The Shoulders of Giants

Jake Abraham, Book 1

By: Jim Cliff

Narrated by: Michael David Axtell

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A missing girl. A ruthless killer. A rookie P.I.

Jake Abraham is a child of the 80s, brought up by Jim Rockford, Thomas Magnum and three beautiful girls who worked for a man named Charlie. He's loving his new job as a Private Investigator and already has his first client - a disgraced former police captain whose daughter has disappeared.

When the girl shows up dead, Jake is drawn into a dangerous world of organised crime, police corruption, infidelity and serial murder.

With a terrified city in the grip of a killer who's always one step ahead of the police, how can a raw young P.I. hope to make a difference?

The Shoulders of Giants is a fun, fast paced thriller in the mold of Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker.

©2012 Jim Cliff (P)2014 Jim Cliff

Excellent PI novel, great narration

Fast read or listen, well researched with good character development. Hope for more in this series, it shows real promise.

This could be the start of a really good series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It's a quick read/listen. Good fast pace and can easily be listened to in a day.

What other book might you compare The Shoulders of Giants to and why?

I would probably compare this tithe Jude Hardin "Nicholas Colt" books. The main character in this is not quite so wreckless but still daring.

Which character – as performed by Michael David Axtell – was your favorite?

I thought Michael David Axtell did a good job with the whole book. No complaints.

Any additional comments?

I probably would have made this book a little longer and fleshed out the main character (Jake Abramson) a little more, provided more background etc. I think there was enough of a story here to do that. But... I do think this was a good book. Certainly contained enough mystery and suspense as well as a few antagonists making the reader guess right up to the final chapters "who done it".
I am hoping this writer will continue with this character, I think it could turn into a really good PI series.
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4.5 Predictable yet Fun – Mystery Style

Summary: Jake Abraham’s a wet-behind-the-ears PI with an office and one heck of a first case. It fell to him because nobody else will touch it.

Additional Comments:
- I heard the audiobook version, and I think that made all the difference. The narrator pulls off the unassuming, still learning PI vibe very well. The first person perspective serves well here.
- I’m going to use quotation marks even though I might be paraphrasing here: “… unless she was held against her will or dead against her will.” That’s the kind of humor you can expect from this book. You either love it or hate it.
- The bad guy’s not particularly believable, but that’s typical of these sorts of books. Jake zeros in on the bad guy pretty handily even though nobody else will believe him.
- Things sort of just work out, but Jake’s lovable all the same. I think there’s room for his character to grow and sharpen his skills.
- The title still doesn’t make much sense to me, but I’m going to chalk that up just one of those things.
- Content warning: off-screen sex, some curses, including a half dozen f-bombs
- Narration – 5/5
- Story – 4/5
- Characterization – 4.5/5

Conclusion: Jake Abraham’s a PI you may want to keep an eye on. He’s going to have many exciting adventures ahead.
*I received a free copy of the audiobook. This did not influence me in any way, and I chose to leave a review.

Great narration, but book is too short

I loved listening to this book. I felt that Michael David Axtell did an excellent job with the wide array of characters, to the point that it was easy to forget it was all read by the same person.
The story itself felt like a great start... I enjoyed the premise, but I felt like it could have been fleshed out a bit more. I think that the character of Jake was quite like able and relatable though, and if there is another book in the series I will likely purchase it, as this left me eager to see how both the author and the character can grow.