Unleashed

A Sydney Rye Series, Book 1

By: Emily Kimelman

Narrated by: Sonja Field

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

My dog once took a bullet that was intended for me. A bullet that ripped through his chest, narrowly missing his heart, and exited through his shoulder blade. This left him unconscious on the floor of my home. Amazingly, this bullet did not kill him.

Ten years ago, I adopted Blue after I broke up with my boyfriend one hot, early summer night with the windows open and the neighborhood listening. The next morning, I went straight to the pound in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Articles on buying your first dog tell you to never buy a dog on impulse. Going to the pound because you need something in your life that's worth holding onto is rarely, if ever, mentioned. I asked the man at the pound to show me the biggest dogs they had. He showed me some Rottweiler-German Shepherd puppies that he said would grow to be quite large. Then he showed me a six-month-old Shepherd that would get pretty big. Then he showed me Blue, the largest dog they had. He was as tall as a Great Dane, with the snout of a Collie, the markings of a Siberian Husky, the ears and tail of a Shepherd and the body of a wolf, with one blue eye and one brown.

Crouched in a sitting position, unable to lie down, and unable to sit all the way up, he looked at me from between the bars, and I fell in love. "I'll tell you, lady; he's pretty, but he's skittish. He sheds, and I mean sheds. I don't think you want this dog," the man told me. But I knew I had to have him. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I brought Blue home, and we lived together for years. He was, for most of our relationship, my only companion. But when I first met Blue, a lifetime ago now, I had family and friends. I worked at a crappy coffeehouse. I was young and lost; I was normal.

Back then, at the beginning of this story, before I'd ever seen a corpse, before Blue saved my life, before I felt what it was like to kill someone in cold blood, I was still Joy Humbolt. I'd never even heard the name Sydney Rye.

©2011 Emily Kimelman Gilvey (P)2014 Emily Kimelman Gilvey

Almost

Story was convoluted but fun. A couple of small details that just didn’t make sense (one simply having to do with a physical attribute of a specific dog breed) bothered me. And I didn’t like the fact that Joy/Sydney was not careful about who/when/how she had sex with someone. Maybe I’m a prude, but she came off as not smart about her personal life and even slightly slutty.

Great, Suspenseful and Enjoyed

I started listening to Book 1 of 3 series Unleashed by Emily Kimelman, my very first Audible book since becoming a member. I highly recommend this series. It is suspenseful, has twists and turns and overall a great story to listen to. I also really enjoyed the narrator Sonja Field. You will not be sorry.

engrossing

The mixture of the narrator's great voicing and the writer's attention to detail, enveloping world, and amazing descriptions of the world made thia one of the best books I've read all year.

Fun adventure for dog lovers.

Anyone that has lost a loved one can understand the motivation of Joy. Especially if you feel certain people are protected because of who they are. It is good to see someone come out on the side intact.

Half cozy, half crazed

I bought it because of the dog, but he's a minor sidekick in the tale, which starts as an urban cozy and switches, mid-story, into something more ragged and wild. Enjoying this story requires major suspension of disbelief. I don't think that the police would fail to test the blood at a crime scene, for instance, even if the fix is in.

Instead, dog-walker turned crime fighter figures it out largely on her own, with the dog by her side, once taking a bullet for her. That's not a spoiler, as the narrator reveals this detail-to-come on the first page.

About the much-maligned narrator. Calm down, people. Yes, she starts out slowly, maybe too slowly, but she speeds up and inhabits a great variety of New York voices with agility and charm. I like her.

And I like this story. I especially like how every time I was thinking we were hip deep in the weeds of stereotypes, the writer pulled past them with surprises.

Unleashed a Great Story!

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

I would recommend this book to a friend because it was well written and executed in a manner that engaged the readers.

What did you like best about this story?

The excitement - plot.

Which character – as performed by Sonja Field – was your favorite?

Joy Humbolt/Sydney Rye

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction but I found it very interesting and felt the politican and boyfriend were excellently portrayed.

Any additional comments?

I was given Unleashed (A Sydney Rye Novel #1) written by Emily Kimelman in exchange for an honest review.

I found that Unleashed was well written with character and the plot development executed appropriately thus highly engaging the reader.

The lead in this book is a strong female protagonist who doesn’t take crap from anyone. Within the first few pages one finds that Joy Humbolt has made significant changes in her world – out with the boyfriend, becoming unemployed and adopting Blue – a rescue dog. She is also taking on a new career as a dog walker. However, in her new role as a dog walker Joy finds herself buried in intrigue up to her neck! Moving from Coffee Barista to dog walker to sleuth seems to be a normal enough move for Joy. What she didn’t count on was the consequences of her sleuthing.

Thus the birth of Sydney Rye – a thrilling read involving a buried treasure and corrupt politicians with a dash of dead bodies here and there. The dialog is natural and while there is some foul language it is not gratuitously done. I enjoyed listening to this audio book.
The narrator, Sonya Field, was clear and concise – my only issue was she spoke too slowly at times. I feel the audio production was well done.

I found myself engaged and enjoying Unleashed. I am eager to hear the rest of the series.

Good story - far too much swearing

I really liked the story but the swearing really ruined it for me. Too bad as I won't read another one of her books for that reason. I'm no prude and a good story just doesn't need to be so crude to be true-to-life. I spent 24 years in the military and I nor the people I worked with spoke as foul as this main character.

Glad I tool a chance on this book!!

I'm really glad I gave this book a go, it was great!! Interesting charactets all the way around, excellent story, and wonderful narration.

Coming of Age intertwined with a detective mystery

I am not sure exactly what I was kind of book this would be when I requested it from Audiobook Jukebox. I have seen the series around, downloaded the first book for free from Amazon, and even did a Choose the Narrator Tour for the series back in March. But I hadn't read it. One thing I can say: this is not a cozy mystery. It is very much a cross between a thriller and a detective mystery interwined with a coming of age story. Because that's what Joy Humbolt does in the book, she grows up the hard way.

The book opens on Joy Humbolt telling us she became Sydney Rye, how it all started. Joy is a young woman, who's biggest problem each day is how blitzed to get when she goes out with her brother and friends. As a pretentious barista in a non chain coffee shop, and recently breaking up with her loser boyfriend Marcus, she snaps and loses in the middle of her shift. The victim, a middle aged woman who comes in orders a drink, really wanting a Frappuccino® trademark item, but clueless about what she will really be getting. Needless to say the manager fires her, especially after she makes a comment about him masturbating in the beans. Yes, Joy is that young and stupid.

In a fit of pique, she heads off to the pound to get a dog. One that will give her the unconditional love and support that she hasn't been able to find from either a boyfriend or her mother. She ends up with Blue. Blue has one blue eye, one brown eye, has the head shape of a collie, with the body size of a great dane and the coloring of a siberian husky. He is a big, big dog, but she falls in love with him at first glance. It is Blue that leads her neighbor to tell Joy about a friend of a friend who knows someone who has a dog walking business she wants to sell. Which leads to her discovering a dead body and eventually becoming Sydney Rye.

This wasn't like anything I have read before. I tend to stick to cozy mysteries, though I am a fan of soft-boiled mysteries. This was darker, harder, grittier. Joy had to grow up fast and is left to deal with the consequences of her actions and how they affect other people. She ends up seeing the darker side of humanity, both in others and in herself.

Sonja Field had an interesting take on Joy. Sonja really nailed a lot of the voices, especially that New York Jewish motherly tone and the bored socialites. One voice in particular, I didn't agree with, at least not until after the book ended and I really thought about it. Now I think she was foreshadowing with her voice. Scary good job. The most interesting thing was the change in Joy's voice and tone. She starts as an annoying Young Adult and gradually progresses into something more mature and seasoned.

This reminded me very much of the Holly Barker series by Stuart Woods. It's definitely not for everyone, but I do think I will be going back for seconds. There are several books in the series out, and I am sure that more audiobooks will follow. This earned 3 stars from me.

Keeps reader hanging

Great story, believable characters. Chapter endings made me want to read one more. Will continue series.