Red Hot Lies

De: Laura Caldwell

Narrado por: Nancy Liem

"Usually I pride myself on my intuition. I listen to that voice that says, 'Something bad is happening...' or maybe 'Get out. Now.' But on that Tuesday at the end of October, my psyche must have been protecting the one remaining day I still believed life was orderly and the universe liked me. Because I didn't hear that voice. I never saw it coming."

They say bad things happen in threes. When her fiancé, Sam, disappears on the same day her mentor and biggest client is killed, hotshot Chicago attorney Izzy McNeil starts counting. But trouble keeps coming. Sam is implicated in the client's death, her apartment is broken into and it's not just the authorities who are following her.

Now, to find Sam and uncover her client's murderer, Izzy will have to push past limits she never imagined. Lucky for her she's always thrived under pressure, because her world is falling apart. Fast. And the trail of half-truths and lies is red-hot.

Listen now to author Laura Caldwell and narrator Nancy Liem discuss how the three Izzy McNeil mysteries - Red Hot Lies, Red Blooded Murder, and Red, White & Dead - came together in the Audible studios.©2009 Laura Caldwell (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

A bit uneven, but fun!

Usually I don't care for characters for whom money is no object, especially when they are young and beautiful like Izzy and her clique. Wealth often drives the plot along too easily, too neatly, and the characters seem one-dimensional. But in Red Hot Lies, I got over my initial skepticism, and I "fell in love" with Izzy.

Audacious but earnest, naive but smart, Izzy is the kind of female character I can love to hate: she's young, beautiful, smart, rash, and loyal to a fault. Her credit card seems to know no bounds as she tries to solve the mystery of her fiance's disappearance as well as the death of an extremely important client.

Nancy Liem's narration was spot-on ... all her inflections brought to life the world of young, know-it-all upstarts. I think it's harder for female narrators to take on male characters, but Nancy did a fine job. She should get kudos for taking on such a range of characters: from drunk gay men to a bratty 10-year-old to Spanish real estate agents.

The novel is generally fast-paced (with one particular scene so nail-biting that I had to listen until the end even though it was way past my bedtime). I was kept guessing about the primary culprit until the end, although in looking back, I think Caldwell left plenty of clues. All the parts of the mysteries fell neatly into place, but the final scene was not pat. It was more realistic than I would have imagined, and I'm grateful for that.

The novel has a fair amount of romance, but not gratuitous sex, and it was still heavy on the mysteries, which is why I wanted to try it out. In the end, Caldwell definitely leaves you wanting to know what Izzy will do next.

Huh! I loved it!

So surprised to see the negative reviews -- I loved it, and this isn't my normal choice for something to listen to. I thought the narrator did a great job -- I could picture Izzy - and especially Lucy. Several of the characters reminded me of people I knew -- but then, I spent 35 years practicing law, too, so I've had my own runins with crooks and connivers. She had those types down cold.

Two evening in a row I chose to listen to this book rather than read a paper one -- that doesn't happen often. If you like plenty of suspense -- the scenes when she's downloading from the computer -- plenty of surprises -- all of it -- I think you'll like this book. Don't believe all the negativity.

This book just shows, I think, how many really good authors are out there. It's not just the big names -- it's dozens of these lesser known people who are writing books that are at least as good, often better, than their more famous counterparts. I'm definitely looking for more in this series.

Good Book

Any additional comments?

I thought this was a good book and was surprised to see the negative reviews. Yes the book was long, but that is what I like. It kept me interested all the way to the end. I am getting the next one now.

Not awful but not great

This book won't keep you up at night, or make you hurry back to listen.
Good Narrator, very mediocre book. Very predictable.
I won't be buying the rest in the series. Don't waste your credits.

Entertaining

This is an entertaining listen. I had to adjust to the narrator.

A worthy read

I loved this mystery which wasn't gory (gives me nightmares) and peppered with some romance and family "stuff." All THREE of Laura's "Red Hot" books are wonderful. Nancy Liem's narration is one of the best...... love her voice and intonations. I wish there were more Laura Caldwell books on Audible.

It was good

I liked it I can't wait to see what happens in the next book it was good

Struggled

I struggled to finish this book several times I wanted to just turn off because it just was slow and that made it hard to listen to it was just too long

not a great book

I did get through the book but not a great good. The narrators voice is the only reason I got through the book. Not one I will read again for sure, nor will I try the other books in the series. One was enough.

Oh My!

This is bar none the most awful book I listened to the plot was so sappy, and the narrator is horrible. Glad I only paid 4.95... Don't waste your money.