Listen With Lillian - Nick Williams Mystery series by Frank W Butterfield

The Unexpected Heiress by Frank W Butterfield (Nick Williams Mystery Book 1) & The Amorous Attorney by Frank W Butterfield (Nick Williams Mystery Book 2)

Narrated by Brian Rollins

Buy Links: The Unexpected Heiress // The Amorous Attorney

My Two Pennies' Worth

These are the first two books in the Nick Williams Mysteries series. Set in 1950s San Francisco this is like a gay version of Perry Mason or Nero Wolfe, you can almost imagine it in black and white. Nick is a PI with a firefighter ‘husband’, Carter, and they live together in a small house (despite Nick being rich as Rockefeller). This is one of those ‘everybody’s gay’ stories, but it makes sense that a couple in a relationship would surround themselves with like-minded people where they would be able to be themselves. What this does mean is that the stories are written with an excellent sense of community. Nick is a champion for the cause, and a bit of a cupid. He and Carter are still friends with all their exes, and they make up part of their group of friends.

The story is told purely from Nick’s POV. He is forthright, as only someone with money can be. He doesn’t always consider the impact of his actions on others, but when things go wrong, especially through his actions, he will try to put things right.

Despite the era in which this is set being fraught for gay people, with the moral code in Hollywood and the McCarthy witch-hunts, this book has a lot of humour too. The mysteries in the two books both involve murder and blackmail, so there is some dark drama in the subject matter. (Seriously, don’t get too invested in some of the side characters, you never know who’s going to be snuffed out next. I got upset about one of the characters that have died so far.) But Nick is sharp and witty, and a little bitchy in his internal thoughts.

I thought the sense of place and period were really well done, although not knowing the layout of San Francisco at all, some of the directions were overdone for me, but I can see how they would appeal to someone familiar with the area.

Book two followed on immediately from the first, picking the timeline up from where the first finished, each covering one or two weeks. The main murder plots are wrapped up in each book but not everything in the background is resolved, and those threads are carried on to the next book.

This was the audiobook that I listened to. The narrator was excellent and was able to impart life into the story and charm into Nick’s telling of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed both these books and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Listen with Lillian - Once Upon a Haunted Moor by Harper Fox

Once Upon a Haunted Moor by Harper Fox

Narrated by Tim Gilbert

Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins

Gideon Frayne has spent his whole working life as a policeman in the village of Dark on Bodmin Moor. It's not life in the fast lane, but he takes it very seriously, and his first missing-child case is eating him alive. When his own boss sends in a psychic to help with the case, he's gutted - he's a level-headed copper who doesn't believe in such things, and he can't help but think that the arrival of clairvoyant Lee Tyack is a comment on his failure to find the little girl. But Lee is hard to hate, no matter how Gideon tries. At first Lee's insights into the case make no sense, but he seems to have a window straight into Gideon's heart. Son of a Methodist minister, raised in a tiny Cornish village, Gideon has hidden his sexuality for years. It's cost him one lover, and he can't believe it when this green-eyed newcomer stirs up old feelings and starts to exert a powerful force of attraction. Gideon and Lee begin to work together on the case. But there are malignant forces at work in the sleepy little village of Dark, and not only human ones - Gideon is starting to wonder, against all common sense, if there might be some truth in the terrifying legend of the Bodmin Beast after all. As a misty Halloween night consumes the moor, Gideon must race against time to save not only the lost child but the man who's begun to restore his faith in his own heart.

Buy links: Audible  

My Two Pennies Worth

This audiobook is book #1 in the Tyack & Frayne series. I look at my original review for the ebook and I find words like mysterious, evocative, creepy. And I have to say, they probably apply even more to the audio production.

Once Upon a Haunted Moor is set in a small Cornish village with Bodmin Moor as its backyard. A child has gone missing up on the moor and the local bobby, Gideon Frayne has had no luck in locating her. In an effort to try a new tack, a psychic, Lee Tyack has been called in to attempt to use his particular skills. At first this rubs Gideon up the wrong way, but mostly that is from a desire to protect the girl’s family from a charlatan and guilt at not finding her himself. But they soon find a way to work together, and more.

Gideon is a solid character, not easily spooked, and reliable. He’s been hiding in the closet, despite having been in a serious relationship previously, although it may have been a closet made of glass for all the good it did hiding the true nature of their relationship from the villagers.

Lee is a psychic, but he has other jobs, because finding lost children, or bodies, doesn’t pay the bills (because he doesn’t charge for those type of services). Lee is a good man, honest and not the type to give false hope. He’s also a man worth coming out of the closet for and Gideon does so in quite spectacular fashion (for him). Their romance progresses over a very short space of time but never once feels like instalove. At the end of the novella their relationship feels strong, a good basis to start something from, and if you never listened to another book in the series it is a solid place to end. But why would you, when there are so many more excellent stories to be told.

The narrator does an excellent job, imbuing the tale with an edge of mystery and the unknown. The MCs in particular have distinctively different voices and the accents convey those of really Cornish people that I’ve met.

All in all an excellent start to the series and I look forward to revisiting Tinsel Fish soon.

Listen with Lillian - The High King's Golden Tongue

One of my favourite things about audiobooks is the ability to catch up with a series when a new book appears without having to put aside actual reading time (see last post for all the places I utilise audios). There’s nothing worse than a new book in a series arriving after several years and me realising there is no audio. Or, sacrilege, the narrator is so bad that I can’t listen to it.

But sometimes, when book and narrator align in perfection, I love to be able to simply immerse myself in a favourite book and let the words flow over me.

That’s what I’ve been doing this last week or so.

The High King's Golden Tongue 

Written By Megan Derr

Narrated by Michael Stellman

Prince Allen has trained his entire life to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious mother, who has made their kingdom one of the wealthiest and most influential in the empire. For the past few years he has trained to become the new consort of the High King. The only thing no one prepared him for was the stubborn, arrogant High King himself, who declares Allen useless and throws him out of court.

High King Sarrica is ruling an empire at war, and that war will grow exponentially worse if his carefully laid plans do not come to fruition. He's overwhelmed and needs help, as much as he hates to admit it, but it must be someone like his late consort: a soldier, someone who understands war, who is not unfamiliar with or afraid of the harsher elements of rule. What he doesn't need is the delicate, pretty little politician foisted on him right as everything goes wrong.

Buy links: Audible // iTunes // Amazon

My two pennies worth.

Tales of the High Court is one of my 'go to' fantasy series and this is the book that starts the series. I'm in awe of the world building and the way Megan Derr incorporates diversity without blinking an eye, especially the ease that she has introduced transgender characters into the world. The story is larger than the romance, in fact there are great swathes of pages where the characters aren't even in the same country and certainly not interacting. The plot is rife with politics and court shenanigans, murders and traitors, but the romance is also integral to the plot and affects the actions of more than just the MCs.

Michael Stellman's narration is excellent and his voice is very easy to listen to. He also adds a extra level of understanding to the characters with his interpretations.

Low in sex, but full of passion, plot, and interesting side characters.

Listen with Lillian - The Fireman's Pole

I love an audiobook. Although generally, due to the cost, I will only buy audios of books that I have already read and enjoyed. And knowing the story means that I miss nothing if my attention should lapse for a moment, because I normally listen to audiobooks while I’m doing something else. They make a lonely drive pass in a flash, the treadmill at the gym much less arduous, and food shopping more pleasurable. And because I love them I think everyone else should love them too, or at least give them a fighting chance.

So, I’ve decided I’ll do a weekly, maybe fortnightly (you know how good I am at keeping to a schedule), post of my favourite audiobooks. Or new releases that catch my attention.

First up, one of my chums has a new(ish) audio release out.


The Fireman’s Pole (Dreamspun Desires)
By: Sue Brown
Narrated by: Finn Sterling
Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
Unabridged
Release date: 02-02-18
Language: English
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC




The flames of passion rise for the lord of the manor.

It’s springtime in Calminster village, but things are already heating up. Sexy firefighter Dale Maloney is new to the local station. When Dale backs the company fire engine into the village maypole, he attracts the ire - and attention - of Benedict Raleigh, the Baron Calminster.

Soon after meeting Dale, Ben breaks off his relationship with his girlfriend, and the sparks between Ben and Dale are quickly fanned into flames.

Unfortunately, the passion between the two men isn’t the only blaze in the village. An arsonist’s crimes are escalating, and it’s up to Dale and his crew to stop them. Meanwhile, as they investigate, an unscrupulous business partner attempts to coerce Ben into marrying his daughter. The May Day parade is around the corner, but they have plenty of fires to put out before Ben can finally slide down the fireman’s pole.

Buy link: myBook.to/FiremansPoleAudio

My two pennies worth.

I’m a sucker for stories set in a small British villages or communities (I say British rather than English because two of my favourites are Elin Gregory’s The Bones of Our Fathers, which is set in Wales and Clare London’s Romancing the Ugly Duckling, set in Scotland). Hell, I’ve even written my own (shameless self-promo for Village Love series). So you can imagine my joy when Sue Brown released The Fireman’s Pole.

Firstly, that’s a super title and ripe for some good old British innuendo, nudge nudge wink wink, say no more, but Sue uses it sparingly and isn't ramming pole and wood jokes down our throats every few pages.

Secondly, not only do we have a village setting, with a ‘Lord of the Manor’ but we have Firemen too. Yes folks, Men in Uniform alert. Could this book get any better? There’s camaraderie between the fire crew, a village rallying together, a May Day parade, and some great secondary characters, including a female character you prepare yourself to hate who actually turns out to be completely kickass.

If I have one qualm it is directed at the publisher. An English village setting really needs a British narrator, or at least one that can do a passable English accent. While the accent Finn Sterling applies to Benedict is fine, I didn’t like the one he did for Dale. Also, it’s slightly disconcerting to have the voices in English and the narrative in American. Please, please, please can we have an English narrator.

An endearing tale with a very British feel and great setting. And I love gruff but kind Benedict.