant and muddied. Also, and I don’t think this falls on the narrator, but there are several moments in the book where the author explains how certain names are pronounced. With an audiobook version, there’s no need to spell out how to pronounce Adriana, etc. Metts has great little kid voices and a perfect elderly woman voice for Ted’s mother. 3/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Nanci Rathbun. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. show less