Interesting!

I don’t usually read many books from this genre, but I really enjoyed this one. The narration brought the story to life and held my interest throughout. The story was well thought out, complete and will keep you listening. I will definitely be watching for this author in the future.

* I was provided a free copy of this book from AudioBookBlast for review.

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Nothing mysterious about Moon Over Malibu

Would you try another book from Peter Kelly and/or Gary Mason?

I might, but if it's anything like Moon Over Malibu then I will pass.

What aspect of Gary Mason’s performance would you have changed?

Nothing that Gary did wrong, but I am not a fan of breathy woman voice. I think it would have worked better if he left off the breathy voice.

Was Moon Over Malibu worth the listening time?

I really wanted to like it but it never grabbed my attention and as the story progress I couldn't wait for it to end.

Any additional comments?

**This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.**

I never like to give bad reviews. I usually would just say not my cup of tea and leave it as that. But as stated I received the audiobook for a unbiased review and because of this here is my review.

A mystery should be that.. a mystery. But Moon Over Malibu (MOM) never really even get a hook in. All the character feels like extras in a made for television movie. There was no bite to them, I didn't care what happened to them. And that is how I consider if a book is good or not. To me a detective mystery should be something like Don Winslow A Cool Breeze on the Underground. You get hooked from the very beginning and you want to know who the protagonist is and where he came from. With MOM I was just wishing the story would end and I dreaded the whole time thinking now I have to leave a not so good review.

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2 people found this helpful

Noir and mystery lite

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If a friend were looking for a quick read and liked mysteries and noir reads I would recommend Moon Over Malibu because I can't think of any other short story collection like it.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The four plots were mildly interesting, but the 4th one was very short and uncomplicated.

Did Gary Mason do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

At first I would have said yes, but after a while there were some characters who sounded the same. Occasionally his delivery would be very staccato, not sure if that was him or the sound engineer. If I recall correctly, early on there was some issue with the sound and it seemed like he was speaking in a cave. I think it lasted about 1/2 hour.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. The writing didn't incite much emotion at all. I was a very passive listener and wasn't really drawn in. I did find how Frank dressed up in the Moon Over Malibu (the last story after which the collection was titled) amusing, but found that out of character, especially what he does to the actor while on his boat at the end, for a noir "hero".

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.When I requested M.O.M. for review, I don't think it was clear it was short stories. In general, I'm not a fan because it can't be really complicated. However, I'm starting to think audio may be a great format for short stories. The first three in this collection seemed like full length reads as I was listening, by that being fairly rich in story and details. The mysteries were fairly simple though and I didn't get a real "noirish" feel, maybe because the author steered away from the "cliches" as a reviewer on Amazon states. I kept expecting some femme fatal moves, some sexism, etc. I also wanted more noir vocab used. I think there was a dame and gams, but that was about it. The stories focused on old Hollywood and dropped references to now dead actors and old movies. Which, unfortunately, I got. ;) 3.5 stars out of 5 overall.

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Enjoyable Period Detective Stories

An enjoyable, easy read. Good detective stories from Hollywood in the 30's. Likeable characters, the only flaw is an inadequate production with too much background noise. "I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Blast."

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