Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

First Line: The first time I met Lillian Pentecost, I nearly caved her skull in with a piece of lead pipe.
 
Little did circus runaway Willowjean "Will" Parker know that saving the life of Lillian Pentecost with her knife-throwing skills would change her life. She didn't realize that she was saving the life of New York City's finest and most unorthodox private investigator.
 
Pentecost's multiple sclerosis means that she's not able to keep up with her case load, and she wants to hire Will as her right-hand woman. In return, Will will receive a salary, room and board, and training in Pentecost's methods of investigation.
 
Three years later, the two are on the Abigail Collins case, the case of a rich woman who was bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball during a booze-laced Halloween party in her home. Rumors are flying that the woman was killed by the vengeful spirit of her husband, who committed suicide in the same chair in which Abigail's body was found. The police can't seem to find any answers, so the Collins family hires Pentecost. 
 
The case proves to be even trickier than Will expected. There's a spiritualist involved whom Pentecost has had her eye on for years, and then there's Becca Collins, the gorgeous daughter of Abigail whom Will finds herself falling for. Will the two investigators be able to navigate all the twists and turns in order to bring a killer to justice?
 
~
 
I feel as though Fortune Favors the Dead should win some sort of special award. You see, it's the first audiobook I've listened to that didn't put me to sleep in under thirty seconds. Granted, I wised up and had my knitting needles busy while I was listening, but I think the book would have kept me awake regardless. 
 
Stephen Spotswood has written an engaging story set in 1940s New York City that has a hint of noir, a dash of humor, and two unusual and mesmerizing characters in Willowjean "Will" Parker and her boss, Lillian Pentecost. It's not often that you read a mystery that involves a female circus runaway and a middle-aged woman with multiple sclerosis and a glass eye. Will is the book's voice, and that voice drew me right into the story with its sass and spark. She kept me listening as the story unfolded, and I didn't even particularly mind that the identity of the killer wasn't that difficult to deduce.

As a novice audiobook listener, it hasn't taken me long to learn that the narrator has a lot to do with a book's success. I found that the narrator of this book, Kirsten Potter, was perfect. Her Will was smart and sassy and her Lillian was calm and determined. She did a good job of creating different voices for all the characters even though I don't find that to be a necessity. (Just don't have a run-of-the-mill voice that drones.) In fact, I found Potter to be so good that Spotswood's series is one that I'll continue to follow in audiobook format. Now all I have to do is wait patiently for Pentecost and Parker to make another appearance. 

Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood
Narrated by Kirsten Potter.
ASIN: B085J1TKR2
Random House Audio © 2020
Audiobook. 8 hours, 31 minutes.
 
Historical Mystery, #1 Pentecost & Parker mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from Audible.

18 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you've found an audio book that works for you, Cathy. It can be a great way to experience a book if it's done well. But some books just don't lend themselves well to it. And this story does sound great. I like the premise, and I like the dash of wit thrown in there. The 1940s setting doesn't hurt, either, from my perspective.

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    1. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series... and I've found another audiobook to love. I've been immersing myself in Michael Connelly's The Wrong Side of Goodbye every afternoon. Between Connelly's writing and Titus Welliver's voice, I've been in heaven (and getting lots of knitting and needlepoint done).

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  2. I'm happy that you were successful with this book on audio. I agree that audiobooks can be wonderful, if they suit your taste. For me, the narrator is important - I have several that I like and often look for the narrator to see what else they have 'voiced'. I also think that it might take a little time for readers to see if audios will work for them. Oh, and this book sound like a lot of fun. Will check to see if my library has a copy.

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    1. I would have welcomed your input on a previous post in which I asked for narrator recommendations, Kay.

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  3. Saw a fascinating interview on the PP last night with Allison Montclair who writes a historical series about womendetective/marriage bureau, set in England? The author's
    identity is a surprise, but what was discussed kept me rapt. I had other things to do, so I kept the interview going at the same time.

    That is another thing you could do if you can't watch because I don't think it's always crucical to see the speakers. I can just listen.

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    1. I sat here in my nest and did needlepoint while I watched the event on my laptop. I'm becoming quite spoiled with my perch. Not only does the laptop stand hold my laptop, book, or Kindle, it also holds my phone while I'm listening to an audiobook, and the holes in the metal give me places to hang my embroidery scissors and thread my yarn through so everything is right at my fingertips.

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  4. Well, of course I shuld have known that you've read Montclair's series and gave it a rave review. I just read the recent review.

    But you would be surprised by the author's identity. So buckle up and see or at least hear the PP discussion.

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    1. Actually, I learned Montclair's true identity by accident several weeks ago while looking up something on Stop, You're Killing Me.

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  5. The interview is good. I learned some things about women in Britain after WWII and even the U.S.

    I did actually do some proofreading tonight while listening to the PP interview with Claire MacIntosh and Lee Child. I missed a few things, but I will relisten. It was so relaxing.

    Glad you have found multiple uses for your gadgets.

    Oh, I could scrap my responsibilities and listen to PP all day, including new to me authors. As Barbara said the other day, what do we look forward to more than anything: a good book. Yup.

    I'm reading Bad Axe County. After getting off to a rocky start, I got caught up in it about 100 pages in because I like Heidi Kick. I despise the crimes going on and get so aggravated about this in the real world. But I like her attitude.

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    1. Yes, the crimes Heidi is confronting in the book turned my stomach, but the characters are so good!

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    2. Yes, very quirky characters and humor. It reads like it's set in a small town in the West somewhere. But then again, I don't know rural Wisconsin far from big cities.

      I have read about county fairs with cheese or butter sculptures and titles liie Miss Dairy Queen.

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    3. Whereas I am very familiar with rural Illinois and entered many things in our county fair every year. Growing up rural and living city makes me feel as though I have a foot in both camps.

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    4. Yes. You really do have a foot in both camps. I only lived in big cities, but we did go on vacations in Michigan and Wisconsin, and I went to college in Vermont and vacationed in Maine. So I love New England's towns and seacoast and hiking in the mountains.
      On Bad Axe County, mixed reviews. I liked Heidi Kick and her pal, Denise. I found the misogyny really disturbing, the language and the crimes. Some of it turned my stomach. A line spoken by a horrible male character near the end made me almost throw the book against the wall due to the casual tone describing a horrendous act. And I found some of the idioms and so many characters confusing. I found humor in the names, but I had to do a mental chart to keep them straight.
      I read about the next book and its focus, and don't know if I want to read about that environment. And it will be brutal, considering the topis.
      So it's a mixed review. I think Heidi and Denise saved the day.
      (Also, I couldn't figure out exactly what happened to her parents, but I teared up at Ophelia's cow love for Heidi.)

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    5. I found some of the subject matter maddening and stomach churning, but for some reason that just made me more determined that Heidi Kick was the person to clean house. (And boy, did that house need to be cleaned.) Heidi's voice was more than enough to insure that I'd keep reading the series.

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    6. I can understand that. Heidi Kick is definitely the draw to the book.

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  6. My book club read this a couple bof months ago and it led to fine discussion, with everyone enjoying it for different reasons. All of us read with eyes, instead of listening, so I'm glad to know that the audiobook edition does the print version credit.

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    1. It's the first time I've enjoyed being read a story since I was small enough to fit comfortably in my mother's lap.

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