Smoke Rising: An Urban Fantasy Shifter Series

The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files, Book 1

De: Craig Halloran

Narrado por: Holly Adams

An unlikely pair on a collision course with trouble.

Bounty hunter John Smoke never liked the rules. As a result of his overly aggressive - and often illegal - arrest methods, he ended up behind bars. But the Bureau wont’ let him be. Placed in the able care of beautiful, no-nonsense Sidney Shaw, his new FBI handler, Smoke needs to alter his loose-cannon ways to remain a free man.

But there is an unchecked evil festering deep in the heart of the nation’s capital. A shadow conspiracy than won’t be defeated by conventional means. A vast, hidden network of criminals with the terrifying ability to shape-shift into monsters is spreading its supernatural sickness in the very fabric of human society.

No ordinary mortal can fight the evil. But there is nothing ordinary about John Smoke. Sidney Shaw is about to discover for herself as she follows Smoke’s trail into the darkest, most secret corners of Washington, DC. Smoke and Sidney must fight the evil that will stop at nothing to tear them apart while destroying a nation as well.

If you like Jim Butcher’s the Dresden Files and shows such as The X Files and Supernatural, then this dynamic pair is just for you!

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©2014 Craig Halloran (P)2018 Craig Halloran

Great Story, Terrible Narrator

John Smoke is a convicted bounty hunter with a shady and mysterious past who is given a leave from prison to assist an FBI agent, Sydney Shaw, track down an equally mysterious target on an even more equally mysterious black list. Tension arises between the two from the beginning as they uncover a paranormal world they never expected. The story is fast paced and interesting with lots of humor. That said......

So I love paranormal urban fantasy stories and this one caught my attention. I mean John Smoke...shades of John Wick with the paranormal mixed in. Let me say first off, I liked this story and will look to read additional books in the series, however, there are a few things that detracted from the experience.

First off, the titles of the book are all Smoke something...this leads one to believe that John Smoke is the character of primary focus, but the story is from the perspective of his female FBI partner, Sydney. I was rather expecting a male narrator so it was a bit disconcerting from the start for it to be woman.

The writing style is a bit choppy and paragraphs are often very short. This format keeps the action moving but there was often a lack of description of the world as a result. With 10 books in the series it may be that the more in depth world building will come over time.

These were minor points and really stylistic characteristics of the book. The primary issue I had with the audiobook was the narrator. The narrator nearly made me stop the book altogether after the first half hour. The character of Sydney is a brusk, snappy chick with an attitude, however, the narrator came off continually as almost nasty and very snotty. Every word Sydney said was conveyed with this obnoxious attitude and the tone did not change when the narration shifted to other characters or just regular narration. Her voice was so high pitched and snotty I just wanted to slap her. She was nothing like what I would have expected. John Smoke is a funny character and a real counter point to Sydney, but it barely came through in the audiobook. I seriously considered just abandoning the book altogether. Part of me was trying to enjoy the story so I got a Kindle version of the book and started to read it instead of listening.

In the written format Syndey's snottiness is tempered...you can see her trying to be in control and manage what, to her, is an unmanageable situation. John Smoke becomes a very humorous rather wise-cracking character who is trying to do the job he was let out of prison for while working around this very uptight, overbearing FBI agent. I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading more in the series. I finished listening to the last hour of the audiobook and Sydney's tone was tempered a little by then but not by much. It cemented my decision to read this series but I will not pursue more audiobooks. Unfortunately this was a case where a bad narrator ruined an excellent story.

Pancakes and butterflies!

***I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my own unbiased review.***

Fun fast paced story line

Really enjoyed the story. Great first book, am already on to the second. Kept me entertained and am invested in the lead characters.

Fast-paced romp!

The opening book of the series is pretty good. Get out the popcorn and enjoy a high-octane paranormal thriller. Sidney, a by-the-book FBI agent teams up with John Smoke, a former Navy Seal, loose cannon, ex-bounty hunter, to take down a marauding werewolf. The scripting may be a little weak but the interaction between Sidney and Smoke made the story for me. I enjoyed the fast-paced romp. There are ten books to the series so if you like it there is more to come. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good Entertaining Start

This story had the right balance of world and character building while still providing enough of an entertaining story to keep it from being too much of an info dump. The characters have a pretty good partner thing going where they have different personalities but together are more than the sum of their parts. And the action and adventure elements are pretty solid as well.

I received the review code for this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.

I like the story -no so much the narrator

The story is pretty good. I like this genre and the author is good. However, the narrator's performance of Shaw was just too distracting. She did well with the other characters, but Shaw was just too angry and argumentitive. I found my self wondering several times if she would have sounded so annoying if I were reading rather targumentative.

Smoke Rising.

Now here is a great book. The banter between the 2 main characters will keep you interested through the whole book. Strong character development and it builds as the story progresses.

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

Too many secrets... spoil the book...?

I'm a bit on the fence with this book. On the one hand, I know it's the first in a longer series so probably most of the secrets/mysteries/doubts will be explained in later installments; on the other, there are so many of those gaps that sometimes it's difficult for me to believe in the logic and the psychology of the story...

My doubts? One, why is Smoke so important and what special abilities does he have to be instrumental in pursuing the case with Agent Shaw? Two, why is it Agent Shaw in particular that gets chosen to do the job? Three, with so much action and with all the paranormal thrown into the mix, there isn't enough room for the character development. And no, I don't need complex psychological descriptions, I just need some kind of mental backbone for each of the main characters to understand their motifs and the reasons behind the way they build relationships with others...

But, that said, I also admit I liked a lot in the book. The pace is fast, the plot not so obvious, and characters diversified, even though not fully developed yet. The action scenes are very well done: dynamic, fast, with unexpected twists. There's also a bit of sarcastic humour and so many mysteries to be solved that you want to continue with the series.

As for the narration, I think it's quite OK. Ms Adams manages well both female and male voices, some better than others:) but I'd like her to read a bit faster. She reads action scenes very well, though, with all the "special sound effects" perfectly done:) Overall it's a decent interpretation of the book.

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

Action packed!

The only bad thing I have to say about this book is the sound effects she dose... They need improving. Other then that I really enjoyed this book with fun charterers, I will be picking up the rest of the book to see where it go's!

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

Excellent opener to an Urban Fantasy series.

I read this previously when I got the paper copy, but I didn't yet have a blog, so I never reviewed it on here. With the recent release of the Audiobook, I thought a listen and review was in order.

Sidney Shaw, an up and comer in the FBI, has just been handed her dream assignment. Known as a troubleshooter, she usually gets cases that are outside the norm from the average agents experience. IN this case, she has been given a case on the Black Slate, the secret most wanted list for criminals who don't officially exist. No one has ever been able to run Sidney's new target to ground. In fact, several agent have disappeared or died trying. To help her, Sidney's superiors have given her a wild card: John Smoke. Ex Navy SEAL, ex cop, bounty hunter and now convicted felon after he maimed one of his bounties, Smoke is looking at his sentence being commuted if they can run this bounty down.

The strong willed Shaw immediately butts heads with the irreverent Smoke, especially since Smoke has no regard for her authority. Running afoul of both internal FBI politics and the corrupt powers of DC, Shaw and Smoke run down their target, only to discover that he is like nothing they have ever encountered before, and that there is so much more below the surface of society than they ever imagined, with repercussions that could rock society if they were ever known.

While there is strong world building and plotting, The characters are where this story really shines. Sidney and Smoke are polar opposites in temperament. She is controlled and calculating, he is brash and reckless. They are both strong, intelligent characters, and that tension between them really moves the story. The secondary characters are well written as well, and the villain, while being fairly typical of the genre, fits into the story well. All in all, there's something in the story for any fan of urban fantasy.

The audio narration is handled by the talented Holly Adams, who I consider to be one of the top five narrators working today. She is excellent creating unique voices for the characters, both male and female, and has an amazing range of tones an pitches to differentiate them. She can also handle any accent, which makes the characterizations even more diverse. Her narrative pacing is fantastic, and you just get right into the flow of her narration. This is definitely one of my favorites of her work. Definitely in my top 10 audiobooks of 2018.

Craig Halloran, Rising

Craig Halloran continues to explore different genres, elevating his game.

The Smoke series is definitely an edge of your seat no bars thrill ride. The series is a bit more adult than the rest of his other work. But if you are in to intrigue, mystery, and crime dramas, the Smoke series is for you.

The Smoke series follows a female FBI agent by the name of Sidney Shaw, who is young, beautiful, charming, and a little naive. She is thrown into a world of gritty crime when her boss decides she needs to start interrogating criminal John Smoke for information on a group of bad people, that the bureau has, as of yet, been unable to apprehend.

Holly Adams is not a narrator that I was familiar with, before listening to this. I am particularly pleased with her voice, and the speed at which she reads. She makes the books a pleasant experience, and reminds me, a bit, of the actress Kate Mulgrew, in talent.

All and all, I recommend this book to fans of television crime dramas, and people who are just looking for a good listen.