The Guilty

P.I. Jack Marconi, Book 3

By: Vincent Zandri

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

Jack Marconi is back in legal hot water. In The Guilty, Jack finds himself investigating a local restaurateur and spoiled playboy who's accused of attempting to murder his school teacher girlfriend. As the now brain-damaged young woman begins recalling events of that fateful dark winter night when she was allegedly pushed down the stairs of a West Albany mansion, she becomes the target of the powerful but angry foodie/sex-obsessed boyfriend once again. Only this time, he's cooking up a bloody plot to keep her silenced forever.

©2017 Vincent Zandri (P)2017 Vincent Zandri

Good thriller with a likable main character

Vincent Zandri's "The Guilty" is a pretty good thriller starring the enigmatic Jake Marconi, and is one of a series of books featuring PI Jack Marconi as the main character. You can read what the story is about from the book description. I'll have to say that this was a good, solid story. There were a few parts where things seemed to drag on a little here and there, but then I'd find myself caught right back up in the story again. I'd have to say that having listened to quite a few of Mr. Zandri's books in the past, you can really tell that he continues to hone his craft as time goes on and keeps on writing books that are getting better and better.

Andrew Wehrlen did another solid job with the narration. He's narrated other books by Mr. Zandri, including the Chase Baker series, and I'm always more than happy to listen to anything that he's narrated. He has the perfect tone for a male lead that's kind of a badass and a bit cocky. A few people complained about the narration for the females. I personally wasn't bothered by it, but I would recommend listening to some audio samples of his work here on audible if this is a concern to you.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

Get it in the boxed set. Others are better

This is a good book, but not as good as some of Zandri's others. I recommend getting this book as part of the Jack Marconi boxed set, where you can get two other stories (both of which I liked better than this one) for a single credit.

That said, this book is still a solid work...same setting, same great characters. But for some reason, it did not grab me the same way that others of Zandri's books have.

I was given a free copy of this book with no requirement that I leave a review. However, this book is good enough to warrant a good review.

Fast Paced Ride

Did Andrew B. Wehrlen do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I definitely knew when the female characters had dialogue versus the male characters. However, the majority of the time all the male characters sounded alike...fast tempo in speech and a little cocky. The listener eventually learns to pay attention to who is in the scene and gets the gist. I gave the story and performance 3.5 stars. It could have been a fun performance if Mr. Wehrlen varied the tempo and style of the various main characters.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Zandri creates a fast paced thriller. He builds a wide variety of cast members to keep the story moving...a career-motivated blogger, a smooth detective, a couple of rich and powerful entrepreneurs, a silver-spooned playboy, a street smart/newly released from prison and 'looking-out' for his neighborhood informant and, of course, several curvy and sexy women. Mr. Zandri will keep you guessing until the end.

What a Page Turner!

If you could sum up The Guilty in three words, what would they be?

Corruption. Mystery. Sex.

What did you like best about this story?

The story-line was great. It really was compelling and kept me guessing until the end as to who was the culprit. The story had solid reasoning and was very enthralling. It was hard to put down.

Which character – as performed by Andrew B. Wehrlen – was your favorite?

I really enjoyed Blood. He is an action character and street wise. He was tough but yet likeable.

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

Be Sure and Stay Tuned to the End! You'll Be Glad You Did!

Any additional comments?

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

Marconi is a keeper

Shades of Parker's Spencer and Hawke. The Guilty hit on all cylinders and was a pleasure to listen to. Andrew B. Wehrlen did the material justice and I will be looking for more in the series. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I want more

Would you listen to The Guilty again? Why?

Yes because it is a quality book with really good narration, and I'm sure I missed some nuances.

What did you like best about this story?

Well paced, good storyline, well narrated that keeps you listening.

Which character – as performed by Andrew B. Wehrlen – was your favorite?

It would be easy to say Jack Marconi as he is the main character, but my favorite is the enigmatic Blood.

Gets sillier every hour.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

As far as mystery / detective stories go, this book will be somewhere at the middle of the stack. The characters weren't pretty one dimensional and not very intriguing. The story kept getting sillier every hour and I kept losing interest in it. After a point, I just wanted to get it over with. So, no I won't recommend this book to a friend.

Did Andrew B. Wehrlen do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Not really. All the different characters sounded more or less the same. I had to figure it out myself about who was the speaker of this dialogue.

Was The Guilty worth the listening time?

Not really. Reason explained in the first answer above.

Any additional comments?

I received this book for free from the author / narrator / publisher, in exchange for an unbiased review.

Very Unexpected!

I loved all of the twists and turns in this thrilling book. It is a standalone listen and part of a series. I thought both the author and narrator are very talented. I have listened to the narrator before and enjoy his delivery and various voices for the characters. His performance added so much to the book. I have listened to several other books by the author, but this is the first one featuring "The Keeper". I thought that several characters were endearing in this book and others I disliked. My favorite character in this story was the sidekick Blood. My review is not a synopsis of the book, but rather my opinion of it. I enjoyed this book so much that I did buy others in the series. I was provided with this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, and or narrator and have voluntarily written this review.

Intriguing Mystery

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.
From the start this book is intriguing and fast paced. A brain damaged victim, a sexual deviant boyfriend, and a variety of seedy characters kept me engaged and entertained throughout the book. The only draw back for me was that I knew who the perpetrator was early, and I wish the author had held out a little longer with that reveal. Otherwise the plot and narration are outstanding, and made for an enjoyable listen. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys an action packed mystery.

Thoroughly enjoyable

Any additional comments?
This was my first Jack Marconi mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I absolutely love this character! He's strong and capable and every bit the alpha male.

The mystery was multi-faceted and a bit disturbing. You know early on who the bad guy is but the big reveal at the ending was still a surprise.

I loved the narrator! Jack Marconi is written as an alpha male but Andrew Wehrlen made you believe. His narration was strong and affable and distinct. He's definitely on my radar for more.