An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris, narrated by full cast

 

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris, narrated by full cast

#1 Gunnie Rose

Post-Apocalyptic Thriller, Alternate History

Publisher:  Graphic Audio

Published:  6.3.20

Time:  5 hours 56 minutes

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: Dramatized Adaption

Source:  Library borrow

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

 

GoodReads Synopsis:

The beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, the inspiration for HBO’s True Blood, and the Midnight Crossroad trilogy adapted for NBC’s Midnight, Texas, has written a taut new thriller—the first in the Gunnie Rose series—centered on a young gunslinging mercenary, Lizbeth Rose.

Set in a fractured United States, in the southwestern country now known as Texoma. A world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted, especially by a young gunslinger named Lizbeth Rose. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards to be their local guide and gunnie. For the wizards, Gunnie Rose has already acquired a fearsome reputation and they’re at a desperate crossroad, even if they won’t admit it. They’re searching through the small border towns near Mexico, trying to locate a low-level magic practitioner, Oleg Karkarov. The wizards believe Oleg is a direct descendant of Grigori Rasputin, and that Oleg’s blood can save the young tsar’s life.

As the trio journey through an altered America, shattered into several countries by the assassination of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Depression, they’re set on by enemies. It’s clear that a powerful force does not want them to succeed in their mission. Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie who has never failed a client, but her oath will test all of her skills and resolve to get them all out alive.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

A gunslinging woman mercenary in a post-apocalyptic alternate history magical adventure with an Old West-vibe sounds like high adventure and good times.  Charlaine Harris has crossed into new genres before to great success so I had no doubt picking up this curious blend of genres woven together for a new series.

 

An Easy Death is the opener in a new series and did a fab job introducing the post-apocalyptic world, the tough gal main character- Lizbeth Rose- and the cast of characters around her.  At the same time, An Easy Death presented an exciting, gritty, riveting story without losing suspense or pace because of the intros. 

 

Lizbeth is a hard, common-sense gunfighter living in the former territory of Oklahoma-Texas and her work takes her across the border into the expanded Mexico and other regional “countries” that were once the former US.  The US, after Roosevelt’s death, was bitten off by Canada, Britain, Mexico, and Russia.  With the Russians who took California, has come magic-wielders.   Lizbeth has grown up tough and has a gift with firearms and tactics plus hard-knocks experience that matured her early and filed down all her soft edges.  She loves her small town, her little house, and her mom and step-dad, but she’s independent and goes her own way, including her merc work and reputation among fellow “gunnies”.

 

And, due to her beginnings, Lizbeth can’t abide these Russian wizards, but due to the need to earn a living, she has to take a job protecting a pair of them on their mysterious mission south into Mexico.  A great deal of lethal attacks on their party convinces Lizbeth that someone doesn’t want the pair to succeed in whatever it is they’re up to.

 

Everything about this story worked for me.  I was fully engaged with the world, plot, and most of all, Lizbeth from the opening of the story and this only solidified as the story progressed.  Though barely a whiff of romance comes late in the story, I liked how Lizbeth and Eli showed some low-level sparks. This was gritty and rough like a good western, but with those curious added features of the occasional modernism that survived from the 1940s and the magic and culture the Russians brought with them.

 

The full cast of familiar Graphic Audio voice artists was stellar as were the sound effects that all worked to immerse me deeply in An Easy Death’s story. 

 

All in all, An Easy Death was the promise of all the good things as I eagerly push forward into the rest of the series.  Because of the crossing of the genres this will appeal to a wider group from Western-lovers to Urban Fantasy, to Alt History, and Dystopian fans.

 

Author Bio:

Two thousand twenty-three will mark Charlaine’s forty-second year as a published writer. She has written two stand-alones, and her series include the Aurora Teagarden mysteries, the Lily Bard mysteries, the Sookie Stackhouse urban fantasies, the Harper Connelly urban fantasies, the Midnight, Texas novels, the Cemetery Girl graphic novels (with Christopher Golden), and the Gunnie Rose books, set in an alternate history America. Charlaine has also written many short stories, and together with Toni L.P. Kelner she edited seven themed anthologies (and had great fun). Her books have sold over 39 million copies worldwide.

The television series “True Blood” was based on Charlaine’s Sookie Stackhouse novels. Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is still showing a series of movies created about the Aurora Teagarden character, and for two seasons “Midnight, Texas” was on the air. Two of her other series are in production.

Charlaine belongs to several professional organizations and is an avid reader. She and her husband live on a cliff overlooking the Brazos River with their rescue dogs. Charlaine has the joy of being a grandmother, and she attends the Episcopalian church.

Website:  https://charlaineharris.com/

Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose