Blood and Discord

Armond Fontenot Mysteries, Book 1

By: Ricardo Fleshman

Narrated by: Nicholas Patrella

Armond Fontenot has discovered a family heirloom that may cost him and his partner, Private Detective Moses Byone, their lives. In a search to uncover the secrets of his grandmother's mysterious ruby brooch and the truth about the fire that claimed Belle la Vie, the family estate, they unlock doors to the past that may have been better left unopened.

©2016 Ricardo M Fleshman (P)2016 Ricardo M Fleshman

Fun!

Antiques dealer Armond and Moses the detective are trying to explain the mystery of an 80 year old arson - and these weird brooches keep showing up at every turn... something is afoot!

Lovely quirky characters with great voices (courtesy of the narrator Nicholas Patrella) roam around the 1974 New Orleans and make this story lively and entertaining. So short, though! Just 4,5 hours! Gimme more Armond mysteries, please!

This is a spinoff of the author's 'The Detective Byone' series, which I haven't listened to (yet) - but it hardly mattered. I enjoyed this book and its narrator a great deal.


My heartfelt thanks to the author, narrator, or publisher for providing me this audiobook via Audiobook Boom at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review.

I really tried to like this book but I didn't

first of all I have to say two good things about a book the description of the period and place was good was very good actually but the book itself the story itself was very cut off I don't know how to explain it and maybe the narrator didn't help either for this book he read it very fast I felt like he did a favor of reading this book and I really tried to like this book but I couldn't do it I did really liked the places but the story itself wasn't quite enough

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Armand Fontenot. Laid Back NOLA Noire

What did you love best about Blood and Discord?

Armand Fontenot, the long standing sidekick in the Detective Byone Mystery series gets his own set of puzzles to solve. Gentile and laidback. With

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blood and Discord?

The initial search for what happened, the seed of the mystery - I'll have to leave it at that.

Which scene was your favorite?

I love the ambience of the story. That's the appeal for me. The character and plot within the setting.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

A sense of being well entertained. I always react well to that.

Any additional comments?

This is an introduction to an existing character prominent in Ricardo Fleshman's Byone series. It's laid back as it develops into what I hope will become a fun series.

Thanks for the listen and letting me review it!

I received this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review via AudioBookBoom.

Entertaining Adventure

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are mine.

This is the first book in the Armond Fontenot series. Although this was the first book in the series, it seemed like I was missing something and there are references to prior adventures in the book. After I finished the book, I found that there is another series with the same MC - maybe if I had started there, I wouldn't have understood the characters better. The mystery in this book is not fully resooved - so it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger - or set up for the next book in this series.

Overall, I was intrigued by the book blurb - an antique piece of jewelry from the MC's family possibly tied to some criminality - throw in some history, colorful characters and Louisiana as a backdrop - I'm in. For me, the story went a bit off the rails when the conspiracy theories [a la DaVinci Code] came into it but overall, I liked the story and am interested enough to continue with it.

The narrator did a lot of different accents for the various characters - for the most part, these accents were bullseyes and added flavor to the book. However, I did have problems with some of his word pronunciations [which threw me and were distracting]. For example, he pronounced brooch as br-ooo-ch for about half of the book. When I first heard it, I was unsure what a "brooooch" was. Then, inexplicably, he pronounced brooch correctly several times before reverting back to "brooooch" again for the remainder of the book.

good story

narrator was very good story was good I will definitely listen to this book again. I received this book from the publisher, author and or narrator for a honest review and unbiased option via audio book boom dot com

Blood & Discord

Any additional comments?

3.5 stars for the story and the narration

Good start to a series. The story overall was entertaining, fun, interesting and enjoyable. It kept my attention from start to finish. For a shorter book there is a lot packed into it. The story is a much deeper mystery than I first thought it would be. It took a turn I wasn't expecting when I first started the book, but it just made the story more suspenseful and intriguing.

The ending seemed a little rushed and flat after all the buildup. You don't get all the answers to the mystery. It is the first in a series so it leaves an opening for the next book. I'm interested to see where the mystery and story go from here.

Great characters with a creative and interesting storyline.

Nicholas Patrella did a really good job with the narration. Pleasant voice. Clearly spoken. Good character voices. Good accents for characters. He was able to bring the characters emotions to life through his narration. His narration fit the story, calm when necessary, faster when the characters were excited or in a hurry. Although the narration doesn't always flow smoothly and there are awkward pauses occasionally.
Mispronounced words occasionally or maybe it's just a matter of what part of the country you come from as to how certain words are pronounced.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request by the author, narrator or publisher and voluntarily provided this review.

just the right length

noir, NOLA, mystery, detective, antiques

In 1974 NOLA antique dealer Armond sneaks his friend detective Moses Byone into the heavily patrolled old family mansion to retrieve a mysterious artifact with a dangerous past. And then things really get messy. Great characters, fast paced and not too long to enjoy, and sly humor are assets. Although it seems as if it would be a good idea to read the Detective Byone series prior, but as a first in this one it serves as an excellent hook!
Narrator Nicholas Patrella has good voice differentiation and accents with a relatively smooth presentation.
I won this and book 2 in an audiobook giveaway! I really win!

pretty good

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher. This book was pretty good. The story sometimes went a bit in too much detail. The narrator did a good job telling the story. The end of the story did leave me interested in finding out what happens next in the characters next adventure.

The Da Vinci Code goes Noir

What did you like best about this story?

The promise that there would be more to come.

What about Nicholas Patrella’s performance did you like?

His Italian was flawless (to my untrained ear). I was shocked to hear a character speak in Italian followed up by fairly good French in sequence. The colloquial New Orleans accents were believable and the French accented English was pleasing to my ear. Well done,

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. The short format adopted by the author was ideal for the subject matter. I put the earphones on and next thing I knew, the audible announcer was hoping that I enjoyed the book.

Any additional comments?

Good narration can make s mediocre book great but bad narration can drag a good book down. I liked this Narrator..a lot. His dramatic forays into anger and violence were first rate. But the performance needed an editor. There were numerous mispronunciations of words that snapped the listeners concentration back into the present. All would have been easily remedied with an editor's lite touch.

Great Mystery

A good cast of characters that had their share of quirks and a very good mystery unfolds. You enjoy getting to know Armond and his crew along with their sense of humor that was thrown throughout. Some of Armond's crew need a story of their own. So when you get a chance, pick up a copy and enjoy either the eBook or the audio version. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
"I was provided this audio book at no charge by the narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBoom dot com