Shari Ring Wolf

Nice, homey read

Reviewed: 04-16-25

Not all coming of age stories feature young adults becoming adults. Like this story, most paint a picture with words about how people grow into the next phase of becoming who they are meant to be. In this story, Johnny and Isabel grow into the role of becoming parents, or...not becoming parents.

The story features extended family, and roots. It also includes the metaphor of wings--roots and wings in life. It explores holding tight with love, and letting go with trust, in love and in the process.

It moved a bit slow for my taste, but that was necessary, and it's a short story anyway. I listened entirely, and the narration is perfect for the story.

Recommended for times when you're in the mood for a slow, easy family tale that won't take all day to read.

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All right then, go, Joe!

Reviewed: 12-05-23

Joe Pickett is still chasing n catching the bad guys, always setting his hat "crown down" when he must politely remove it from his head. (Joe follows da rules!) He "clamps" the hat back on his head when its time to Cowboy Up again, which means things could "get western" in a hurry. Yup. Just "yup."
Joe Pickett novels are at once both plot driven and character driven. They might even be called "police procedural" stories. The plot in this title consists of a botched attempt by a mystery long range sharpshooter to.shoot to kill a local judge but accidentally shoots the judges beloved wife. All law enforcement is called to the case and once again, Joe is at the bottom of the respect pile, being a lowly game warden and all...he's not considered a "real" LEO. Despite the roadblocks placed by a bumbling and rude new sheriff, Joe gets to the bottom of it all or rather, Joe and his beautiful.wife Marybeth solve the crime. Marybeth is a crackerjack internet search genius and bad guys would not likely be caught without her help. Joe and Marybeth are a true.team, the marriage we would all love fo have.
This installment, which like others in the series could be a stand alone book, includes the recurring characters of Nate Romanowski: the good, moral criminal who breaks the rules Joe won't, and Missy.....whatsherlastnamebynow, Joe's evil mother-in-law. Nate is now married with an infant daughter, but he is still Nate, thank goodness! There is a secondary plot with Nate., a carry over from previous books in the series but the background is explained just enough.
Joe and.Marybeth's 3 daughters do not feature prominently in this episode. Perhaps I should say their 2.5 daughters, as one girl was adopted as a preteen. She was assumed dead shortly after the Picketts took her in, but turns out she was only kidnapped then on the run for several horrible, beyond abusive years. She came back to the family as a very troubled teenager. As much as the author tries to write her in as a true member of the family, I still think she comes off as a definite stepchild in Joe.and Marybeth's eyes.
I recommend this book to almost anyone. If you aren't in the mood to pay rather close attention to details, you might want to wait to read or listen to it. I listened to this book entirely. (Great narration from the usual narrator.) I had to back up the narration a few times due to not paying close enough attention.
Well, I'm on to the next book in series!

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Good Enough

Reviewed: 07-10-23

It took some time for me to get into this story. I only had an audio book available, and couldn't switch back and forth to reading. I set the audio book aside a few times when other books caught my interest. I always came back to this story, and close to the end of it, I started enjoying the book enough to finish it.

Maybe I just grew weary of the series and needed a break from it? I do like the characters of Joe Pickett and his family. Maybe I had unconscious disappointment because its the first book I noticed that the Pic left's didn't have spaghetti...or the first one that Joe doesn't toss his.cookies.at a crime scene, lol!

I will get the next JP book and have it ready. But I will take a bit of a break before I read it!

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Hill Wisdom

Reviewed: 06-20-23

I noticed more quaint country sayings, homespun wisdom, and interesting people stories in this book than in the last couple of books I read by this author. I'm not complaining, this is what I like most about Mick Hardin stories. It was much heavier in this book, or maybe I was looking for it.

I mostly listened to this book, though I did end up buying the Kindle version as well and read the last few chapters. I was glad I had the text copy, as my mind kept wandering while I listened. I'm not sure if that's because I had a lot on my mind, or if the story wasn't holding my interest. At the end, 4 murderers are mentioned, and I had to flip back through the book to find all.4 of them. The narrator was as good as he always is, but I kept having to go back and re-listen to large parts of the audio book. Once I.finished the book, I wasn't sure I understood it all. Again, maybe it's me and not the book.

Chris Off putt is still one of my favorite authors. I kept my eye on the release date of this book. I used a credit for the audio book and then purchased the Kindle version. I will probably do the same with the next Mick Hardin/Kentucky hills story by this author.

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Better 2nd time

Reviewed: 06-15-23

I like this author, so I did a search to see if there were any books of his I hadn't read. I downloaded this book, and it became obvious by the highlights and notations that I'd read it before, but I could NOT remember it at all! it seemed from my old notes that I hadn't liked it as much the first time I read it. This time I found myself feeling disgust towards the Simon character who abandoned his family, and a lot.of empathy for his wife who had no idea why he left. I figured out some of the hideous things he had done, but as he blamed his wife in his own mind, I couldn't fathom why. I'm amazed that I don't remember this story. This time I think it will.stay with me for awhile.

It reminds me that life can be very harsh at times, and humans can be fragile. I'm reminded how important a.loving childhood is, and how broken parents sometimes raise.broken children, though not always. Mostly I'm reminded that wrong assumptions can be tragic.

Narration was good, as well. This was the author's 3rd novel. I have to say the author improves with each one. The writing is.good in this one, professional and not full of errors, definitely professionally edited. I do wish some more accurate research had been conducted. The author was way off in describing selective mutual in children, and how aphasia is experienced by the patient. Forgivable, for sure.

I appreciate this authors genre diversity.

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Oh. My. Goodness!!

Reviewed: 06-06-23

What a beautiful story! What a well written book! Very down to earth spirited... a work of true agape love. I will read this book again!

Kimi Cunningham Grant writes about trauma and it's aftermath in straightforward language, with no attempts to dramatize or elicit sympathy. Her writing is as beautiful as the Great Smoky Mountains where the story is played out. The characters, though colorful, are believable. They aren't perfect but their choices are understandable.

I've read other novels set in similar circumstances, but they were doom and gloom, hardship stories. I recall one story that referred to an isolated, hardworking background as child abuse. Not so in this story. In fact, once grown, the daughter says she would not have traded her upbringing for the alternate life her father "stole" her away from.

I was surprised when I read the author's note to this book, that the author is quite religious. While this book is deeply spiritual, the main character is not so sure he believes in God. It is definitely not in the "Christian Fiction" genre.

I did not.care for the narration. The narrator read in a soft voice, slowly, perhaps in an effort to sound gentle and kind, as it was written in the voice of the main character. I found it just a tad creepy, but that could just be me. I didn't care for it, but I did listen to many parts of the book because I didn't want to put it down!

I don't know how to say much more without creating spoilers, and I hope I haven't created any by what I've written so.far.

I highly recommend this book. As I stated, I will read it again.

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Fast paced

Reviewed: 06-05-23

This was.a.quick read.and listen. If it were a movie it would require a.lot.of.stuntmen. It also required more suspension of belief than I'm happy with, but the good story almost made up for that. Our hero was a very good guy with his priorities straight who could think really fast on his feet, and got very lucky a time or three. Which is good, cause he tended to be in the wrong place at the right time and kept getting blamed for.stuff! The bad guys...there were at least 2 of em, 1 was.very, very stupid and the other was very very rich! There was a very small part of the book dedicated to a.love story. Is it a spoiler to.say all's well that ends well? I rather think not, since I had the assumption through the whole book that this would be true.
Narration was decent, and I both read and listened to the book in just a few days in spare time and driving time. Nice entertainment.

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9 people found this helpful

Excellent prose

Reviewed: 06-03-23

There is something about Victoria Helen Stone's writing that is incredibly poetic and lyrical without being pretentious or insipid. She is a master of her craft in her use of words and phrases. "The scent of spring flowers swept by in elusive wisps of breeze.". "... drove up to the garage door that was opening to welcome him in." "Her brain had been a tornado...torn and spinning, pulling in so many awful thoughts. ...her brain racing to sort through the details and. reject them. But it couldn't." "She'd lightened up until she'd practically disappeared into mist.". And there is more, lots more. What I can't show you in this review is how naturally the author slipped this prose into.the plot, the storytelling.

I'm partial to.character driven stories, and in many ways this book was exactly that, though I did find it to be more plot driven than her other works. And I have to say that I never did feel like I knew these women characters very well, not any of them. The men seemed a bit caricatured, but that was forgivable as it added to the story and plot, and even provided some comic relief.

Narration was good, but I held that standard very high because I love how VHS writes! She is one of my absolute favorite authors, since "Jane Doe". I eagerly await her next book, even before I finished this one. I'm hoping I don't have to wait long.

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1 person found this helpful

Quite enjoyable

Reviewed: 04-20-23

A good story, nicely narrated, with likable main characters and despicable bad guys. I listened to this book while on my daily drives. It was a good listen, but I didn't feel compelled to listen to it at other times, so I've given 4-star ratings. I didn't guess what was going to happen nor did I figure out the story's secrets before they were revealed. The story didn't require a lot of "blood and gore" or "shocking" sex scenes to tell a good tale. Good writing, nicely paced.

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Gotta give Joe 5 stars! Always.

Reviewed: 03-07-23

Another great installation to the Joe Pickett series. I really wish this would become a TV series!
That said, this audiobook was well-performed. I’m able to recognize the voices of the regular characters.
In this story, Joe’s narcissistic mother in law is accused of murdering her fifth, and filthy rich, husband. Joe investigates. Marybeth does the research and gets it to add up. Nate Romanowski shows his moral brutality, as usual, but he doesn’t save Joe or anyone else this time.
The Pickett family members, the girls, continue to grow (they are seldom mentioned in this book, except April in passing and 1 Sheridan scene) and the Picketts continue to have spaghetti for dinner often. Really! Each book so far, when they mention a Pickett family meal, it’s spaghetti. There was no pancake and bacon breakfast, however. *wink*

This books plot did get a bit convoluted. I totally lost track of the explanation of corporate greed and law breaking, even as Joe explained it all to the prosecutor. I decided it would all come out as it needed to, or it didn’t matter once the book ended. I was right about that. The ending was still understood though once again, unexpected. That happens to me with every book so far! I guess a lot of the small reveals, but miss the twists and endings every time.

We did lose some characters in this installment. No spoilers…but I will miss the characters who were written off.
And now…on to spending my next credit to listen to Joe Pickett & Company.

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