THE GOOD COP (Carter Ross #4) (audiobook) by Brad Parks

A Review of the Audiobook

Published in 2013 by Dreamscape Media, LLC.
Read by Adam Verner
Duration: 9 hours, 18 minutes
Unabridged

Carter Ross is an excellent reporter in the newsroom of a slowly dying newspaper in Newark, New Jersey. When he hears of the death of a police officer, he immediately rushes to the family and convinces them to talk to him about the officer and the kind of life he lived. Ross is certain that he has the makings of a top-notch human interest story - the kind of story that he would be proud if the family saved it for the officer's tiny baby son to read someday.

But, when Ross calls in the good news to his editor he is immediately waved off of the story because the Newark police are telling everyone that this officer killed himself after he got drunk on the job. But, that sounds fishy to Ross so he starts his own investigation into the case - and soon he finds that he has more suspects than he can possibly investigate...

Brad Parks has a way of making a serious crime book funny and serious all at the same time. When things go wrong, Carter Ross digs harder, makes even more wisecracks and makes the reader enjoy the book even more.

Adam Verner nails the tone of Carter Ross perfectly. The only down thing about the book is that there are too many "soap opera" touches to the book concerning Carter Ross's romantic entanglements. Nonetheless, this is an enjoyable audiobook experience.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: THE GOOD COP by Brad Parks.

The Girl Next Door (Carter Ross #3) by Brad Parks

Entertaining Mystery

Published by Minotaur Books on March 12, 2012.

Carter Ross is a good reporter on the staff of a struggling newspaper in Newark, New Jersey. When a delivery person for his paper is killed in a hit and run accident, Ross decides to do a little human interest piece for the paper. But, as he starts to interview her friends and family for the background material some things just do not add up. Throw in the insistent claims from her sister that she was murdered and the strange behavior of his paper's publisher and Ross gets curious and starts to do some digging of his own. Of course, things do not

Brad Parks. Photo by
James N. Lum.

 go smoothly and Ross gets involved in all sorts of dangerous (and embarrassing) situations.

Ross is a likeable character and his cast of friends and colleagues that fill the book make this a very entertaining read. This is not a dark,  gritty, hard-edged novel although the mystery is plenty convoluted and quite satisfying. I have not read Brad Parks before and I will certainly keep an eye out for his other books.

I rate this mystery 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Girl Next Door.

Reviewed on March 17, 2012.