“Bombshell” By Pamela Fagan Hutchins, Narrator Chanté McCormick: Audio Book Review/Giveaway

by Kathleen Costa
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an audio copy of this book, and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

What doesn't kill you makes you…very entertained!
Pamela Fagan Hutchins has penned a delightfully engaging series, What Doesn't Kill You. These inter-related stories star some very entertaining females…Katie, Emily, Michele, Maggie, Laura, and Ava. These romantic mysteries can be enjoyed as standalones or pick out one of the trilogies for your favorite gal. First introduced in 2016 with the first of three of Katie’s stories, “Saving Grace,” the series has regularly garnered 4-5 star reviews and an eager set of fans.



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My introduction to Pamela Fagan Hutchins’s series came with the audiobook Bombshell released in June 2018 and narrated by Chanté McCormick. With this first of three books, Chanté uses her artistry to perfectly portray the delightful Calypso personality of Ava Butler who is center stage among the “rum, endless coconuts, fragrant mangoes, and passion fruits” of St. Marcos Island. Chanté has brought to life this thirty-something, single mom of a one-year-old daughter, who is an office temp during the day and at night sings cover tunes at local clubs, lives with her parents, struggles with her father’s illness, relishes her lovely infant daughter, navigates romantic entanglements, and finds herself in the middle of corruption, mayhem, and murder investigations.
Image Source SkipJack Publishing

Check out Ava’s trilogy:
Bombshell (June 2017)
Stunner (May 2018)
Knockout (June 2018).

Bombshell Ava’s first story earns 5/5 Caribbean Conundrums…Clever!

Ava Butler is very excited about her new temp job with a virtual currency company, hoping it might lead to something more permanent. However, her first day starts with a run in with a pothole, a Plan B lift to work, side trip down an alley, and discovery of a dead body outside a strip club. Ava knew the murder victim who, although younger, attended the same Catholic school she had which ultimately reopens old wounds about her own tragic “Me, Too” experiences. But, then Ava learns the fate of more young women, her employer has serious issues, a possible record deal is dangled, and another tragedy is more a horrific déjà vu memory…this can't be happening!

Hutchins’s “Bombshell” is available in print, eBook, and audio formats. I greatly enjoy audiobooks — the perfect tool for this multi-tasker — so, when approached by the narrator Chanté McCormick about “listening” to Pamela Fagan Hutchins’s book, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to go a bit outside my “cozy” comfort zone. I am so glad I joined in this romantic mystery with Chanté. She goes well beyond a traditional reading enriching Ava’s first-person perspective with a pleasant natural voice, but it's the fun and very entertaining dialogue using her voice artistry to mimic the “Calypso” accent of Ava and the other island residents, southern drawl from Ava’s BFF, NY dialect, and variants in common American that Chanté did very well. She easily brought out the tone, personalities, and emotions to keep me engaged and on the edge of my chair. For female narrators mastering male voices is quite a challenge, but Chanté did more than a satisfactory job. I found the audiobook very entertaining, and well-worth picking it up!

Pamela Fagan Hutchins penned the story to which Chanté has applied her talents. The plot was well-developed and very engaging encompassing contemporary themes, edgy with sexual innuendo, and a few adult situations and language to match, but it is less mystery in a “cozy” sense and more a suspense thriller. A murder victim is discovered at the beginning, but Ava doesn't get involved in that right away as the story expands into a different direction with a brief change in setting and additional rich characters…including a jumbie spirit. But it all links with more than a few perilous situations and a “Wow!” ending! Ava is a very relatable young woman with flaws, insecurities, and memories she would give anything to forget. She is bold, maybe forceful, but she seems paralyzed at times with commitment issues…boyfriends on, boyfriends off. She loves her family and her daughter, and loyal to friends. All together it works, and I really enjoyed the story and am eager to read the rest of Ava’s trilogy…

Be a Big Fan!

Facebook - Chanté McCormick, Audiobook Narrator
Chanté McCormick is an LA-based actress. She graduated from Northwestern University's prestigious theatre department, is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity unions, and is IPA-trained to handle dialects.
Facebook - Pamela Fagan Hutchins Author

To enter to win an audio copy of Bombshell (you will receive an Audible code for a free copy of the book), simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "bombshell,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 19, 2019. If entering via email please include your mailing address (so if you win we can get the book sent right out to you), and if via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors!

You can use this link to purchase the book. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:




Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.
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Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Comments

  1. I love audiobooks! Thanks for the chance to win. JL_Minter (at) hotmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bombshell sounds like a fun story I'll enjoy.
    turtle6422 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love audiobooks! Thanks for the chance.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Forgot my email. Lol woodstock216 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know if you have checked out our podcast yet but it is mystery short stories and first chapters read by actors. Hope you check it out https://mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com/

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