Grave Beginnings

Grave Report, Book 1

De: R.R. Virdi

Narrado por: Travis Baldree

“Quick, clean action, solid character work and pacing. This series is worth your time.” (Jim Butcher, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Dresden Files)

Another day, another hijacked body. And just 13 hours to solve a murder…Detective Vincent Graves has made a habit of dying. Waking up in someone else’s body isn’t pleasant, especially when it's inside a coffin with tons of dirt pressing down on it. Once he’s out, he learns his soul has 13 hours to find the borrowed body’s killer.

With the help of a brilliant FBI agent, Vincent’s quest for clues leads to a looming supernatural presence. And escaping the dark threat may be impossible with his ever-ticking clock…

Can Vincent close the case in time, or will a powerful being make him rest in peace for good?

Grave Beginnings is the first book in The Grave Report urban fantasy detective series. If you like paranormal twists, hard-boiled investigators, and noir-style magic, then you’ll love R.R. Virdi’s paranormal investigator series.

“His stuff is badass!” (Larry Correia, New York Times best-selling author)

©2013 R. R. Virdi (P)2020 Tantor

Great Book

I wasn't sure about this book at first, but after the first chapter I was hooked. The characters make a few more quips than I usually prefer but other than that I throughly enjoyed this book. The ideas were fresh, the narration was good and I'm looking forward to Book 2. Definitely worth your time.

Solid narration/performance, more plot holes than Swiss Cheese

The narration is solid, but the story will ask you pretty regularly to “take things on faith”; leaving you with a cheap feeling after choosing to buy into so many plot holes.

GREAT Story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the humor had me laughing out loud at times and I found myself relating to Vincent's humor. excited to start the next one.

Formulaic and yet still fun

Yes, it’s another white guy with unique powers, battling supernaturals, paired up with a lady detective.

Yes, the feeling is sarcastic noir, with a thing against government authority.

Yes, there are head scratching plot issues if you think too much on them.

Yes, there are easy solutions ignored for the sake of extending the plot.
(Example: he’s dug himself out of a grave, again, and bemoans how hard it’ll be to figure out
whose body he’s occupying… and yet doesn’t think to check whose name is on the tombstone?)

Yes, there’s the frustrating premise of Vincent blindly doing his supernatural job
without understanding the hows or the whys.
(Not to mention that the hows or whys change arbitrarily, like when Church gives him 24 hours
to solve the crime, and when Vincent complains, Church makes it 13 hours)

Yes, there’s too much focus on the fight scenes and not enough on world building.

Nonetheless, it’s a formula that went down easy.
I enjoyed this just like I enjoyed Quantum Leap in the 80s without caring whether it all made sense.

Good enough

Okay, I know that mostly the stars seem to be rated "if it's not 5 stars it's probably not worth it" but since I actually try to go for a bit more nuanced reviews than yes/no rest assured that even if I give something only four or three stars it doesn't mean I think it's not worth one's time. This one mostly is, the writing is good, the characters interesting, the plot a bit simplistic but not bad, and the way the author uses the fantasy creatures gives them some freshness. The only things about the story I didn't like that much is that I would have liked the main character doing a bit more investigating, slightly less fighting - I do generally like noir, and I do like action, but for some reason this went just a bit over the top for me - plus


Okay, I guess this needs bit of a SPOILER WARNING - no details, but the complaint does reveal a bit of the plot









I did find the end boss fight too long. He finds the monster, they fight. Then they fight. Then they fight some more... okay, maybe it's just my age, and the fact that I am not much of a gamer, perhaps that would be more to the taste of younger generations who are. I would have preferred that end fight cut into a few pieces, like they fight, he has to escape the fight or the monster does, then he maybe has to do some investigating to find the monster again - or another way to defeat it - before fighting it again. Or the monster finds him. Not just one extended long fight.






END OF THE SPOILER






So, all in all: story is good, but not a perfect fit for my taste. The narrator is good. I think the combination made it well worth listening to.

Repetitive, not my cup of coffee

This is included and narrated by Travis Baldree, far and away one of the best narrators I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. But the storytelling wasn't for me. One-liners, action, and witty conversation is part of the noir style; spending several minutes explaing the thought process behind every statement and action....not so much. Tried to make it to the end, but just couldn't do it.

This Story Grabs you from the Start!

This was a wonderful Pagetuner Story that I listened to on Audible books. The MC is Sarcastic and does jokes when stressed. I enjoyed this Soooo much I wanted to get right into book 2 on Audible but it is not available yet.
I HIGHLY recommend this book if you need a Mystery story in the Paranormal that is fun and funny at times too!! Narrator did a very nice job on this.

Solid

Characters had depth and behaved realistically. Main character is relatable and introduced well. Action pacing was pretty good. Antagonist seemed 2d at first but showed nuance by the end. Some plot twists predictable but others not. Just enough to keep you guessing. Good voice acting. The main chick got a little annoying, I can quite place my finger on why. The ending definitely provokes a desire to read the next book.

A solid story

A fun story from a unique perspective. Kind of like Dresden Files crossed with Quantum Leap.

Poorly written but funny

The action scenes aren’t bad and the jokes (mostly) hit, but everything in between needs a lot of work. Also, character development is inconsistent - sort of makes sense for the protagonist, but the rest need work. The narration, however, is excellent. Honestly, it carries the story.