Secret of the Big Easy

Marie Bartkek & the SIPS Team Series, Book 2

By: Robin Murphy

Narrated by: Ann-Marie Lariccia

Secret of the Big Easy has plenty going that grabs the listener's attention and keeps it until the final word. The suspense surrounding the murders that Marie is seeing in her visions is really first rate. Add to that the mystery of why the murders are taking place and you have a first rate story. But that is just the tip of the iceberg with this story, because there is so much more going on.

There is the romance going on between Marie and her boyfriend Cory, who just happens to be the police chief of Sullivan's Island. My favorite parts of the story are the paranormal supernatural elements of the story. Marie is trying to learn how to handle seeing spirits, and to deal with the visions she sees. The visions she had were very vivid allowing me to feel as if I could actually see what was happening, and also kept me wondering what might happen next.

I am a huge fan of ghost hunting/paranormal activity and because of Ms. Murphy's accurate descriptions it was easy to see that she had really done her research in this area. The secondary characters really balance out the story, and the relationship between Gale and Tim was often funny. I always enjoy when there is an animal written into a story and in this one we have Bailey, a chocolate Lab which Cory gave to Marie.

Even though this is the second book in a series, the author provides plenty of background information making it easy to listen to this book as a standalone work, although the story line is so interesting I certainly plan on going back and listening to the first book in the series titled Sullivan's Secret. While Ms. Murphy provides a great ending for Secret of the Big Easy, I am anxious to see what direction Marie and the SIPS team take in the next book.

©2012 Robin Murphy (P)2020 Robin Murphy