Brett Gets Hammered by David D’Aguanno narrated by Travis Henry Carter

Audible Release Date: May 4, 2018

Brett Cornell is called to action when someone with absolutely no morals or limits is needed. In this case, Tammy and Andy Rankin’s father has died and their stepmother stands to inherit the estate. Tammy and Andy need to pin the death on their stepmother – doesn’t matter if she had anything to do with it or not –  and there’s no better man for the job than Brett Cornell.

Brett gets Hammered is the sixth book in the Brett Cornell series.

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. I then did not review this book for a few years and for that I deeply apologize to this author. 

 

Brett is back and brash as ever. The self-acclaimed unscrupulous bastard is ready to break heads and bed ladies. Brett has standards though an old hag of 40 may have a shot (Brett is 36) but Tammy Rankin is right in his lane. She’s a woman he’d spend a few fun times with but the contentious bruiser at her side is a fly in the ointment so Brett is ready to focus on what he likes best – the money. Tammy’s wealthy father has died and left all of his money to his young wife cutting Tammy and her brother completely out so Tammy needs someone to dig up – or make up – dirt on the young widow. Is there anyone more fitting for the job than Brett?

It’s been a while since I last read a Brett book but his signature verbal effluence self aggrandizing in Brett gets Hammered brought it all back. Brett is always going to be the ultimate unreliable narrator. As smooth as he thinks he is and as easily as he plays it off, we see the discomfort of the people in his environment when he sits down with Tammy, stares at her chest and orders a “pair of Heinekens.” His retelling to us has him pulling off his explanation but he manages to relate the awkwardness of his audience which he attributes to anything other than his charm. 

Brett gets Hammered is a very linear read and the story is very structured. There’s a feeling that D’Aguanno knows Brett very well now (and perhaps always has). We also get the sense of the narration that Carter is quite comfortable in his role. Brett gets Hammered is the 5th books he’s narrated for this author (subsequent to this release, he narrated Beach Bum Brett). When Carter is in character, Brett is someone we all knew in the 70’s or perhaps who was a throwback to that time. Brett is a man who wants to be a caricature and as much as he tries to pull it off, as the story goes on, we see right through him. He mentions his childhood when dealing with cops later in the book and questioning why he should continue to pretend things don’t bother him. There is real growth in this character. 

Brett’s macho man throwback is going to be a lot for some readers. If you observe the people around the narrator and observe his few honest moments we are led to a potential understanding of why he’s a jackass in much of the narrative. As per usual, reality meets Brett and in this story it seems especially poignant. Got to say, once I started listening to the characterizations presented by Carter, I got a bit swept away and this was one audiobook that I wasn’t rewinding because I felt I missed something.

Well produced and well written, Brett gets Hammered is just a really solidly good story. Brett’s malapropisms are engaging. Was “said the spider to the cucumber” in a previous book because that was one that I just had to stop the book.  Is that part of my vocabulary now? It remains to be seen.

It’s a holiday weekend here in Canada. Pick this one up today. Its a great listen for sunning outside or puttering around the house. 

 

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Serious Moonlight (How to be Dead) by Dave Turner

CORRECTION: I said in an earlier version of this review that this book was last in the series. I am overjoyed to learn that it’s not.

 

Publication Date: December 31, 2018

 

Dave Marwood and his girlfriend, Melanie, are due for a bit of a break in the country after saving the City of London from destruction. It’s a bit of a worry that Death, the last standing Horseman of the Apocalypse and Dave’s employer, is having a bit of an existential crisis and Dave has been acting as his flip-flopped toy scythed stand-in, but a relationship needs tending. The break, however; is not the peaceful time away the couple anticipates when they find themselves beset by ghosts and the people seeking them.

Serious Moonlight by Dave Turner is the fifth book in the How to be Dead series.

 

Part of my life’s work is finding books that give me the feeling I got when I first read the works of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Jasper Fforde. The beautiful humor and massive creativity of the aforementioned authors are qualities shared by the great Dave Turner. Continue reading Serious Moonlight (How to be Dead) by Dave Turner

Good Omens (2019)

Good Omens is based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and Crowley (David Tennant) are an Angel and Demon who are quite fond of humanity and, grudgingly, of each other. They have had off the books meetings for centuries and have perhaps each influenced the other in a way that their supervisors wouldn’t condone. When Crowley is called upon to deliver the Antichrist, he knows the end is near. The demon and angel agree to each stay close to the child and try to influence him but what happens when it’s the wrong child? And what happens when Heaven and Hell are both willing to do whatever it takes for the ultimate face-off to happen?

 

Neil Gaiman wrote the screenplay and worked in the role of showrunner for the production and it shows. I think this may be the truest translation of novel to screen that I’ve seen. From the perfect casting to joyful irreverence, this show is a pure pleasure to watch. I’ve seen it three times all the way through and have plans to watch a fourth time and am willing to bet that I’ll see a host of things of hidden jokes and sly references. A demon and an angel who have lived long among the humans and developed an affinity for humanity have a crisis of divine purpose vs what they really want. Early on there are two great scenes. In the first great scene, the Archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) finds Aziraphale in a sushi restaurant and question why he’d want to foul his mortal shell with ickiness. In another scene, Crowley roars up in his classic car to take delivery of the baby Antichrist and his fellow demons go over their accomplishments in securing souls. Crowley gives this off-hand high tech explanation of his mass frustration of humanity as they stand there dumbfounded. The humor in both scenes is pure Pratchett. Tongue in cheek, setting up the beings with whom we’ll spend the length of the miniseries and highlighting their hesitance to give up the comfortable lives they’ve established.

Good Omens is a complex story. In part it’s about the Prophesies of Agnes Nutter and her descendants carrying on her tradition, in part it’s the story of an impending war between heaven and hell and it’s also part the story of a great friendship of opposites formed outside of the gates of the Garden of Eden as two immortals ponder God’s ineffable plan. Narrated by God herself (voiced by Frances McDormand), it’s a mostly linear story that bounces through time. Aziraphale and Crowley do their best for the little Antichrist but, in the end, their efforts are pointless.

As one would expect from the cast, the acting in Good Omens is outstanding. Micheal McKean as Witchfinder Shadwell is just comic genius. Jack Whitehall as Newton Pulcifer/ Adultery Pulcifer is just probably the best performance this actor has turned out. Sam Taylor Buck as Adam Young (the Antichrist) is convincing in fighting his dangerous side. The scenes with Adam and his group of friends are as interesting as the playful byplay between the more seasoned Michael Sheen and David Tennant. These young actors have great futures ahead of them.

Good Omens is simply amazing. To say too much would involve spoilers. I know that there’s been some backlash against the production because it’s considered blasphemous and, if you’re religious, I’m sure it is but only in the best way. How nice must it be to be so absolutely sure that things that are unseen in life exactly as you think they are. That God is a long-haired white dude and not some cheery lady with an American accent and a sly sense of humor. This is fiction, it’s not literal and I’ve always been of the opinion that if you don’t like it, don’t buy it, but that’s me.  It is tongue in cheek and clever. The rare talent that comes along in literature and thank goodness for Neil Gaimon translating it to the screen because it was the production was just a joy. To see some of the best scenes from the book acted out and exactly as one would have pictured them is just delightful. Agnes Nutter throwing open the door and facing Adultery Pulcifer was just beautiful.  Will there be more? I don’t know but given that Pratchett died after the publication of this first novel, I can’t see Gaiman going back to that well. Gaiman is an author that seems to respect the legacy and as talented as he is, I would think that Gaimon would hesitate to continue without his original co-author’s cooperation.

See Good Omens. See it now. It is wonderful, amazing and fully worth binging over and over.

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The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

 

In The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, it’s 1985 in the fictional world that is parallel to our own. Someone is kidnapping literary characters. It’s the job of Thursday Next, the occupant of our world but the detective in the Literary Detective Division, to find the culprit and stop them before it’s too late.

 

Every book claims to be like the work of a bestselling author. They’ll up the ante saying that the work is by an author who is the modern version of the author to whom they’re likened. Usually, they could not be less like the author whose name they use to promote themselves. In the case of Fforde, it would be in no way inaccurate to liken him to Douglas Adams. It would also not be inaccurate to say that they are nothing alike. Fforde and Adams share a well-defined imagination with a lightness of being. Their worlds are intricate. Fforde is extremely well-read. The characters created by others in his story are wholly within character. The description of the fictional world is beautiful and complete. Continue reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Wedding Bells for Brett by David D’Aguanno

Publication Date: March 15, 2018

 

Wedding Bells for Brett by David D'AguannoIn Wedding Bells for Brett by David D’Aguanno, Brett Cornell, a heartthrob for the 1980s, once again finds himself in hot water. A young woman that Brett married as a proxy of sorts is found dead in a hotel room under suspicious circumstances. Can Brett solve the case and dodge the sentence for which he seems destined. Wedding Bells for Brett is the fourth book in the Brett Cornell series. Continue reading Wedding Bells for Brett by David D’Aguanno

Poolside with Brett by David D’Aguanno

Release Date: October 30, 2017

 

Poolside with Brett by David D'AguannoIn Poolside with Brett by David D’Aguanno, it’s the 1980s in New Jersey, the age of excess. Big hair, hard drugs and lots of sex and one man who is acing the era is Private Investigator, Brett Cornell. He’s winning big and has attracted the attention of an exotic beauty who wants to feature him in one of her adult films and a wealthy woman has hired him to find her husband. Seems like life is going well until Brett finds the missing husband in the trunk of his car. Is someone trying to set him up? Brett must solve the case to get back to his charmed life. Poolside with Brett is the first book in the Brett Cornell series.    Continue reading Poolside with Brett by David D’Aguanno

Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys: An Annie Graceland Mystery by Pamela DuMond

Publication Date: November 8, 2010 | Audio Release Date: November 12, 2013

 

Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys: An Annie Graceland Mystery by Pamela DuMondIn Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys: An Annie Graceland Mystery by Pamela DuMond, Annie’s move to Los Angeles from Wisconsin with her up-and-coming actor husband seems perfectly timed. Her life is falling into place as her business succeeds. If only she didn’t feel the emotions of others. Who needs to know about someone’s foot fetish or struggles with weight loss and insecurity? Annie’s perfect life shatters when she discovers that her husband has been cheating and when the paramour dies, Annie is the prime suspect. To add to the problem of her telepathy, Annie now has a super annoying ghost hanging out with her. Can Annie solve the murder and save her sanity?

Continue reading Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys: An Annie Graceland Mystery by Pamela DuMond

Part-Time Princess: Ladies-in-Waiting Book 1 by Pamela DuMond

Release Date: September 18, 2014

 

Part-Time Princess: Ladies-in-Waiting Book 1 by Pamela DuMond

In Part-Time Princess: Ladies-in-Waiting Book 1 by Pamela DuMond, Lady Elizabeth Billingsley hires an unemployed cocktail waitress, Lucy Trabbicio to impersonate her. Lucy is hired for ten days while Elizabeth finishes business in the United States. Lucy’s task is to entertain a prince likely to propose. When another man with a history with Elizabeth catches Lucy’s eye and is bent on inserting himself into her life, her task will only become harder. Will Lucy be successful or will she be found out before Elizabeth can return?

 

Continue reading Part-Time Princess: Ladies-in-Waiting Book 1 by Pamela DuMond