Borderline

By: Joseph Badal

Narrated by: Pamela Almand

Barbara Lassiter and Susan Martinez, two New Mexico homicide detectives, are assigned to investigate the murder of a wealthy Albuquerque socialite. They soon discover that the victim, a narcissistic borderline personality, played a lifetime game of destroying people's lives. As a result, the list of suspects in her murder is extensive.

The detectives find themselves enmeshed in a helix of possible perpetrators with opportunity, means, and motive - and soon question giving their best efforts to solve the case the more they learn about the victim's hideous past.

Their job gets tougher when the victim's psychiatrist is murdered and DVDs turn up that show the doctor had serial sexual relationships with a large number of his female patients, including the murder victim.

©2016 Joseph Badal/Suspense Publishing (P)2016 Joseph Badal/Suspense Publishing

Strong Female Leads

I like that there were 2 strong female leads in this book. The story was definitely interesting and I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen. Some of the dialogue seemed a little strange to me, but overall, I liked where the story and characters went.

I believe this was my first experience with Pamela Almand's narration. She did a nice job with the various characters and capturing the experience of the female detectives.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom.

Worth your time

Any additional comments?

Really enjoyable, entertaining and interesting murder mystery.

Inspired by actual events? The truth is stranger than fiction.

This one kept me guessing for a bit. The story is fast paced and constantly moves forward. Several intersecting plot lines along twists and turns and another murder add to the mystery. There are enough suspects to go around that it takes a bit for you to whittle down the suspects and narrow in on the correct one(s).

Along with a great cast of characters I really enjoyed that this story had not one but 2 strong female leads. Detectives Barbara Lassiter and Susan Martinez are both great characters.

This is the first Joseph Badal book I have "read", bit it definitely won't be my last.

This is the first time I have listened to a book narrated by Pamela Almand. She did a really good job. Great character voices. Pleasant voice. Smooth even pace and clearly spoken. Great male and female character voices. All around great job. I would definitely listen to more books narrated by Pamela Almand.

This audiobook was provided by author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom

A Delight of Desert Crime!

This book was a delight to listen to! The story was easy to get into, the characters engaging, and the setting well used. Detectives Barbara and Susan are good friends as well as being good cops. In a mostly male profession, the ladies are more than driven to prove they are quite capable of solving this case that has handfuls of suspects. I felt it was very realistic for the ladies to feel pressure to out perform their male colleagues just to be seen as satisfactory workers.

I loved the setting but I’m a little bias being a New Mexico resident for most of my life. Some places noted in this book I know exist and others I would have to look up. It was great that the author included our Spanish and Mexican heritage that makes this state so very interesting.

The mystery itself was a wonderful chase of details and hunches. Victoria Comstock, the recently murdered, engendered love and hate in strong, broad strokes for many people. The more I learned about her, the more I was glad that she was dead! Badal does an excellent job of making the deceased the true villain of the tale while keeping us readers guessing as to who actually did the deed.

The story becomes even more engrossing when another body turns up. The two deaths are almost certainly connected but our hero detectives aren’t sure if they are after one or two killers. Susan’s angry husband complicates matters. Meanwhile, Barbara may have finally found someone to help her let go of her deceased husband – and that also adds some complications to the murder mystery.

At the end, there’s some foreshadowing that gave a hint as to who murdered one of the victims but who killed the other victim was a surprise to me. This mystery hit all the good points for me as it kept me engaged, had me rooting for our detectives, hating the villain, feeling sympathetic for some of the characters, and wanting more. Please let there be more Susan & Barbara murder mysteries! 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Pamela Almand was a great fit for this book. She had a slight accent for Barbara (as described in the story) and a clear, bright voice for Susan. Her Spanish was good and I feel that she captured the mild northern New Mexico accent quite well. All of her characters had distinct voices and her male voices were believable. There’s some real feelings in this story, especially for Barbara, and Almand was great at bringing these out in the narration. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Pamela Almand. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

A Gripping Murder Mystery!

I really enjoy police procedurals, and this one is a doosey. We follow two police detectives Susan Martinez and Barbara Lassiter as they try to find the murderer of vicious Victoria who must be the most unsympathetic victim I ever read about. I didn’t take me long to become part of the action, and I was following with Barbara and Susan tracking down the clues. There is lots of action in this book, including the private lives of the two detectives. If you love a good murder mystery this a great one, and can’t recommend this enough.
I have to say I never guessed who murdered vicious Victoria, the only thing is I didn’t want the person found. As the Barbara and Susan investigates the murder the more suspects they uncover.
The narrator did a marvellous job, making each characters voice very distinctive. Considering the large cast of characters

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Pamela Almand. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Two woman detectives look for psycho's killer

Would you listen to Borderline again? Why?

Yes. The reader had a great voice and can exciting story with a lot of interesting individuals and suspects. I don't like the monotone readers who have no emotion and you were right there with this one. It felt like I was in the story so I couldn't stop listening.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I didn't want to turn it off. I didn't know who murdered the victims until the very end and it was a twist that was believeable. I like the author style and want to hear all of his books especially more with these two cops!

What about Pamela Almand’s performance did you like?

The reader is what got me into the book. This woman is a great reader and you can tellshe really is into the story and got me into it too. I liked that her voice wasn't fake low for the men but you could still tell who everybody was. She draws you in and you can't stop listening.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Who Killed The Killer

Any additional comments?

I am going to listen to more of Ms. Almand's book and read more from Badal. I'm ready to hear her on the next adventures of Lassiter and Martinez.

Borderline

If you could sum up Borderline in three words, what would they be?

Strong Female Character!!

I love books that feature strong women.

This is the first book by Joseph Badal I read and it will not be the last.

Not all male authors know how to write strong ,capable woman. Joseph did that and more.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the fact the main characters were female detectives.

They led the investigation, which had many twists and turns, had to deal with prejudice still alive against female police officers, but despite all, managed to behave in a professional and diplomatic way and bring justice in the end.

What about Pamela Almand’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed Pamela's narration.

She narrated each character to perfection and there were a lot of them. Borderline centers around a murder investigation which means Barbara and Susan meet and interview many suspects, family members, friends and enemies of the victim etc.

Each character had its own distinct feature and you could always tell which character Pamela was narrating, their mind set at the time, feelings etc.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Pamela's dedication to the case and to her work in general.

When she found out someone close to her betrayed her, she dint lose her cool and completed her duty as a detective.

She was hurt as a person but didn't let that get in way of perusing the murderer.

Superb writing and narration made those scene memorable.

Any additional comments?

A great book for lovers of the genre. Highly recommended.

Great Murder Mystery

Would you consider the audio edition of Borderline to be better than the print version?

I really enjoyed this audio edition of Borderline, but since I have not read the printed version I can not compare the two.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Detective Barbara Lassiter because of her personal growth in this book. After the death of her husband, she seemed to be stuck in depression.

What about Pamela Almand’s performance did you like?

Pamela Almand did an excellent job of keeping the story flowing, and separating the different characters. I will definitely look for another book narrated by Ms. Almand.

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

Borderline brought out a lot of different emotions in me, but I did not laugh or cry. I felt anger at different characters, and cheered internally for the good guys.

Any additional comments?

Over all this was an excellent audio book because of the story and narration. I recommend this book to anyone who likes police procedural and mysteries.

Nice solid read.

Story: This is a good solid story. There are some standard plot devices - e.g. inept detective takes case away from renegade but excellent detectives; inept detective ends up with egg on his face - but don't let that detract you from reading this book. The plot moves a long at a pretty good clip, the female detectives are strong and there are a lot of suspects. I figured out the love angle but didn't expect the ending. I'd definitely read something else by this author.

Narration: Unfortunately this book is probably better read in print. This narrator was good in parts and down right awful in others. Her pacing was very slow, so much so that I increased the speed - which, by the way, I've only done for about 3 of the over 500 audio books I've listened to. A faster pace helped a bit but the biggest problem was the voices and the tone. The narrator sounded like Mae West when she says "Come up and see me sometime." That not quite gravely back of the throat voice. It worked for Mae but not for Pamela. Also, her tone was inappropriate for some of the scenes. At one point one of the female detectives is emotional and beginning to cry. Her partner says "What's up?" but with the spirited tone of someone who's just catching up with a buddy who she hasn't seen in a long time. The good story is what kept me listening but otherwise I wouldn't choose this narrator again.

Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't a cozy mystery

Barbara Lassiter and Susan Martinez are homicide detectives in New Mexico. Barbara is a widow who is struggling to get over the death of her husband and has turned to alcohol. Susan's marriage to a flight attendant is fragile. Apart from their personal problems, the two women are fighting sexism in their male-dominated workplace.When Victoria Comstock, an Albuquerque socialite, is killed, not many people seem to mourn the demise of the woman. Barbara's and Susan's investigation reveals that Victoria had ruined many people's lives through manipulation and pure evil.

When Victoria Comstock, an Albuquerque socialite, is killed, not many people seem to mourn the demise of the woman. Barbara's and Susan's investigation reveals that Victoria had ruined many people's lives through manipulation and pure evil. As the list of suspects keeps growing and the pressure to get a result is mounting, Barbara and Susan find a second murder victim. Is it the same killer?

It was quite nice to get two female detectives as the protagonists of a crime thriller, and these two made a great team that I would love to see more of. Remember Cagney and Lacey? If you liked them, you will enjoy this. The mix between delving into the detectives' private lives and the actual police procedural was just right and made these two characters fleshed out and credible. The plot wasn't predictable, which was a nice bonus. Some of it was a bit clichéd, but it was highly entertaining and held my attention throughout. There were a few twists that really surprised me. I felt the epilog was totally unnecessary, though.

Pamela Almand's smooth voice and enthusiastic delivery made this a pleasure to listen to. She had a wonderful range of different voices, so it was always obvious who was speaking, and Pamela portrays male characters so convincingly. This is the second time I've listened to her, and I like that you can tell she is fully invested in the story and enjoys what she is doing. There was no issue with the production at all.

This wasn't a cozy mystery, but there wasn't a lot of violence or gory details and the language was fairly clean. I think this would appeal to any fans of fast-paced mysteries and crime thrillers. I will certainly look out for the second book featuring Barbara and Susan to be published in 2017.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

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

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Twists and turns keeps you listening and guessing

Where does Borderline rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top. Very suspenseful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Barbara overcomes a lot and we want to cheer her on.

What about Pamela Almand’s performance did you like?

Good diction and good grasp of the characters.

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

Yes, helps to keep the characters and story line together.

Any additional comments?

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom."