L.A. Outlaws Audiobook By T. Jefferson Parker cover art

L.A. Outlaws

A Charlie Hood Novel #1

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L.A. Outlaws

By: T. Jefferson Parker
Narrated by: David Colacci, Susan Ericksen
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Los Angeles is gripped by the exploding celebrity of Allison Murietta, her real identity unknown, a modern-day Jesse James with the compulsion to steal beautiful things, the vanity to invite the media along, and the conscience to donate much of her bounty to charity. Nobody ever gets hurt - until a job ends with ten gangsters lying dead and a half-million dollars worth of glittering diamonds missing.

Rookie Deputy Charlie Hood discovers the bodies, and he prevents an eyewitness - a schoolteacher named Suzanne Jones - from leaving the scene in her Corvette. Drawn to a mysterious charisma that has him off-balance from the beginning, Hood begins an intense affair with Suzanne. As the media frenzy surrounding Allison's exploits swells to a fever pitch and the Southland's most notorious killer sets out after her, a glimmer of recognition blooms in Hood, forcing him to choose between a deeply held sense of honor and a passion that threatens to consume him completely.

With a stone-cold killer locked in relentless pursuit, Suzanne and Hood continue their desperate dance around the secrets that brought them together, unsure whether each new dawn may signal the day their lies catch up with them.

Crack another case with Charlie Hood.©2008 T. Jefferson Parker (P)2007 Brilliance Audio Crime Fiction Fiction Hard-Boiled Mystery Noir Police Procedural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Scary

Critic reviews

"This tour de force of plotting and characterization may well be Parker's best book." (Publishers Weekly)

"The reading, performed by real-life husband-and-wife team Susan Ericksen and David Colacci, is performed with sensitivity.... Both pairs - Ericksen and Colacci as well as the two lead characters - blend perfectly in this taut thriller about love, greed, and redemption." (AudioFile)

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Story very repetitive. Had a hard time staying interested. Listened tp several other books from this author, always enjoyed them. This book was disappointing.

Just okay...

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I was unable to get past the first forty minutes or so of this book due to my strong aversion to this narrator. I was unable to keep going even though I gave it two attempts. It seemed to me as if the narrator should have been a male as the "voice" I heard from the sections of the book I was able to get through was not a feminine one. Just my opinion and not meant to be an attack on this person.

Save your money and/or credit

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What would have made L.A. Outlaws better?

A better plot

Has L.A. Outlaws turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

What about David Colacci and Susan Ericksen ’s performance did you like?

I enjoy Susan Ericksen from J. D. Robb's series. This is the first time I've listened to Mr. Colacci and he was good.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

Any additional comments?

The only reason I listened to this book until the end is because I paid for it and kept hoping it would get better. It didn't.

Boring

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Prior to listening to LA Outlaws I was a T. Jefferson Parker fan. Both the book and the production were disappointing .. here are a few reasons why:
1. The story is scattered and weak. The author uses a shotgun to make too many points. He is firing at a distance, so he only barely hits most of the targets. He often digressed from the story and ranted about all the little things for which he has never had a proper forum, and each digression detracted more and more from the storyline.
2. In the first few hours I figured out one of the main "bad guys" and it was so obvious that I kept thinking "surely it's a trick; the story will be better than that." Nope.
3. As badly as I wanted to empathize with the characters, it just didn't happen. Oh, there were a few sparks .. but then they were quickly extinguished. Particular with the main character, the author worked hard at showing her "good side" versus her "bad side" in a totally black and white manner as make her schizophrenic .. and yet we are to believe she is an award winning high school teacher.
4. The production stinks. The male reader's voice does not fit most of the characters. The use of the two voices in opposition to each other and some sound effects somehow doesn't work. It seemed like an attempt of using gimmicks to take my mind off the point: weak story.
5. This book was an affront to me as a discerning reader and Audible listener. It's been a few years since I listened to some marvelous works by this author. Throughout this production I kept thinking that friends or family members or an agent convinced him to bring it to Audible because we wouldn't know how bad it was and it would sell based on his name. It did ... and I'm sad and angry at the deception.

Disappointing on too many levels

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(I usually love all of Parker's books, and I especially loved "The Fallen" which was a complete and different delight.) No spoilers here: But, I knew from the first that this book and series is doomed. 1. Unlikeable characters: You don't like the hero and you especially don't like the love interest who is an unfaithful-mentally ill-selfish narcissist and who will obviously mess up her kid's future just to pursue her activities. Further more she is a wonder woman who is skilled and knowledgeable above all women on the earth in every area of life, including her prowess in the bedroom. Oh, please. 2. Political Agenda: Then on top of it, this sickie is giving moral advice on war to our hero, like she is the ultimate wise authority. No one likes it when an author throws in their political agenda (referring to the last sentence which didn't flow with the story, and was just wedged in there.) Stick to the mystery so the reader can have fun and not get irked with the author, please. 3. Logistics: The other thing that was off, was the travel time between two locations. I just happen to have lived in both of those locations. They're going back and forth like its a ten minute drive; and actually it is about 3.5 to 4 hours between the two. The logistics were just too far off. This was not a cop or mystery book, but a Sci Fi in my opinion. Our heroine reminded me of the old B Movies of the Conquering Amazon Women who kept their men in cages.

Charlie Hood -- Pitiful new series

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