Monday, November 28, 2016

Finders Keepers


Finders Keepers: The Jane Barnaby Adventures, Book 1


Written by: J.J. DiBenedetto
Narrated by: Cait Frizzell
Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
Series: Jane Barnaby Adventures, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:04-15-16
Publisher: James J DiBenedetto


I do not even know where to start with this review. I have listen or read other books from this author and have really enjoyed them.  This one I spent a lot of time saying What, Why and that just doesn’t work. There is a lot of filler here that really isn’t needed and has nothing to do with the story. I am clueless to the reasoning of why Jane did the things she did. My first thought would have been police not going after the art work or doing high speed to out run the bad guy. Unlike other works by this author this story just didn’t work for me. I am at a lost whether to rate it at 2.5 or a 3 so we will round it up. It has some interesting action but it is out of place for the character that Jane truly is without these things you would not have a story….I know it worked for some sadly just not for me.

Ms. Fizzell as narrator I thought did a good job I loved her many accents as she bought the characters to life. You had no trouble knowing who was talking or what they were feeling. I hear no background noise just a clean, clear audio. I didn’t like the music at the ending at first I thought it was noise from the mic but it was not. I thought it took away from the ending and was out of place. I did think some of her character voices were close to others but it doesn’t take away from the listen. I found her male voices to be just as pleasant as her female ones. She really did bring the characters to life giving them feeling and meaning. If any breaks were taken you could not tell. There were not any places where the volume changes or any high/ low places. I really did enjoy her narration.

What worked for me was how Jane came up with what to do with the box I thought that was outstanding. I believe one characters name was John who lost the box but him went after that works. It was easy to understand why Jane took on the easy task of getting the professor work and car to him. Jane was a likeable character really for the most part most of them were. Alex worked up to a point but he was just out of character most of the time.

What didn’t work for me was the touch and go on the romance. Alex on his wishy washy ways along with Jane touch and go romance feelings. If I thought someone was giving me a line to get the box I had there is no way I would think oh my if he does this I am lost. Yes being taken in from the start works great just not when she knew he wasn’t on the up and up. I just do not see her following him down a long dark road she is a smart lady and should know better than to do most of what she did. Jane not going to the police when she found out the boxes wasn’t right that she decided to take on bad men to get it back. The reference to movies and characters in them I thought that took away from what the author was trying to get across. Her going Barney Bad a^^ was so out of her character. For what the author wanted to bring out the characters just didn’t have reasoning or the strength they needed to carry off the story. This is just not a believable story after the first few pages. There is no way that art work that is worth millions would have been left like it was. Jane’s action was just to over the top. Other works of this author I have loved just not this one.  I wonder how many unhelpful marks I will get for this review. I am sorry I tried to really like the story but the truth is this isn’t the authors best work.

There are so many that have loved this story please do not let my review stop you from giving it a listen. I know a lot of people will love the action, thrills and the touch of romance but for me it was just out of place leaving me shaking my head. Please pick it up and give it a try and let me know what you think.

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Summary
It should have been a simple job. All archaeology student Jane Barnaby had to do was pick up a box her professor needed and deliver it to him at his dig site, along with his new car. Yes, his office was in Oxfordshire, and his dig site was in Spain, a trip of 1,400 miles across three countries and two bodies of water. Still, it should have been simple.
And it was, until Jane discovered she picked up the wrong box by mistake. Not the one with boring pottery samples, but instead the one with priceless ancient Egyptian artifacts. The one that a team of international art thieves is after.
Now she's chasing - and being chased by - the thieves. And she's picked up a pair of passengers who claim they can help her outwit them, get her professor's pottery back and return the artifacts to their rightful owner. If only she could figure out which one of them is working with the thieves and which one she can trust in this high-stakes game of finders keepers.

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