Stepping in the Write Direction

I received an advance copy of The Big Shakeup by Nancy Boyarsky for review purposes. This is book number 7 in Boyarsky’s “Nicole Graves Mysteries”   series, all books are stand alone, so no unexpected cliffhangers. The first thing I did was buy the first book in that series, The Swap, which is currently available for $0.99, as Amazon has been doing special sales on “First in Series” books this month. I read it and loved it. The story line was interesting, I enjoyed the characters, there was suspense, tension, and mystery that kept you coming back for more, until you got about two thirds into the book, and then you just didn’t want to set it down until you were done. The Big Shakeup is similar in those respects.  The book opens with private investigator Nicole Graves arriving just before dawn for her workday at Colbert and Smith Investigations in Los Angeles. She hears some concerning noises and checks them out only to find someone hastily leaving the office; her glimpse of the...

If you’re alone and it’s after dark, I dare you to listen to the Audible sample for The Swap by Nancy Boyarsky, but first you may want to make sure you locked all your doors, and all windows are secured. I probably listen to hundreds of Audible samples every month, and this one really stood out to me.  Boyarsky has the ability to capture the enormity of a marriage coming apart, defined by subtle but powerful moments when a husband telegraphs utter disrespect and disdain that catapults a wife’s panic as she senses something is wrong, her husband doesn’t love her any more, and how desperately she seeks to fix it. Such moments may be as small as a fleeting scowl of impatience, the way he walks ahead of her like an angry father whose child struggles to keep up with with his impossibly long strides, and an unmistakable sense of isolation from his repeated absences. The author paints just such a powerful, relatable picture in only a few well placed sentences. Ray Bradbury studi...