Olive Park

The Park Trilogy: Volume 1

By: C. J. Booth

Narrated by: James Romick

A picture in a small black frame...

A knotted rope...

An abandoned carnival...

The Olive Park Murders. Some say the most horrific unsolved case in California history.

1997 - Olive Park, California - the bodies of three children are found buried in shallow graves, brutally murdered. One of the most intensive investigations in California history fails to find any trace of the killer and the case goes cold.

Fifteen years later - the newly formed Ongoing Investigation Division, charged with closing cold cases, is handed as its very first case - the Olive Park Murders. Detectives Stan Wyld and Jake Steiner, together with assistant Mallory Dimante, reopen the Olive Park case and find nothing new, until their examination of the original burial site turns up one chilling piece of evidence that proves Olive Park is no longer just a cold case about three dead children.

The truth is much worse. For the twisted killer of Olive Park has never stopped and has already chosen its next victim. And no one will be able to protect her. No one.

©2011 C. J. Booth (P)2019 C.J. Booth

Couldn't stop listening-suprise ending

Loved the book. Lots of interesting characters and twists and turns in the story. Loved narrator's performance. I was so surprised at the ending and the way everything worked together. It was hard to stop listening from about Chapter 25 on. I stayed up way too late many nights listening. .

Someone Has A Favorite Word

Any guesses? I have one guess as to what the author's favorite word is... shit!

Tight, suspenseful police procedural.

One of the best things about this gritty hard-boiled, cold case tale is the fact that for much of the book, it is telling two tales concurrently - both interesting - cutting back and forth from one to the other at just the right times to keep you in suspense. The fact that the two tales seem to be entirely unrelated to one another just adds to that suspense, as your mind tries to deduce how they fit together.
I will say that as the story unfolded, there were a couple times where I had a hunch about something that ended up being revealed further on. However, this did not diminish the story for me at all, and in fact added to the suspense as I waited to find out if I was right or not. And that to me is a sign of a good mystery - when you, as reader or listener, want to be part of the investigation.
Other than some occasional references to modern technology, there is a definite retro pulp quality to the narrative and the dialog. The choice of narrator adds to this aspect, as his voice has a good, authoritative tone (in an “Unsolved Mysteries” sort of way).
Another reviewer got hung up on the narrator mispronouncing “Placerville”. And while sure, it’s mispronounced, it’s also a completely logical mispronunciation for a non-local, and doesn’t diminish the story one bit.
In the climax of the book, as the two plot lines come together, the author’s skill with suspense, and the narrator’s talent at verbally conveying that suspense, make for one heck of a final act.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. And I was impressed enough to want to continue on, to the next book in the author’s Park Trilogy, on my own dime,
Good stuff!

DNF

I liked this book - the first few chapters were well written, with fascinating characters - well enough until the introduction of Mallory Dimante, and then my interest fizzled out completely. Pointless, annoying side characters tend to turn me off audiobooks because it's harder to skip the parts where they appear, so this book goes on the DNF pile.

5

This is a tightly written detective
story. Although it unfolds
slowly the author carefully builds an undercurrent of dark, very dark forces circling. Just an excellent book.

The skill of the writer and narrator neck and neck

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

Three children are found buried in graves, the evidence suggesting brutal murders. Unfortunately, the trail grows cold after the investigation fails to uncover any evidence.

After fifteen years, detectives are once again assigned to the case and they turn up a piece of evidence that turns the entire case on its head.

Olive Park is a thrilling tale, with the skill of the writer and narrator interweaving in that all-too-rare marriage that makes listening to audio such a treat.

Cold case detective thriller

I really enjoyed the story and the narration of Olive Park. Two separate stories are told in concert until they collide suspense-fully. One story is of three very different types of detectives who wind up working closely together whether they like it or not. Their relationships are interesting and often contentious. The other story is of a young boy and his 6 yr old sister who are left in neglectful care after the violent deaths of their parents. There are incredibly gritty, grungy and unsavory characters and James Romick does an excellent job of voicing them all. His natural voice is an easy fit for the hard worn, older male detective but he also is so convincing as the psychologically fragile and angry young boy, the 20-something year old eager and fresh female detective and the old carnival fortune teller. Beautifully done. I can’t wait to listen to the next books in the trilogy.

Olive Park

Wow!What a story! Two children,left alone after a family tragedy,go live with their aunt.She is not a stable person.So many screw ups from so many adults leave the kids vulnerable to a killer.Cold Case oficers come into the picture when they are assigned the search for young children gone missing years ago.How this plays out is amazing! James Romick was a terrific narrator.I could not put down this series.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

Needs work

The trio of detective characters are interesting, but the villain was one dimensional. I have lived in Sacramento and was hoping for more local color...and the reader needs to check the pronunciation of place names. Placerville is in gold country, hence its name.