The Dead Giveaway

A Ghost Story in the High Desert

By: Quentin Eckman

Narrated by: Dave Cruse

Lewis Price has a big problem. After single-handedly thwarting a bank robbery, he is expected to give testimony during the upcoming trial, since he is the only reliable eyewitness to the robbery attempt. The district attorney has gone missing, and the assistant DA has reservations regarding whether Lewis will hold up on the stand since he has only recently been released from a mental institution. According to his medical records, Lewis Price is bipolar.

None of the above are his big problem. In actuality, Lewis is not bipolar. The people he sees and hears—that no one around him sees or hears—are not figments of his imagination. Lewis has a rare gift, or is it a curse? He can see and hear ghosts. There is an insistent ghost in the high desert community of Joshua Tree who requires assistance, and Lewis Price is his choice to assist.

©2022 Quentin Eckmamn (P)2023 Quentin Eckman

High Desert Adventure

Quentin Eckman creates a relatable, imaginative storyline set in Joshua Tree National Park and explains the history of the area. The majestic beauty of the trails, well-known rock formations, vistas, and spectacular meteor showers in the high desert is the ideal backdrop for Lewis Price, who wants to retire peacefully. Price settles in the small town near the park and rents a room from a charming widow. He was recently released from a mental hospital with medication to treat his bipolar diagnosis of talking to people no one sees. The once famed ball player reacts unexpectedly to a bank robber when waiting to deposit his first retirement check. The bank situation sets off a chain of events that pull listeners into the story in the first few minutes. Price later connects with a man who resembles a bygone-era prospector stuck in the afterlife.

Each of the characters, from Price to Bill Keys to his landlady and to the bank robber work, interact in concert to deliver this delightful, action-packed adventure. Brisk dialogue with touches of honesty, anger, humor, and regret teases out the history of people and places to put readers or listeners inside the three-dimensional world in The Dead Giveaway. The story has several exciting twists of multiple story threads that meet in the unexpected conclusion.

Dave Cruse gives a solid rendition of the story with appropriate raspy voices of age, hints of anger, and flawless intonations to bring this ghost story to life. There were no issues with the quality of the audiobook and the performance perfectly complimented a delightful story. Fans of crime and mystery genres will enjoy The Dead Giveaway, and look forward to more fiction by Quentin Eckman.

Loved This Book

I just loved the story and the way the author wrote it. I like thecway the author made this ghost story so very real and believable. I was put off a bit by all the psychiatric drs. at the start of the story, not Taking into account of Ghosts, just assumed anyone talking and seeing people No one else can see as being mentally deranged. Narrator does a Great job with the various characters voices and the entire storyline.

Screwy Louie is my favorite new character.

A fun read start to finish. I hope Quentin Eckman is able to revisit this instantly classic protagonist in the future. I’m already on board for it, please take my money!

The audio book production is fantastic and the reader Dave Cruse does stellar work embodying the characters. My hats off to everyone involved.

Desert Fun

It was fun listening to a haunting tale that takes place in the hi-desert where I had lived for many years before moving to the coast. The story was well written and the narrator did a fantastic job bringing the story to life.

A lot of fun

I picked this up on FreeAudiobookCodes.com in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a lot of fun, the narrator does a great job and I loved the main character. I really hope there's more for Screwy Louie in the works. I would love more books about his adventures.

Very good

Very enjoyable, great narration sarcasm humor really quite fun overall like able characters engaging story.