Grave Beginnings

Grave Report, Book 1

By: R.R. Virdi

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

“Quick, clean action, solid character work and pacing. This series is worth your time.” (Jim Butcher, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Dresden Files)

Another day, another hijacked body. And just 13 hours to solve a murder…Detective Vincent Graves has made a habit of dying. Waking up in someone else’s body isn’t pleasant, especially when it's inside a coffin with tons of dirt pressing down on it. Once he’s out, he learns his soul has 13 hours to find the borrowed body’s killer.

With the help of a brilliant FBI agent, Vincent’s quest for clues leads to a looming supernatural presence. And escaping the dark threat may be impossible with his ever-ticking clock…

Can Vincent close the case in time, or will a powerful being make him rest in peace for good?

Grave Beginnings is the first book in The Grave Report urban fantasy detective series. If you like paranormal twists, hard-boiled investigators, and noir-style magic, then you’ll love R.R. Virdi’s paranormal investigator series.

“His stuff is badass!” (Larry Correia, New York Times best-selling author)

©2013 R. R. Virdi (P)2020 Tantor

Great Book

I wasn't sure about this book at first, but after the first chapter I was hooked. The characters make a few more quips than I usually prefer but other than that I throughly enjoyed this book. The ideas were fresh, the narration was good and I'm looking forward to Book 2. Definitely worth your time.

Solid narration/performance, more plot holes than Swiss Cheese

The narration is solid, but the story will ask you pretty regularly to “take things on faith”; leaving you with a cheap feeling after choosing to buy into so many plot holes.

GREAT Story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the humor had me laughing out loud at times and I found myself relating to Vincent's humor. excited to start the next one.

Good enough

Okay, I know that mostly the stars seem to be rated "if it's not 5 stars it's probably not worth it" but since I actually try to go for a bit more nuanced reviews than yes/no rest assured that even if I give something only four or three stars it doesn't mean I think it's not worth one's time. This one mostly is, the writing is good, the characters interesting, the plot a bit simplistic but not bad, and the way the author uses the fantasy creatures gives them some freshness. The only things about the story I didn't like that much is that I would have liked the main character doing a bit more investigating, slightly less fighting - I do generally like noir, and I do like action, but for some reason this went just a bit over the top for me - plus


Okay, I guess this needs bit of a SPOILER WARNING - no details, but the complaint does reveal a bit of the plot









I did find the end boss fight too long. He finds the monster, they fight. Then they fight. Then they fight some more... okay, maybe it's just my age, and the fact that I am not much of a gamer, perhaps that would be more to the taste of younger generations who are. I would have preferred that end fight cut into a few pieces, like they fight, he has to escape the fight or the monster does, then he maybe has to do some investigating to find the monster again - or another way to defeat it - before fighting it again. Or the monster finds him. Not just one extended long fight.






END OF THE SPOILER






So, all in all: story is good, but not a perfect fit for my taste. The narrator is good. I think the combination made it well worth listening to.

Highly Recommend!

One heck of a ride straight from the get go. Constantly moving and interesting. Narration is great. I actually began to recognize the characters speaking before the reveal of who they were. It's akin to The Dresden Files in the way that the main character behaves and reacts with some Quantum Leap thrown into the mix. 10/10 would recommend. Give it a read, you won't be disappointed!

Found this series from Heroic Hearts short story

As a fan of The Dresden Files this series is an awesome one to enjoy while I wait for more books. if you like Dresden you'll probably love this series.

I want to like it, but....

Let me start by saying I realize I'm no Author and nor am I a narrator. I'm strictly reviewing from a reader point of view.
(That was more so out of respect for both the author and narrator, I do love that you take the time to create these stories that we get to dive into and escape reality.)

As far as my review, I am having the MOST trouble staying engaged due to the narration style. I feel like his cadence is way too fast, and his tone is much too flat. In my opinion, it makes the jokes/witty comments flop and feel forced. Which in-turn make them feel unnecessary and take away from the story, as one reviewer previously stated. I've read (listened to) the entirety of the Dresden Files and thought this was right up my ally. The story sounds amazing and intriguing, but I can't get past how the narration makes the book feel flat and dead (no pun intended).

I'm on chapter 11 and not sure if I'll be able to stay engaged enough to finish. I may just buy a physical copy and see how my internal narrator does.

This Story Grabs you from the Start!

This was a wonderful Pagetuner Story that I listened to on Audible books. The MC is Sarcastic and does jokes when stressed. I enjoyed this Soooo much I wanted to get right into book 2 on Audible but it is not available yet.
I HIGHLY recommend this book if you need a Mystery story in the Paranormal that is fun and funny at times too!! Narrator did a very nice job on this.

Solid

Characters had depth and behaved realistically. Main character is relatable and introduced well. Action pacing was pretty good. Antagonist seemed 2d at first but showed nuance by the end. Some plot twists predictable but others not. Just enough to keep you guessing. Good voice acting. The main chick got a little annoying, I can quite place my finger on why. The ending definitely provokes a desire to read the next book.

A solid story

A fun story from a unique perspective. Kind of like Dresden Files crossed with Quantum Leap.