Double Shot

A Cue Ball Mystery

By: Cindy Blackburn

Narrated by: Caroline Miller

Murder meets menopause. Take a guess which wins.

Jessie Hewitt thought her pool-hustling days were long gone. But when uber-hunky cop Wilson Rye asks her to go undercover to catch a killer, she jumps at the chance to return to a sleazy poolroom. Jessie is confident she can handle a double homicide, but the doubly-annoying Wilson Rye is another matter altogether. What's he doing flirting with a woman half his age? Will Jessie have what it takes to deal with Tiffany La-Dee-Doo-Da Sass and solve the murders? Take a guess.

©2012 Cindy Blackburn (P)2014 Cindy Blackburn

Cindy Blackburn books are always enjoyable!

Would you listen to Double Shot again? Why?

Probably not, but I''m not one to reread anything. There are too many books I want to read the first time!

What other book might you compare Double Shot to and why?

Well, obviously, Playing with Poison (the first in the series). Maybe a modern day Agatha Christie.

Have you listened to any of Caroline Miller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I am not sure.

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

The secret sleuth in all of us can identify with Jesse.

Any additional comments?

A light, entertaining read. Fun to continue with the characters from Playing with Poison. An unlikely bunch of friends, but really, that's kind of like real life, isn't it?

Great Story....poor performer

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the book, but absolutely not the audio!

Would you be willing to try another book from Cindy Blackburn? Why or why not?

Yes, with a different narrator

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Caroline Miller?

Someone who is not so flippent

Could you see Double Shot being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

no clue

Great cozy mystery

GUEST REVIEW FOR EARGASMS - BY KIMBERLY HOLGATE

Jessica (Jessie) Hewitt AKA Adele Nightingale's new beau, because shes to old to say boyfriend, Captain Wilson Rye needs her help apparently besides himself there's not a good pool player on the force and hes in desperate need of a shark to help solve two murders so naturally he asks his girlfriend to go undercover for him. Jessie in turn enlists the help of her best friends Karen Sembler and Candy Poppe.

The Wade on Inn is the last known whereabouts of both the victims.and after a quick makeover for Jessie, who apparently is to recognizable from all her publicity over the last murder, unfortunately to much time in the dye leaves her looking like a Munster no worries a push up bra from Candy Poppe and no one will be looking at her face not even her beau.

Most of the story takes place at the Wade on Inn with its cast of unique characters. there's a bible toting bouncer, two blue hared old lady's and Avis Sage one of Jessie's fathers old colleges to name a few. Jessie who is now using her moms name as her cover plays pool most of the time she should of just staid home though because Candy and Karen are the real investigators in this one.

We are introduced to Jessie's mother in this book. Unfortunately Adele Nightingale is still telling her story's threw out the main story and Jessie is still bemoaning about her age and now how Wilson is 5 years younger than her. And now we have to listen to her incessant jealousy over Tiffany Sass a young police officer that is working closely with Wilson.

The murderer is more obvious in this book and you can most likely guess. The book is all from Jesse's point of view. Overall not as good as the first book but still a humorously good read with behind the scenes action between Jessie and Wilson.

The book is again Narrated by Caroline Miller which I thought was a good choice. She makes it easy to differentiate characters and i liked that she didn't try to use a males voice just her own in a different tone. She doesn't read excessively fast so its easy to listen to in 3X speed and still understand.

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A mystery in a pool hall!

What about Caroline Miller’s performance did you like?

Ms. Miller did a nice job of giving each character their own voice and characteristics. You knew who they were without having to 'tag' each one with a 'said ...' or ... said 'x'". The main character of Jessie had a nice voice and pacing. Ms. Miller's performance kept me listening to the story.

Any additional comments?

Double Shot is the second in the "A Cue Ball Mystery" series. Jessie is a writer who is dating a police officer. When he needs some help with a case Jessie and her 2 neighbors Candy and Karen help out. Going undercover, Jessie discovers some of the secrets in the 'Wade Inn' bar.

This is a solid mystery that kept you guessing until the end who did it. I like Ms. Blackburn's style of story telling but I do think at times she tends to repeat catch phrases such as "I prayed for strenght". I have not listened to book 1 yet but other than a few short mentions such as "last time you almost ...' I believe this to be a book that can stand alone from the series.

I would recommend this book to my friends who like a good mystery. This book is for everyone ages 16 and up. There are some romances scene when Jessie is writing her book but for the most part nothing is extremely steamy and there is no foul language at all.

Fun, light listen!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this second book in the Cue Ball Mystery series. Jessie the main character is fun as she bumbles through solving a mystery, I love her house mates! Cindy Blackburn writes a light, easy listen that is enjoyable from first hour to last, I look forward to listening to the rest of the series. Caroline Miller, our reader does a very good job keeping things interesting and is a good match for this series, her voice melds well with the characters and provides an easy listening experience. I will look for her other books in the future.

Second book in Cue Ball Mystery Series

What made the experience of listening to Double Shot the most enjoyable?

I liked the way the narrator differentiated characters with her voice.Especially those lines sounding surprised.It was nice to hear more from characters we met in the first book in this series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Double Shot?

When Jessie as Tessy tries to convince Goldilocks that as a police officer she must take action.Also Jessie's relationship with her mother.

Have you listened to any of Caroline Miller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Playing with PoisonEqually enjoyable

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

Going Dark Undercover

Any additional comments?

This can be listened to as a stand alone, but listeners will also enjoy the first book in ths series. It is a light, humorous read about good friends who watch out for each other.

I'm hooked

This series is fun, a little humor mixed with a mystery. I am hooked on this series and find myself wanting to know what's happening next in all of the character's lives. They are all so different, yet fit together perfectly. Sometimes, I feel like I live in the same building! The narrator does a wonderful job as well!! When I first started listening to this series I figured I would enjoy it, but never thought I would become hooked.

cozy mystery with an enjoyably mature heroine

Easy, fast-paced cozy mystery with a lot of humor. Despite the cat that is almost a character herself, the book didn't fall into the traps of many cozy mysteries and get too "precious". The heroine was refreshingly smart, brave, and not superficial. Jess is 52, and is able to stand up for herself without obsessing about the man in her life. I enjoyed the unusual angle of Jess being a pool shark, and the Wade Inn was a great location for the investigation. The trio of friends were very funny, as was Jess's mother. The murder mystery never got too scary. A fun summer read. Recommended for fans of Janet Evanovich's writing.

Such a fun and engaging light mystery!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I was just hootin' and hollering through the whole book--just loved the relationship between Jessie and the Captain, and the antics is the pool hall were entertaining. The character of JEssie's mother is well placed too, although I found the reationship among Jessie and her friends a little weird since they seemed like they wouldn't have stufff in common.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Double Shot?

I couldn't get enough of Jessie's "undercover" pool games!

Have you listened to any of Caroline Miller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but really enjoyed her as a narratori

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

I did listen to it in one setting!

Too much superfluous prose.

My wife and I thought we'd choose a lighthearted mystery this time. Obviously these stories resonate with a particular audience, but not us. The main character, Jessie, is a steamy romance novelist who is, or can become, a pool shark. Her detective boyfriend taps into this in order to investigate a murder associated with a pool hall. This would be fine, but the writer keeps putting little vignettes of the Jessie's current romance novel into the story. Quite frankly, we just couldn't make the connection. Every one of these vignettes could have been left out of the story and would have made the main mystery tighter and more interesting. We kept saying "oh, yeah, this is the other story."

It isn't as funny as other books we have recently read including The Martian, The Rosie Project, or Miss Buncle's Book. And it certainly doesn't have the who-done-it appeal of a Bosch Novel.

Everyone's tastes are different. This just wasn't to our liking. It wasn't disagreeable with us, but we won't be listening to any of the other mysteries.

PERFORMANCE: We have found that female narrators do not have, or do not practice, the vocal range of most male narrators in defining different voices. To put it another way: it seems easier for a male performer to mimic a female voice than vice versa. This performance was of that ilk. The notable exception to this was Patricia Gallimore narrating Miss Buncle's Book.

SPOILER: And one part didn't make sense at all: While Jessie is visiting the pool hall every evening, there are undercover cops in the hall to "protect" her and her friends. She has a hard time figuring out who these are. It would have been way to simple for her to have just asked all the regulars (many of them detailed out in the story) who are recent newcomers. Done. Instead, the fact that she misreads who is who becomes a major part of the end game, when all she would have had to do was ask around to figure out who the undercover cops were.