Phoebe and the Traitor

By: Bob Mayer

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Shane and Agnes are getting married, Lisa Livia is standing in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in love with a Duke (sort of), and Phoebe is on the trail of a traitor.

Of course, none of that is as simple as it appears as the after-effects of the Red Wedding reverberate at Two Rivers, Lisa Livia’s romantic interlude is interrupted by an attempted killing and Phoebe learns getting to the traitor is going to involve going through an obstacle course of the world’s most dangerous, and eccentric, assassins.

Add in Sam the Cleaner, who is more than he appears, and Bert, an apparently washed up barfly, who was, once upon a time, one of the world’s most deadly operatives and the chase takes unexpected twists and turns as the quest for vengeance becomes something much, much more.

“Agnes and the Hitman is fabulous fun.” —Booklist (Starred review)
“A comic caper and raucous romance...laugh-out-loud funny...a fun ride.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Wickedly funny.”—Cincinnati Enquirer
“A bubbly novel with amusing banter and…moments of poignancy.”—Publishers Weekly

And Bob and Jennifer Crusie have two new series:
Lavender's Blue Rest in Pink One in Vermillion
Rocky Start Very Nice Funerals The Honey Pot Plot

And are currently working on a new trilogy, with the preorder for the first book availble: Arresting Anna

Horrible Narration

Since Agnes and the Hitman is one of my old-time favorite books, I was hopeful that the sequels would be entertaining. I'm not sure if the awful narration ruined the plot for me but it did not hold my interest. I listened all the way through, hoping it would get better, but my mind wandered, and I can't actually remember how it ended.

virtual voice does not work

as always, the Mayer story line is excellent, and considering the story (involves computer high jinks), there is a certain irony about using virtual reader. it was a one tone read, with no indication, not even a momentary pause, when chapters ended/began, or different characters or different emotions. this book would be better as a read rather than a listen. The sample wasn’t so bad, but as a book, the virtual reader requires too many ‘what?, who? oh! new chapter…oh! wait! change in location…’ moments.

good story bad narration

Virtual voice generated narration was poor. Hard to follow sometimes as there was not a delineation of the characters voices.

Virtual Voice still needs an editor

I was lost through most of the book. There weren't pauses between scenes and it made it hard to follow.

So So

The AI had no emotion whatsoever I liked it okay but it would have been better with a real person reading it