The Dirt Bike Detective

De: Douglas L. Hoover

Narrado por: Ramon de Ocampo

When Oliver's great-grandfather's pocket watch is confiscated at school, Chase, a budding detective, vows to help him get it back.

A self-proclaimed authority on paranormal activities, Chase convinces Oliver and his friends, Eduard and Gio, to go along with investigating the curious happenings at their school.

What begins as the simple task of reclaiming Oliver's pocket watch swiftly turns into a full-fledged investigation into the paranormal happenings at Raven Ridge Academy, as they also face bullies, rivals, and Oliver's annoying little brother. And don't forget Jax, the girl of Oliver's dreams....

As the kids delve further into their investigation, they find themselves caught in a web of trouble with their lives in peril, the fate of the world at stake, and time running out. Will they solve the mystery before it's too late?

The Dirt Bike Detective is an epic, entertaining tale for the entire family, combining endearing characters, intricate mysteries, humor, and excitement for all ages.

©2016 Douglas L. Hoover (P)2017 Douglas L. Hoover

Okay, but twice as long as it probably should be.

Overall this isn't a bad book. Ramon de Ocampo does a great job as always with all of the voices. Overall the characters are unique, well developed, and have their own personalities. Only problem is this book seems like it is about twice as long as it probably should be. Sections just seem to drag themselves out without moving the story along. Overall a fairly good book though.

Great narrator!

This is an interesting story about high school or middle school kids with great imagination uncovering a plot to kidnap the President of the United States. I just want to emphasize that the narrator was great — one of the best - which made this a really interesting book to listen to. I give five stars for the narrator and four stars for the story.

great read for The Young and the young-at-heart

loved the insight into the imagination and suspicion of middle school students! looking forward to the next Adventures.

Best listen in a long time

My seven year old granddaughter and I listened to this book together and we both enjoyed it thoroughly. She asked to listen every time we got into the car and listened intently. She is an avid reader so this book was perfect for her. As for me, I found myself laughing out loud at the humor and situations that everyone can relate to. The Dirt Bike Detective is a fun humorous mystery that everyone in the family will enjoy.
Ramon de Ocampo has voices that make every character unique and believable bringing this adventure to life.

Bravo! Adventure and mystery—a literary Goonies

Hoover masterfully paints his gang of heroes and de Ocampo brings them to life with perfection. The story captures the tween psyche—a humorous balance between childhood imagination and a bubbling autonomy—as these young guardians tackle the mysterious and villainous crimes, real or imagined, of Raven Ridge. A great read for kids 9-15. Hoover’s debut is a grand slam. Looking forward to the next installment.

Promising first novel

The Dirt Bike Detective is an awesome audiobook about a group of 12-year-old misfit children who try to solve a series of paranormal mysteries in their school, with the investigation extending also to the surrounding area.

This is the first novel in a new extremely promising Saga featuring these unique characters.

Written by Douglas L. Hoover, The Dirt Bike Detective is a captivating coming-of-age tale that beautifully weaves a compelling mystery with paranormal elements. It was a complete pleasure to spend these 16 hours in the company of such endearing characters.

I am left caring a lot for Oliver, Chase, and their friends, Eduard, Gio, and last but not least Jax, the girl of Oliver’s dreams.

I love the attention to detail bestowed by the author on each of the above-mentioned school kids and also the fact that each of them is different in their own way.

The investigation at Raven Ridge Academy is no small matter and will leave our heroes fighting for their lives. As if this wasn’t enough, even the fate of the world could be at stake.

The writing is excellent, the action moves fast, the characters are colorful and the story is well thought out and entertaining. These kids feel alive and their adventures are filled with humor, wit, courage, friendship, and mystery.

Accomplished Television, Film, Stage and multiple award-winning Voice actor Ramón de Ocampo brings to life the adventures, the characters, and the events of The Dirt Bike Detective in a pitch-perfect performance! Ramón is one of the best narrators in the Audiobooks Industry and once again he managed with skill and passion to take an already excellent work of fiction to an entirely new level of immersion.

Mr. de Ocampo is an expert when it comes to assigning each of the characters a unique, easily distinguishable voice and that’s exactly what he does here. As such, the listener won’t have any difficulty in discerning who is speaking at a given time. The narration is excellent, fast, easy to follow, filled with laugh-out-loud moments, lively, and extremely entertaining.

If you are looking for an epic tale featuring a cast of unforgettable characters, then I highly recommend The Dirt Bike Detective! Although this is definitely a story targeting young adults, I’m sure that everyone in the entire family can enjoy it because good writing has no age restriction!

I was pleasantly surprised by The Dirt Bike Detective and I enjoyed it tremendously. Now, I can’t wait for The Beast in the Shadows, the next audiobook in this series to be released.

Masterful storytelling!

An outstanding book brought to life perfectly by Ramon de Ocampo’s narration. With richly fleshed out characters, the author weaves a delightful tale and compelling mystery. Of particular note is the normalization of a disabled kid and themes of inclusion. A great read for both kids and adults alike!

🏆🎧 ABR Reviewer's Choice Award Winner

Oliver wants to impress his history teacher so he swipes his great grandfathers pocket watch and from that one bad decision and a bully at school, Oliver’s life changes. Chase, a new student tries to save Oliver from the bully but only makes things worse, the watch comes up missing along with a teacher and Anna “three names” seems to have a crush on Oliver. Then there’s the President ... lots of action!

Douglas Hoover captures the fragility of middle school Kids’s ego, need to fit in but also be special expertly. The inner workings of their minds ~and kid you not you will see yourself as a child through the characters and their predicaments. Hoover builds the characters and their fears realistically and with genuine care.

Vivid descriptions with realistic dialog provides an action-packed listen. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think listeners of all ages would find this fanciful tale interesting and exciting.

Ramon de Ocampo performed this audiobook professionally and with distinct voices and accents. I found his voice lent the book a little kick as his voice. Rough the characters to life.

Best young adult book I’ve heard in a long time!!!!!

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog.

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It’s Good

The author has managed to capture the essence of being a kid while still making a fairly intelligent detective novel. The author is not quite Enid Blyton but has a similar taste. The end is fast paced and exciting I would recommend it to any parent

Entertaining and Imaginative.

I listened to this book as an Audiobook and I’m so glad I did because I truly believe that it was the best way to enjoy this story. Douglas L. Hoover has such a unique writing style with his use of imagery, metaphors, and dialect. The only way to truly grasp the depth of his writing style and ability is to listen to it in all its glory. I think the narrator, Ramon de Ocampo, was the perfect person to bring this story to life. He did a wonderful job putting the depth and emotion behind Hoover’s writing and truly brought the characters to life. There was never any doubt in my mind when our main character was speaking, when our main character was imitating another character, and who our main character was talking to during back and forth conversations. There is no better duo than Hoover and Ocampo ; unless, of course, it’s Ollie and Chase.
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This book is a middle grade mystery but, even as an adult, I was entertained, engaged, and wanted to solve the dang mystery myself. The themes that were present in this story were also engaging for adults. There was murder, abduction, lies, and deceit ; and even though they were downplayed due to the intended age group for this book I didn’t think they were any less entertaining. I, also, thought that our characters were very mature for their age and even though they had an obsession with the Paranormal and Supernatural ( I mean, hello, adults love that stuff too ) they made wise and calculated decisions. They were able to accomplish a lot to help protect the town and they didn’t do it in a childish way. While there times they definitely acted their age, except for Jax, they weren’t annoying to read about. They actually made me wish that I was that cool at their age.
The setting of this story held a special place in my heart because it takes place in Colorado and that’s where I live. The descriptions of the Mountains and of Denver were spot on and I appreciated the attention to detail Hoover provided. I could see the rural area that Ollie grew up in and I could picture the structure / location of Raven Ridge Academy. I could envision the Gargoyles that sat atop their school and I could picture the abandoned mine and how scary it must have been. All of the descriptions brought an added element to the story and allowed the reader to be immersed in a world that is our own but with unique adventures.
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If you want a lighthearted and fun mystery I encourage you to check this series out. Hoover is an Author that should not be underestimated and even though this story is geared towards middle grade children I promise that Adults will love it too.