Angel's Devil

The Jake Brand, PI, Series

By: M. Louis

Narrated by: Colin Iago McCarthy

Jake Brand is racing to the bottom. No longer in the army, recently divorced, and feeling older, he spends his time looking for happiness at the bottom of a bottle. As a result his Portland, Oregon, private investigation business suffers, and his friends feel the need to shake him back to reality.

Then Heather walks back into his life. Jake, Heather, and Tony were best friends growing up. But Heather and Tony became a thing, and Jake became a third wheel. Now Tony has been murdered, and Jake, the knight in rusted armor, wonders if Heather is a damsel in distress encouraging him to come closer or a dame seeking a temporary safe haven.

In Angel's Devil, Jake and his assistant, Sarah, follow the clues, steps ahead of danger - the bad guys killing again, and Heather breaking Jake's heart a second time.

Does Jake solve the case? Does Heather save Jake's heart? Does Sarah smack Jake for being a moron?

©2014 M. Louis (P)2016 Palisades Events, LLC dba Palisades Publishing

Mixed up private investigator

Had I listened to this novel first I would not have listened to the second novel in the series. While there is lots of action and suspense, the protagonist (Jake Brand) makes error after error in dealing with the women in his life. He comes across as a bumbling loser, although he does solve the case. Narration is excellent.

keeps the listeners on their toes

Jake Brand is a private investigator with problems – the ink’s not even dry on the divorce papers before he finds his ex-wife has moved on, his friends step in with an intervention to keep him alive and his business going and then there’s the sudden reappearance of Heather.

Heather, Tony and Jake were like the three musketeers until the friends hit puberty.   Jake has to find the killer of Tony and protect Heather while also saving himself from self-destruction.  The plot thickens with the mafia from both the coasts, corrupt city officials and a double cross that no one sees coming.  Along with Jake, his assistant Sarah stays one step ahead of the bad guys as they try to solve the killings.

M. Louis does an excellent job of making Jake likable by adding in Jake’s devil and angel side-kicks. The inner dialog between these three is fun and engaging. The dialog is realistic and connects the listeners to the characters more solidly – especially the devil & angle dialog.

The story flows well, keeping the listeners on their toes.  Fast paced but not rushed, Louis reveals just enough keeping the action riveting.  Masterful story-teller, Louis keeps the listener on the edge of his seat.

Colin Iago McCarthy is a wonderful narrator, keeping the action and emotions steady and peaking when it is .  McCarthy’s narration is talented and helps project the action and other emotions that are present until the very end when Jake drives off.  McCarthy’s voice projects the just the right emotion.

There were no issues with the production quality of this audiobook.  It was clear and pleasant to hear.

I recommend this book, albeit short, to anyone who loves private investigators, mysteries and action!  Between the writing skills of M. Louis and the narration skills of Colin McCarthy, I wish the book had been longer - the inner dialog between devil, angel and Jake was excellent.  I look forward to hearing more from M. Louis and Colin McCarthy.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Angel vs Devil

I loved the internal repartee carried on in Jake's head and his vulnerability, while being the tough noir PI. Very entertaining!