Big Easy

By: Eric Wilder

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

P.I. Wyatt Thomas is more than a French Quarter sleuth. Much more. Whenever a new client needs someone to investigate ghosts, possession, or the paranormal and supernatural backside of New Orleans, Wyatt is the person they call.

Someone is killing New Orleans street people, and it is affecting the tourist trade in the venerable old city trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. More than murder, voodoo is involved, the killer possibly an actual Vodoun deity.

N.O.P.D. Homicide detective Tony Nicosia seeks the help of Big Easy insider, and often hard-boiled psychic P.I. Wyatt Thomas. Wyatt has a new client interested in ghosts, spirits, possession, and the paranormal. He enlists the assistance of Mama Mulate, Tulane English professor, and an actual voodoo mambo.

Mama Mulate is lethally sensual, Wyatt a deadly sexy alpha male with a dangerous reputation. Together, they run the gamut of desire, carnal instincts, passion, darkest fears, and horrifying truths.

Will the moody Louisiana sleuth find love and romance in the arms of his client's beautiful daughter? Will Mama's gris gris protect Wyatt from a horrible death? Can they unravel the strangest psychic mystery suspense thriller to hit New Orleans since the era of voodoo queen Marie Laveau?

©2007 Gary Pittenger (P)2016 Gary Pittenger

great mystery

the characters are fantastic. at first it seems like a lot to get to know and keep straight but now they just feel like family. I really liked the writing style and the narration was fabulous. it was very entertaining, and I will be looking for more of their books.

Great fun with a great backdrop

This book got me interested right away. Using New Orleans and voodoo as a backdrop was clever and was perfect for the story. It's obvious the author loves the Big Easy.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.

Big Easy

Any additional comments?

Overall an entertaining, interesting and enjoyable. It took me a while to really get interested in the story. It just wasn't holding my attention. It was just to "rambling" in the beginning. Little by little though the story drew me in and keep me listening until the end.

Mystery, suspense, voodoo, murder, spirits and more.

Very interesting cast of characters. Great descriptions of the city make you feel like you are there with the characters. As if New Orleans hasn't had enough trouble recently now they have a serial killer to deal with.

Joe Hemple once again does a great job with the narration. As usual. Pleasant voice. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Great character voices and accents. He was able to make the characters come to life through his narration. Very Enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.

DNF!

DNF. I got to 35% and can't keep going. The POV is all over the place and the story badly needs a good edit!! E.g.: Words and phrases repeatedly used and the some of the sentences are pretty basic, better descriptions could have been used etc. The only thing going for it is the setting and narrator.

Joe Hempel was the only reason I kept listening to the book for so long, I would have given up at about 10% but really enjoyed his narration. He is so easy to listen to and has an admiral range of tones and cadences! He is definitely a narrator to keep an eye on.

*I received a copy of this for free but voluntarily reviewed it. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.*

A murder mystery in post Katrina New Orleans

Any additional comments?

I was offered a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

Sent in a post Katrina New Orleans, there has been a series of recent murders. The targets have been street people, and the modus operandi the same in all of them. Cop Tony Nicosia asks Thomas Wyatt for help, since it seems a voodoo deity is responsible for these crimes. Ex-Lawer Wyatt knows everybody in New Orleans and he will count with Mambo Mama Mulate to try to find the culprit.

The atmosphere of New Orleans is surprisingly well created in this book, and since Wyatt, the main character knows all the interesting places in New Orleans, the reader will have the pleasure of visiting them with him. There are also quite some voodoo terms in the story, which I suppose are correct but I did not check them for myself. I am not into voodoo myself, but it adds something different to the story.

There are many characters in the book, being Wyatt the main one, but sadly I was not able to connect to any of them. We know that Wyatt is an ex-lawyer and lives with a cat. I think the cat was added to the story to give Wyatt a bit more depth, but in some cases it just seemed a literary device to let us feel the pulse of the story and if something was going to happen to Wyatt. There was something that disturbed me, and that despite the story is written in first person, Wyatt does not feel most of the time as the main character, and in some occasions there are mentions to him in third person, which feels odd.

I usually do not read murder mystery stories, but I enjoy when I read a good one. I think this story was really good, but I had issues with the execution. The fact that we know the murder from very early in the book makes the story less compelling. It could also be because, as I have said, I was not able to connect to any of the characters.

The narration by Joe Hempel was excellent, and the reason why I picked this book. Given the above points I am not sure I would have enjoyed this book with a different narrator, but I know that Hempel will give to the listener an improved final product. One can perfectly differentiate all the characters and enjoy a high quality narration.

BIG EASY

I totally enjoyed this book. The characters were great especially Wyatt, Mama Mulate and detective Tony. It was very interesting thriller with voodoo and New Orleans culture. Not sure if there is a series but hope so. The narration was great. Do recommend if you enjoy a different thriller and mystery. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher. Thank you!

Big Easy

When someone starts killing the street people of New Orleans detective Tony Nicosia, Fat Tony who isn't very fat anymore, and PI Wyatt Thomas interest get raised and they will do what it takes to find the person or person's behind the killings. Wyatt is one of the few private Investigators that believe and will investigate the paranormal that lives and grows in the big easy, and he knows everyone of any importance.

This book captures the life of the big easy so well, New Orleanians still believe in the voodoo and the paranormal, good food, and their love for this city. I loved the book it made me homesick for a shrimp Po Boy, and even though there are a few rough spots at the beginning they get smoothed out pretty fast. Narrator Joe Hempel paints a vocal picture of everything so it is like we are there watching, it is really good. Audio or print I don't thing you can go wrong with this book.

Big Easy

Mystery,voodoo,dissapearances of people, it is all in this book.Told with perfect narration by Joe Hemple we are drawn into the world of New Orleans cooking, religion and cemeteries.
A suspenseful story.I was given this book free by the author,narrator or publisher.

A fantastic story!

I love the writing, I love the characters, I love the storyline! The fact that this happens in post-Katrina New Orleans is just the cherry on top, at least for me :P

The story advances at a quick pace. And yet, adds characters and clues in a slow but steady way. if that wasn't enough, it hints to supernatural forces having a big part in the mystery through the involvement of Mama Mulate, a powerful voodoo mambo, and the grisly clues leaft by the killer.

This is an engaging read, which transports us to the wonderful French Quarter's atmosphere while the story leads us around real restaurants and bars set in there, and even to the tomb of Marie Laveau, who is, without a doubt, the most famous voodoo queen.

Seriously, this story seems tailored for me *laughs*

And Joe Hempel does a great job with the narration.

Big Easy

What did you love best about Big Easy?

A great combination of intrigue and history. Really makes me want to go to New Orleans and visit this great city to party !!!

Great narration by JH