I haven't listened to many audiobooks for mystery books. It was an okay listen but I found the story to be a bit predictable and a little slow. It's just an okay story overall but I enjoyed it.

It starts off a bit on the slow side but slowly the storyline drew a person in.

A fun, light mystery story.

The narrator lets it down a bit.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to this book.

With thanks to White Whisker Books and NetGalley for the ARC

Full review to follow in the near future...

A Death in Vegas is more fun whodunit than gripping murder mystery or thriller, but it did keep me entertained for a few hours. It's a pretty quick listen, about 5 or 6 hours total listening time, so it's not a big investment on time, but it is well-paced so it feels like a faster read than it actually is. Patton is a likable character, and Bill Perry's pleasant voice just works for him. Christopher Meeks is new to me, but I certainly appreciate his wit and it comes through loud and clear in this story. As I mentioned, this is a quick listen, so rather than give spoilers, I'll just say that this quick-witted mystery is an entertaining read and I'll be interested to see what this author does next.

I thoroughly enjoyed this shorter story which I initially had as an audio book, then I decided I enjoyed it so much I bought a hard copy! The story centres around a businessman called Patton Burch who runs a company called BenBugs, beneficial bugs where various types of insects are sold to organic gardeners to make an environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides. He has a stall at a Lawn & Garden convention in Las Vegas, and along with his loyal staff, he has hired the services of an actress/model called Chatterley who has dressed up as a ladybug and is attracting a great deal of attention for the company. It was his wife Tess’s idea that “sex sells” and it was a great one too. Patton sees nothing wrong in looking after Chatterley when he finds her a bit upset later that night but he certainly doesn’t bargain on waking in his hotel room the next morning to find the girl naked and dead, crouched in front of the air conditioning unit! Like a good citizen he immediately calls for help but soon finds himself the subject of a police investigation into her death. Meanwhile the FBI are also on his trail after Tess took what turned out to be a dodgy money-laundering loan. When Tess goes missing, the only way he can see out of all this is to turn detective and clear his name. It’s a great murder mystery story with lots of humour thrown in and I laughed through much of it. Patton is altogether helpless, hapless and hopeless, but he is a lovely warm and endearing character that I immediately liked, and it was completely natural to sympathise with Patton and all his comedic bad luck. He is also pretty sharp too, and eventually gets to the truth, albeit with a few hilarious setbacks along the way. The choice of narrator was great. People don’t always realise how hard it is for male narrators to "do" the female characters and this guy did a good job! This might be a shorter book but it was well paced, never felt rushed and was very entertaining. Perfect for anyone who likes their murder with a chuckle or two! 5*

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the review copy of this audiobook!

I enjoyed this but i did find that it audiobook had some sound changes. Not sure if that was just on my end but it would bring me out of the story. I was a fast listened. I am not sure it was the best book I read but it is a solid 3. I still recommend the read. I will look the author to see if there are other books by him and give his work other listens.

*received audiobook for free from netgalley for honest review* Not horrible for a quick read but the mc was annoying and a rather crappy person lol like "nothing happened" yet he later talks about how they made out? like.... "nothing happened" but you still brought a chick back to your hotel room after hitting on her so like.. yea.

I didn’t hate it, in fact I really rather liked it. It was a bit hard for me to get on with some of the plotty character choices for the baffonly lovable Patton. But I did kinda enjoy the clumsy less swarthy character.

There were some major flow issues, some loose ends and some paths that didn’t really work for me in the storyline. But lord knows I’m not a writer so take that with a grain of salt.

The randomness of his like ability or attractiveness to random strangers was cringy. I figured it was an attempt to make the guy seem down to earth or loveable and attractive. But instead it kinda came off as wishful thinking. Or maybe just character notes that never got passed back over and actually fleshed out and filled in. Or possibly I missed the whole point of it and if so I’m sorry!

The story was intriguing and the characters interesting. The cover is interesting. It definitely got my attention. I would really enjoy following this author and seeing how they develop their writing style.

Just so many good ideas and creative takes on things. Can’t wait for the development of their writing.

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Liked the intrigue and mystery but didn't like the infidelity and profanity.

The story wasn’t a bad mystery, it just didn’t grab me as thrilling to listen to. Nor did I find it humorous or fun for a relevant quick read.

Listening to the AUDIO version, I didn’t mind the narrator’s voice. It was pleasant and easy enough to understand, and he read with good modulation. However, the repetitive vulgarities used in the story, were often very pronounced and proved to be offensive to my listening experience.

Sorry to say, neither the story content nor listening experience were very enjoyable for me.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Audio version in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are solely my own.

The story is pretty good, but is spoiled by the narrator.. I'm happy with having any nationality of narrator, but this guy's voice, when speaking for a woman sounds different and sneery.

Good story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I listened to a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

When Patton Burch does a good deed he never expected it to put him on the run from both the Las Vegas police department and the FBI

Facing a long stretch in jail for a murder he didn't commit he decides that if the authorities aren't going to investigate then he will just have to do it himself.

What follows is a well written amateur detective murder mystery which has twists and turns aplenty for our hero before he finally solves the case.

I really liked the way the novel was constructed - it was entertaining, informational and went at a good pace without getting bogged down too much with unnecessary detail.

The plot was good and there are no glaring plot-holes to distract the reader.

My only criticism of the audio version is when one of the characters who is from New Zealand speaks in an accent which is a mix of Bert from Mary Poppins and Crocodile Dundee - an issue that would not be present in the book version. The Narrator is otherwise excellent

The author's narrative voice is one that reads as misogynistic. The interactions between the narrator and the narrator's wife, as well as the descriptions of women in the novel I personally found off-putting.

I am afraid I really didn’t like the narrator of this book. Whilst his voice wasn’t bed I felt he read without feeling. He stumbled or paused over many phrases, breaking the drama as he did so. His attempt at a New Zealand accent were so cringeworthy- akin to Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. Sadly these factors ruined the story for me as I couldn’t relax into the tale.
I am not sure I would have really enjoyed the story as a physical book either, though. The story was rather simplistic and felt like the sort of film that is written for tv; cheap entertainment. I did listen all the way through and didn’t hate the story. I can’t be more enthusiastic than that.

The story begins with Patton Burch, who is hired by a beautiful young woman to help bring in sales at a Vegas Convention. Unfortunately, he ends up waking up and she is found dead in his room. He is erroneously charged with murder. The FBI raids his booth at the convention because they suspect that he is involved in money laundering and... his wife has disappeared.

This mystery had excellent turns and twists. It start off in Vegas and ends up in San Francisco. The story ended up taking me by surprise. The author has an excellent style of writing, is thorough with his research and has created an excellent plot and wonderfully detailed characters. This is a fun read that kept me on the edge of my seat and yet still managed to convey asense of humor. I listened to this as an audiobook and felt that the voice actor, Bill Perry, did a fantastic job making this book come alive for me. I totally recommend this book for lovers of thrillers and mystery.

I would like to thank Christopher Meeks, White Whiskers Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to enjoy this audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review.