Review: SHAKESPEARE'S CHAMPION

Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris
Book 2 of the Lily Bard mysteries
Narrated by Julia Gibson
Genre: murder mystery
Format: paperback, audiobook

About Shakespeare's Champion:

Lily Bard has started over in the quiet town of Shakespeare, Arkansas, as a cleaning lady. One who works out her anger and the pain of her past in a martial arts class.

For Lily, the gym is a place to get away from her troubles, not find more of them. But when she stumbles on the corpse of a local bodybuilder, his neck broken with a barbell, the town's underlying racial tensions begin to boil over. The white victim was connected was connected to unsolved murders of black residents in Shakespeare, and a dogged policeman is determined to stop the killing. Lily may have to decide whether to stay and fight for justice, or run away once more time.

Source: Info in the About Shakespeare's Champion was taken from the back copy of the paperback edition with ISBN 9780575105270 on 05/05/2012.

My Thoughts:

I bought the MP3 audiobook and borrowed the paperback from the library. I guess I just gotten used to having a paperback to read together with my audiobooks... I know, I know, I'm awkward kind of reader... or picky... depends on your point of view...

After reading/listening to this book, Book 2 of the Lily Bard mysteries, one distinct feature comes to mind... I can say that the main difference between this series and that of Charlaine Harris's more popular series, the Sookie Stackhouse, is that the main protagonist here, Lily Bard, is not too stupid to live (TSTL)! However, this series still carries with it the distinct addictive quality of Ms. Harris's wonderful story telling quality which shines through loud and clear in this book!

I am not very fond of Julia Gibson's reading style though. Her voice has a droning monotone quality to it which borders to boring and dull. Don't get me wrong, it isn't that bad, it's just that I've heard better.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3
Pace (paperback) = 4
Pace (audiobook) = N/A
Narrator = 3

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Thank you to the RCT Library for letting me borrow this book!!

FTC Disclosure:
This paperback was borrowed from the library. The audiobook version was purchased with private funds. No money received for this review.