Revenge Cafe

By: Lisa Shiroff

Narrated by: Wendy Pitts

What was supposed to happen: Mandy would land in the Virgin Islands, head to the Revenge Café on St. Thomas, and start living her dream life. She'd begin a new career sharing ownership of the restaurant with her best friend, Chance. She'd break her addiction to therapy cold turkey. And shed let the slow, laid-back pace of island life fix whatever was broken within her. What actually happened: apparently the Revenge Cafe is the "it" place for people dying, let alone dining. While she's dealing with a murder on the premises, Mandy learns Chance had been dabbling in a variety of activities that may or may not have been legal, and that may or may not have set her up to be the next victim. With people from her past refusing to stay there, a ghost in the dining room messing up closing time, and a too sexy police detective vying for her attention, Mandy wants only to bury her head in the sand, or at least drown it in a bottle of rum. But as the list of suspects grows to include an old boyfriend and former members of the VIPD, she realizes her own inner demons can destroy her faster than any living, breathing person. It is only after she gets the courage to face them head on that she finds the real murderers and learns they were the least likely of suspects.

©2014 Lisa Shiroff (P)2014 Lisa Shiroff

Great story

My review
A thoroughly enjoyable story, it has everything, humour, location, food, fashion and murder! Oh, and a slightly serious side too, Mandy does have issues, however, some of the funnier aspects of the story do arise from Mandy dealing with her demons. Her driving maybe bordering on lunatic, but, my goodness, it's funny, some good writing here.
This book contains some wonderful characters, I would love to meet them again, I'm sure the Revenge Cafe would provide the perfect setting for lots more stories.

The Narration
One thing quickly became obvious to me, I should have read the book, not listened, as a book it deserves 4 stars. I felt Wendy Pitts was completely mis-cast, she came across as a teenager rather than a young woman, as did Ginger, who was yet older again.
In fact the best characterisation was of the two young girls.
I can't comment on the accent of the islanders as I don't know what they ought to sound like, but, I'm sorry to say, the English accents were pretty bad. The narrative did not flow well, some sentences sounded stilted, as though they had been stopped and restarted. There was a lack of realism and of being in the moment, as if not much time had been spent in preparation, all in all, a difficult, uncomfortable listen.

This audiobook was gifted to me by the narrator in return for this, my honest opinion

intriguing

This was a great mystery. It kept me guessing until the end. Wendy did an amazing job bringing every character to life. I really enjoy listening to her. More please...

Good twists and turns like the island roads!

This book was fun to listen to. I felt the author and narrator did a great job bringing the island dialect and culture to the story. Several times I ended up very hungry after listening to the amazing cooking that was happening in the book! There was some suspense but I was hoping for more, still a good mystery.

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What was one of the most memorable moments of Revenge Cafe?

Listening to Mandy's adventures driving.

What about Wendy Pitts’s performance did you like?

I love the enthusiasm Ms. Pitts has in her performance. Especially in the driving scenes. You can really feel what Mandy is going through.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Matt and Mandy were at the party after having dinner at Duffy's. I felt that was then they best connected.

Any additional comments?

Revenge Cafe is a nice little mystery set in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Ms. Shiroff does a good job at portraying the island life in both description and dialogue. I hope that this is the first in a series of books. I would like to see what happens next with these characters. I would recommend this book to my friends who like a solid mystery with some good secondary characters.

Prepare to be surprised!

What did you love best about Revenge Cafe?

I love mysteries and when the solution surprises me, I like them even better. This one was a real surprise.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Revenge Cafe?

The most memorable moment is the "car chase" at the end. Mandy is an incredible, wonderful, delightful, makes-you-laugh-out-loud character.

What does Wendy Pitts bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wendy Pitts adds dimension and atmosphere that would otherwise be missing, if I just read the book. Her voices bring the characters alive and give them personality that I definitely wouldn't get just reading it.

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

Dining and Death in Paradise!

Any additional comments?

Get this audio book, you'll love the characters. You will also feel the spirit of island.