Dick Danks - Collected Stories

By: Harris Tobias

Narrated by: Scott Ellis

The name's Danks - Dick Danks - and if you think my name is amusing then you and I have nothing more to say. A man's got no more control over what his parents name him than he does over the weather. Danks is a proud old name in Scotland or somewhere, and I have nothing to make excuses for. I'm a private eye. Most days, I sit like a spider in its web waiting for the phone to ring. I wait for someone to hire me to investigate something for them. It gives me lots of time to think. Mostly, I think about what a mess I've made of my life, how I'm going to pay the rent, and what's for lunch - not necessarily in that order.

©2013 Harris Tobias (P)2016 Harris Tobias

Entertaining!

First off, I really like how this book is presented: a series of interconnected short stories (or in this instance, a series of cases) all involving the same likable protagonist. The short stories are quirky and a great play on the hard-boiled detective. Dick Danks (which is a fantastic name, you have to agree) is a well portrayed PI living in Arizona, and the stories and cases that he gets are highly enjoyable and outlandish! I instantly became enthralled by this new PI.

For those that are interested, here are the titles of the stories:

1. The Case of the Bisected Body
2. The Case of the Cleaning Lady’s Son
3. The Case of the Missed Call
4. Boob Job
5. The Case of the Pickled Brain
6. The Case of Radioactive Heiress
7. The Case of the Restless Corpse

Lovers of noir, pulp stories, and hard-boiled detectives should definitively give this book a shot! Scott Ellis’ performance is very well done. The narration make it feel like Dick Danks is in the room with you recounting his cases!

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Good audiobook

Where does Dick Danks - Collected Stories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It has a good plot and is narated carefully.

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

It was a good story,not predictable.

What about Scott Ellis’s performance did you like?

The intonation matched the scenes and the characters.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”

Lovers of old time radio will love this

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy the detectives of old time radio you will love this book. The narration is great and you feel transported to a time before books were full of bad language and gore.

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

bad narration

The narration on this was so slow, and so bad, I couldn't get 3 minutes into the book. Maybe I would have enjoyed the story if I'd read it, but the audio is horrible. Sorry.

I received this audio free in exchange for my honest opinion,.

A Throwback To Old B/W Hollywood Detective Movies

“Dick Danks” is a collection of short stories involving private investigator, Dick Danks. The short stories are basically interconnected cases. The audio book has the feel of old black and white Hollywood detective movies or old time radio mysteries. If that’s something you think you would enjoy, then this book is for you.

Narrator, Scott Ellis, does a decent job with the material, but I personally didn’t care for his voice. I know that’s a subjective thing, but he just didn’t work for me. Also, for some strange reason, when I listened to part of this audio book on my computer, it seemed to play at a slightly slower speed than when I listened to it on my cell phone. The Audible app on my android phone has the ability to play a book at several different speeds so I checked to make sure I had the playback speed on normal. It turns out I did. The Audible cloud player I use on my computer doesn’t have the ability to change the playback speed so I’m not sure what the heck was going on. I just know I couldn’t enjoy the slower speed playback from my computer.

Over all, I enjoyed the “Dick Danks” collection. I just wasn’t bowled over by it. Finally, this audio book was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Audio Book Blast.

"I can see you're holding in a laugh..."

Any additional comments?

Dick Danks, ex-cop, thrown of the force for unspecified corruption and now filling his time, when not at the bar, being a private eye, a somewhat unsuccessful one, too, where collecting a fee is concerned. And yes, he has a thing about his name - who wouldn't when he's heard as many jokes about it as he has?
This is an book of seven deliciously wry and understated short stories, related by Danks, about individual cases. Although following a detective noire format, none of the cases described are normal - the book starts and concludes, for example, with deaths which occurred in teleportation development companies.All are easy listening and fun. But it is the character of Danks himself which shines through the dialogue and makes this book so enjoyable.
This is greatly assisted by the admirable, lilting and lazy voice of the narrator, Scott Ellis, whose reading breathes life into the P.I. to give his cases authenticity even when imagination is stretched. Delicious.
Overall, a great light read book, especially suited to listeners with limited time sessions as the separate stories can be completed reasonably quickly but still give a sense of satisfaction.
My thanks to the publisher, author or narrator of Dick Danks, Collected Stories, from whom I received a complementary copy, via Audiobook Boom, in exchange for an unbiased review. This I have given.