IN THE BELLY OF JONAH
(Liv Bergen Mystery: 1)
Written by Sandra Brannan
RATING: DNF @ 5%
(Review Not on Blog)

When I read the synopsis of this book, I wasn't sure how I felt about reading this book. It sounded intriguing but the words and language wasn't one that caught my interest quickly. Over several months I have picked it up twice and cannot get any further. I am going to give up at this point.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

Where to start with this? I'm trying to not be harsh because I know how hard it is to write a book. This one just didn't work for me. There's not much thrill or mystery here--I think it's pretty easy to figure out who the killer is. It left me wondering if the author reads thrillers at all.

I skimmed a good bit of the narrative that wasn't pertinent to the plot. Mining is obviously important and interesting to the author--but to most readers, it's just a bunch of filler that doesn't serve the story. There's also a bit of unnecessary repetitiveness, some consistency issues, and some things that I could not suspend disbelief for.

There are some major issues too that make me think this author, perhaps, sees the world through a narrow worldview--where white people and the United States are the center. The only character that I recall having their skin color mentioned in their description is a black guy... other characters are referred to as exotic, letting us know they aren't white. So everyone else is white, right? White's the default? I strongly suggest this author check out Writing with Color (http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com).

Also, towards the end, there's talk about Christianity/Catholicism, and I don't read thrillers for that. I want to read about the killers and the people who track them down using cleverness and science. Speaking of that, I'm all for strong female characters, but when the MC is smarter than everyone else (the police, the FBI agents, THE KILLER even) and just happens to know every tidbit of information needed to crack the case? I can't get on board with that. Everyone else just took a backseat here while the MC did everything almost single-handedly.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT:

So the killer is creating tableaux to basically imitate a famous artist. As a dabbler in art, I wondered if a TRUE artist would be copying a famous artist, or would a true artist feel strongly about creating their own art? The one saving grace about this book was that it including art, but meh, really.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Ok, so it took me a really long time to get to reading this book. It sounded really, REALLY good but for some reason I had it in my head that if I started reading, I would be disappointed. I just had this little voice telling me that this book would end up being just another corny, predictable mystery that had unrealistic dreams of becoming a thriller when it grew up. This is what my voice was telling me. I’m kicking that voice’s ass.

This book is SO good!! The first chapter intrigued me but I wasn’t sucked in until around chapter 2 or 3. I mean, really hooked. There is nothing I love more than a meticulous, twisted psychopath with a God complex and Brannan did not disappoint.

Although I do feel like there could have been a little more character development the groundwork is perfectly set for growth in the rest of the series and I am dying to see where it goes from here. Liv has got to be one of my favorite characters in the world. She’s a strong, independent woman working in a predominately male field who finds herself on the side of the FBI hunting down a killer. Does there really need to be any more reason to love her?

In the Belly of Jonah is a fast paced, gripping thriller that will have your heart pumping and you holding your breath through to the end. When I finished, I immediately bought the rest of the series. I need more Liv. I need more Streeter and I need more twistiness!!

I discovered Sandra Brannan's novels on Netgalley and quickly read them all. I love all of the characters and felt like I got to know them better in each novel. I can't wait for more in the series. I recommend you start from the beginning and read them all.

Sad to say this one sat on my TBR for too long...I really think the title turned me off every time I tried to start it.

Once I got in the right mind set though, I devoured the story. The storyline is great, the characters are interesting (and I hope there is more of them in future books). there are a few twists and turns that are unexpected.

Overall it's an enjoyable book, some parts do drag on, but I would recommend it.

Sandra Brannan’s "In the Belly of Jonah", the first book in her Liv Bergen Mystery Series, opens from the point of view of an unknown, apparently kidnapped young woman whose interaction with her kidnapper grows increasingly bizarre. It’s soon clear that she will be the victim of a horribly gruesome murder committed by a seriously twisted killer. Later, we will learn there are related killings. You will not be able to easily erase the images from your mind. For my taste, the killer’s method is more psychotically grisly than was necessary, but some will simply find it intriguingly distinctive, which it certainly is.

In any event, this is definitely a fast-paced thriller, laid out and told in a way that compels you to keep reading.
I was pleased to see an intelligent, interesting female protagonist, a mine operator in Colorado, but somehow I never developed any deeper connection with her, or for that matter with most of the other characters. It felt like I knew facts about them without that emotional spark that brings them fully to life.

I found the extensive use of multiple points of view at first confusing and then just awkward, with 2 exceptions. First, that opening chapter was really compelling, and second, while I knew relatively few facts about the FBI agent in charge, in his case a few thoughts from his POV made him seem more emotionally complete & interesting. That was not so true for the other characters. And use of the killer’s POV, while chilling, made it obvious who it was way too early in the story.

I was also bothered by the highly unlikely actions on the part of the FBI agents. Surely it’s against protocol to use a private home, with the owner there, as a base of operations, even when said owner and one of the agents knew each other slightly years earlier. It worked for the plot, but it wasn’t believable. Also, the FBI agents all seemed pretty ineffectual to me. They were sloppy in thinking, planning, security, back-up, and in not controlling the involvement of an amateur sleuth.

I am unlikely to read any more books in this series, but I’m sure some will find the writing compelling enough to forgive those things which bothered me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a Digital ARC of this book, in return for an honest review.

This is book 1 in the Liv Bergen Mystery series and it seems like it will be a good crime thriller series. Liv resides in Colorado and is friends with FBI agent Streeter Pierce. When the body of a summer worker is found the community becomes concerned about a madman loose among them. Lots of thrills and excitement. This is not a cozy mystery for sure and starts out at a very fast pace. I found it dragging a little toward the middle and end. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This story deserves suspenseful background music playing while you're reading. It may start a little slow but builds up into a very good book. The author took the time and the risk to build her characters and it pays off in the end when the crazy guy gets it! Definitely a must read.

Rated 3.5 stars.

Good mystery. The main character's job is really interesting. Don't think I ever read a book about a miner. I like that Liv is a strong character. What bothered me is that although this is fiction, it's meant to portray a crime and its investigation in a "real" way. Actual FBI agents would never discuss the case with a regular person. And I highly doubt they would run that investigation from a person's home, rather than set up an office or hotel room as a base. So although the crime and the bad guy were super creepy and the investigation was done well, it really bothered me about the main character's involvement. But I'll still read the next book.

The first book in the Liv Bergen series. It's off to what i feel is a great start. Liv is new to the sleuthing. The inter at one of her jobs is murdered. So with the help of her sometimes boy-friend FBI Agent Streeter, she begins her journey into the investigation world. Never realizing that the madman is just around the corner. Enjoy the read.....

As much as I like thrillers, crime, mystery, serial killers, and psychopaths, this book wasn't for me.
I couldn't connect with the story and the crime/serial killer didn't appeal to me. I didn't like the voice in which it's narrated either.
Sorry :-(

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book.

Loved it.............couldn't put it down and read it in a day!

In the Belly of Jonah is a shockingly spine-chilling mystery. When a serial killer hit too close to home for our new heroine by brutally murdering one of her employees and her friend. She's smart, tough, and smooth enough to be able to investigate the murders in a way that makes her an asset rather than a nuisance to the official FBI investigation. But in doing so, she will put her friends, her family, and her own safety at risk.
Liv Bergen is my hero Brannan has created a strong female character in Liv Bergen, one who knows herself well and her flaws as well.
There are some big hints early on the book as to who the killer is. While I finished half of the book I knew who the Killer was. I only wished the identity of the killer should have been kept secret till 70% of the completion book.
One of my favourite and amazing part of the book would be when Liv was trying hard to fight the killer. It felt real, incredible as she would try to live, save herself even if she had slightest chances.
You need a strong stomach to handle the murders in this book. First, because you usually read from the victim’s perspective before they are killed. Second, they are horrific. This is the first book I have read by Sandra Brannon, I found it interesting from the very beginning. It’s just I am not into so much of gruesome murders and all, the way murders were explained they were just terrifying. But despite all of it I loved the book
The story was griping, exciting as I turned the pages not even once I felt it waste of my time.
“In the Belly of Jonah” is a fast-paced, real page-turning thriller that was hard for me to put down. I simply loved it and would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a thriller. And lastly one of my favourite quotes from the book “I’m always perplexed by why man should be so capable of so little fantasy” – by Salvador Dali.

Okay now my day is gone. I heard about this book from a few people and was intrigued. I always love to find new authors in unexpected places and especially ones that become a new one click read. This book is not your typical suspense but believe me when I say that is a good thing. The main character finds herself in the position of sleuth. How and why is an interesting part. This was a fast paced, twist and turns in every chapter book.. Now on to book 2.

In the belly of jonah by Sandra Brannan.
Liv becomes involved in the investigation of the murder of Jill Brannigan, a summer intern at the limestone mine Liv manages near Fort Collins, Colorado (a breathtaking setting that unwittingly becomes an accessory to crime). In doing so, she inadvertently puts her friends, her family, and herself at risk of being swallowed in the belly of a madman bloated with perverse appetites for women, surrealistic art, and renown. Perhaps a bit too daring (and at times irreverent) for her own good, ''Boots,'' as Liv's eight siblings call her, soon realizes she has a knack for outsmarting and tracking down the Venus de Milo murderer--and she enjoys it!
This was a good read with likeable characters.
I loved the cover. Each one in this series is unique. Liv was my favourite character. Can't wait to read next one.  5*.

This book was...very...extremely brutal. It was so well written, that my crazy imagination could sadly imagine every single gross detail. Sometimes I wish I couldn't, but man Brannan is a master of getting you to be a little squicked.

The characters in this novel are full fledged, and interesting. Liv especially, with her fiery nature did capture my attention as did her relationship with Streeter. 

This book is driven with strong female characters. And the plot is driven by a total psycho, one that you will not soon forget even after finishing reading the book. The crimes within it are so gruesome they feel real.

This book would be good for anyone who likes a good thriller, and a mystery that's more on the side of hate, than a crime of passion.

In the Belly of Jonah isn't your cozy, funny mystery in which some clueless amateur stumbles across a bloodless corpse and solves a murder while baking cookies or shopping for stilettos. Well, actually, the protagonist, Liv Bergen, is a modern-day miner, not an investigator, so she is an amateur. And some of the corpses are pretty bloodless, but that doesn't mean they aren't grisly.
If you like mysteries and don’t mind knowing the villain, then this book is for you!

Liv Bergen Mystery Series
Book 1 - In the Belly of Jonah
Book 2 - Lot's Return to Sodom
Book 3 - Widow's Might
Book 4 - Noah's Rainy Day
Book 5 – Solomon's Whisper
Book 6 - Jacob's Descent
Book 7 - Jeremiah's Revenge
by Sandra Brannan

The Liv Bergen Series by Sandra Brannan will split audiences, either loving or extremely disliking the books.
On the positive the books are faced paced, with a modern female lead. The gripping story line twists and turns like a snake on a mission.

On the negative, after the first, the books fall into a pattern, with the spice losing its flavour quickly. The second and third books are a much harder read.

The first book in the series “In the Belly of Jonah”, introduces the characters Liv Bergen, amateur sleuth, and her love interest, FBI Agent Streeter Pierce.

They investigate the gruesome murder of her summer intern Jill Brannigan. More murders are quick to follow, by a madman with an appetite for human art.

#InTheBellyOfJonah

#NetGalley
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I received this book for free from Netgalley and Publisher/author in exchange for honest review.

This book a bit disappointing. I mean I enjoyed but I wanted to love it. I think I had my hopes to high.. I just did not connect with the story. I DNF'd this about 40% of the way through. I may pick it up later once I sit and think about what I have read but at this point, I don't know if I see myself doing that.

Loved the pace of this story and the first chapter blew me away, but the following chapters didn’t hold my interest as strongly and I didn’t really connect with any of the characters.