Valley of Ashes

By: Cornelia Read

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Madeline Dare trades New York's gritty streets for the tree-lined avenues of Boulder, Colorado when her husband Dean lands a promising job. Madeline, now a full-time homemaker and mother to beautiful toddler twin girls, has achieved everything she thought she always wanted, but with her husband constantly on the road, she's fighting a losing battle against the Betty Friedan riptide of suburban/maternal exhaustion, angst, and sheer loneliness. A new freelance newspaper gig helps her get her mojo back, but Boulder isn't nearly as tranquil as it seems: there's a serial arsonist at large in the city. As Madeline closes in on the culprit, the fires turn deadly-and the stakes tragically personal. She'll need every ounce of strength and courage she has to keep the flames from reaching her own doorstep, threatening all she holds most dear.

Bit less mystery, bit sadder; still Dare!

Followers of Madeline Dare will want to tune in-- Read's snappy prose and Huber's pitch-perfect narration are again an unbeatable combination. But it's not what you might expect based on previous books in the series. The mystery takes a back seat to Madeline's personal life, which is taking a turn for the bleak.

At the same time, there are places where the crackling, dry humor of the writing and delivery will have you in stitches. I laughed so hard I sometimes had to pause the audiobook as Madeline dealt with the intense glamor of new motherhood, especially in the first 2/3 of the story. And the irony of a crime-fighting babe with babes in tow is perfect fodder for Read's wicked humor and flare for yanking the wig off ordinary absurdities.

Nutshell: If you're looking for a thriller along the lines of the first three in the series, this isn't. If it's Madeline Dare you're after, click already. After all, can we really desert a heroine so willing to give correctness, and bad guys, a hearty kick in the ass as Madeline just because life sometimes sucks? I found I couldn't.

unlikable protagonist, ridiculous plot

Madeline is self absorbed, whiney & uses way too many tortured similies in her every day speach. Big story line build up about serial arsonists is resolved with a throw away line after a complete plot u turn. Should never have listened to the whole thing, but I had a long drive and was out of credits.