Repercussions

By: Jessica Webb

Narrated by: Charley Ongel

Nearly fully recovered from a car accident that caused a major concussion, Edie Black is hopeful about returning to her life as a freelance journalist and college teacher. A series of bizarre incidents and the persistent feeling that she's being followed make Edie question the reliability of her thoughts and instincts. Edie meets Skye Kenny, a brilliant and shy former soldier, and their immediate connection has Edie confessing her paranoid thoughts. Skye convinces Edie she is in real danger, and together the two women discover that information was embedded in Edie's brain during her concussion recovery and whoever put it there will do whatever it takes to get it back. On the run, Edie and Skye must uncover who is behind this plot while keeping Edie and her mind intact. Trusting Skye with her life, Edie can only hope she can also be trusted with her heart.

©2017 Jessica Webb (P)2017 Bold Strokes Books

Great Thriller, But Mangled Canadian Performance

This was a really great thriller from Jessica L. Webb, which should surprise no one, and I love how Webb continues to find hooks that walk the fine line of spec-fic. She can write our world, but just a step ahead in some small piece of technology or application of science, and make such a convincing ride.

In this case, we're dealing with a woman, Edie, who suffered a severe concussion, and is slowly working her way back to her new normal. She doesn't trust herself, her own instincts, and that's a major adjustment: she used to be an investigative journalist and a teacher, and now she's... what? Struggling to make it through a day without migraines or concussion brain-fuzz. Her frustration read very real, and having faced a similar recovery, I really thought it was well handled (though it does lighten up a bit in the name of plot near the end of the book, but that's fine, too.)

Paranoia that she's being followed is kind of a new symptom, though, and it's not until she has a date with Skye, a woman who runs a security company, that Edie and Sky are confronted with the reality that Edie isn't paranoid: there are actually people out to get her. They need to figure out why, and fast before things get lethal for Edie and those around her.

The mystery of implanted memories is a solid set-up, and I loved the evolution of the cast around Edie as much as I did the relationship between Edie and Skye. Once again, Webb writes scorch when it's time, and the plot flows seamlessly.

I listened to this one as an audiobook, and that was my one caveat, unfortunately. I live in Ottawa, where the book is set, and the performer flat-out misfired this time. Not in characterization, and not in pacing, but in pronunciation. Elgin, Dalhousie, Rideau (pretty much any French word, actually), even Carleton—so many words were said so completely wrong that it jarred me right out of the narrative time after time. Now, if you've not got an ear for French, or you don't know Ottawa at all, it's potentially not something that would matter, but it was painful for me, and I really wish I'd read the book physically rather than listen to it. It's a fantastic story, and if you at all love the thriller genre with just a dash of spec-fic, you should grab it. Just maybe as an e-book or paperback instead.

Excellent audio!

I loved Repercussions. Jessica Webb nails another great story. This one is still in the medical mystery category. But very exciting, intriguing, and plenty of love interest. Charley Ongel does an excellent job with the narration.