May 21, 2020 Staff Reviews

The Big Lie
By James Grippando
Release Date: February 25, 2020
*Audiobook Review*

https://wvreads.overdrive.com/media/4776308

3.5 Stars - Grippando’s political thrillers aren’t his best work, but still hard to
put this book down. Twists and turns abound. At times, the story arcs felt like a
square peg in a round hole but big fans of Jack Swyteck will enjoy this new entry.

It’s of my favorite series, but this won’t be one of favorite stories in it.
Grippando plays with political satire here that I don’t think he was up to task on,
shamelessly overdoing some aspects instead of truly funny or insightful. The story
feels like an outcry for a huge wave of policy change, hard for moderates and
conservatives to tolerate. Jack even feels out of place at times, trying to be the
voice of reason in a heated election battle where he isn’t directly involved. This
may have been better as a standalone novel and for Jack to have a case more his
style in another book. His client isn’t likable to anyone and comes off as dumb
verses sketchy or scheming. But it’s fun to see new scenes with Jack’s crew of
Andie, Theo, and company. And the ending had me truly surprised.

I think this would have benefited from another run through, draft, or editor’s look.
A small plot hole I encountered toward the end (regarding the candidate Stahl’s
wife) didn’t ruin anything but left me scratching my head. Some scenes felt cut
short. And the plot while fast moving could have used a trim in spots. Also for fans
of the audio series, disclaimer: Davis is not my favorite narrator. And he slips
here. Jack and Theo don’t always sound like their assigned voices. A different take
on some impressions of the politicians I think would have been a benefit. For casual
readers intrigued by the blurb, they will find a lot to like. There’s plenty of
excitement, red herrings, amusing remarks, and Miami atmosphere as always. I
considered this better than the prior two Swyteck novels but not on the level they
were ten years ago.

Joyland
By Stephen King
Release Date: June 4, 2013
*Audiobook Review* 

Available from WV Reads! - https://wvreads.overdrive.com/media/2037706

3.5 Stars - This book is more a summer drama story than spooky mystery but there’s
plenty of both! Excellent narration pairs with an immersing story that makes for
much more than a Southern amusement park and a creepy ride.

I was new to Stephen King as I have never been a horror fan. But I picked up on this
thanks to the small town North Carolina setting and lack of clowns. King’s narrative
really grabbed me as well as the narration by Michael Kelly. I was surprised to find
Kelly has few titles on audible because he was great, just enough inflection to suit
the story. I expected King’s writing to be moody and dramatic. However, I found it
here to be light and humorous. Sidenote: this book’s lack of chapters rankled me.
While I didn’t relate much personally to our hero, a barely grown college man in the
1970s, I liked him. And his summer coming of age tale is not my usual plot interest
but I was never bored. The mystery, like the killer, lurks in the background, almost
forgotten at times, until a climatic final scene. 

I found this to be a great summer read as Mr. King gives us just enough description
of the setting to paint the atmopshere. There are definitely shades of scarier tales
here as well, centered on the spooky funhouse. The amusement park itself seems to be
losing more people as time goes by for one reason or another. King approaches
difficult topics and there are some dark moments, but the overall feel wasn’t
dragged down by them. There’s a wistfulness to the way it’s written as well... full
of memories, some fonder than others. Some of the flashback moments even got a
little cheesy. While I won’t say I was enthralled at all times, the interludes of
scrabble games, carnival life, self-depricating jokes, and amateur sleuthing were
fun. And some scenes I thought were extra, usually turned out to have a true
purpose. This didn’t convince me to read the scarier stories by the infamous Mr.
King, but I learned why so many are fans. Both hardcore mystery fans and casual
readers could enjoy listening to this on a long car ride.

(NS)