Reagan's Ashes

By: Jim Heskett

Narrated by: Kate Fisher

Reagan Darby crams her dad's urn into an overflowing backpack. His last wish: deliver the urn to Rocky Mountain National Park and release his ashes into Lake Nanita. To find closure, she'll hike the same route they completed after her latest involuntary stay at the hospital.

But not alone, as she'd hoped. Her cousin Dalton surprises her at the trailhead and insists on tagging along. Soon, his eerie stares and half-volume mutterings set her on edge. As they trudge further into the mountains, dodging moose and lightning strikes, she catches him rifling through her backpack multiple times. She confronts him, but he shrugs it off. His claims that he came along for support wear thin, but she's too deep into the park simply to turn around.

When Reagan discovers a hidden compartment in the lid of the urn, a tiny silver key tumbles onto the floor of her tent. But there's no telling what lock the key might open. More unsettling, however, is that her lithium has gone missing. With only a meager Swiss Army knife for protection, she'll have to fend off her cousin, resist the creeping mania, and escape the forest to find the lock. If the man Dalton works for locates it first, he'll reduce Reagan to the same pile of dust and ash.

Reagan's Ashes combines wilderness survival thriller with amateur sleuth mystery.

©2015 Jim Heskett (P)2015 Jim Heskett

Doing the right thing

Despite the fact that I am not fond of psychological thrillers, I found this to be a well done book. Granted, it had the largest collection of dysfunctional people together in one place I think I’ve *ever* encountered, but it also provided compassionate yet straightforward insight into bi-polar disorder, recovery from alcoholism and emotional trauma on many levels. The plot was nicely laid out, and the events were entirely plausible, especially given the unique characteristics of the various characters.

I especially enjoyed the portions of the story set in the National Park, with which the author demonstrates familiarity and about which he obviously has either person knowledge or has done some excellent research.

The mystery kept my interest, and the resolution was satisfying, though I can’t say it was entirely unexpected. The narrator did a very competent job, especially handling the Australian accent, and she managed to provide all the characters with appropriate voices, phrasing and individual speech patterns.

I’d give this book 4 stars, and the narrator 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Reagan's ashes

What did you love best about Reagan's Ashes?

Reagan's Ashes is a compelling story.It is well written especially when it comes to dealing with Bipolar disorder. This is an action packed story with plenty of mystery and twists that you just do not see coming. Reagan's character is very in depth and multi-dimensional, overall a fantastic protagonist that you really connect with as the story continues. I highly recommend this audiobook..

Bit of a slow start, but ended good.

Would you try another book from Jim Heskett and/or Kate Fisher?

If I think it would interest me yes, I would.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

How Reagan deals with her mental illness. Lease interesting was the slow trek through the park at the beginning. I was thinking if this was all it was going to be I might not finish so thank goodness some suspense and mystery popped up in there.

What about Kate Fisher’s performance did you like?

I thought she did really good job, it was my first time listening to this narrator and I enjoyed her.

Any additional comments?

It wasn't really what I was expecting, as I thought it was going to be a little more thrilling, but got a bunch of backpacking slowness there at the beginning, but if you keep with it and find out there is more to Reagan's father than she knows and the action picks up and it turns out pretty good. You just got to get over the beginning bump.

I liked it!!

What did you love best about Reagan's Ashes?

the honesty of the story it's self! The fact that people and families really are this disfunctional..

What was one of the most memorable moments of Reagan's Ashes?

Reagan having a manic breakdown on the trail.

What does Kate Fisher bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She did a good job.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Out of time with little options...

Any additional comments?

Ok
I liked this story a lot! It felt real most of the way through even the manic moose whispering! I don't believe that Reagon would have survived that would be my one criticism. All and all this was a great story about what felt like real people that keeps you reading/listening. An adventure thriller that is definitely worth the time!

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com. Thank you Jim!

Reagans Ashes

Reagan has one task left to do for her dead father.She is to take his ashes and sprinkle them into a lake near a mountain that they used to hike over. She wants to do this alone,unfortunately her relatives have other plans.A decent enough book.A better narrator could have made a real difference.Kate Fisher gives a very dry reading and it was hard to listen to.This audiobook was provided to me at no cost for a fair and honest review

A good mystery full of family drama!

Would you listen to Reagan's Ashes again? Why?

No, I don't do repeats!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes because you had two "plots" side by side.

What does Kate Fisher bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The accents of the characters & their personalities.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

I liked the story because of the drama between the family members and how Reagan dealt with her own problems.

Pretty good.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I listened to this on audio and it was pretty good. Taking the journey with Reagon as she is trying to put her father’s ashes to rest was an interesting one with quite a few twists and turns. The narrator did a great job with all the different accents and keeping things consistent. I had an issue with Dalton though, once everyone was out of the forest…he changed, and I didn’t like it! I can’t say anything else without giving away spoilers, but I give this 4 STARS.

A look inside Bipolar disorder

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book had a slow start so I would prefer to be more engaged earlier on.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

For me it was when the author took you through Reagan's manic stage, her thought processes, and how she viewed the world and her place in it. I have never hiked and I learned some things about hiking that I would have never considered. The least interesting was Reagan's mother's character. This part of the story could have been developed more.

What three words best describe Kate Fisher’s performance?

Steady, flat, with a good Australian accent.

Could you see Reagan's Ashes being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This could be a "Lifetime" movie.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

My Heart Hurt For Reagan....

Would you listen to Reagan's Ashes again? Why?

I might in the future, but this book really struck a cord with me...I grew up with an extremely mentally Ill mother, and I really understood Reagan's struggle...

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

At the end, YES!!!

Have you listened to any of Kate Fisher’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I would...she did a good job!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I really did, my heart ached for Reagan, as she got more and more manic.she was so scared and paranoid....and her stupid cousin Dalton didn't make it any better...people do not understand mental illness...it is a very sorrowful disease....

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

This is a bit of a slow starter, but it is worth it..Reagan is a daddy's girl, and cant believe her dad would ever do anything wrong,as all daddy's girls do. She is also very bi-polar and if she is not on her meds, she is not safe for herself or others really. Her father passes away and she attends his funeral, well his last request was to have his ashes spread where they used to hike...She embarks on this journey, leaving her boyfriend to wait for her at her dads home...well Reagan forgets her meds and doesn't know she is basically walking into a very dangerous trap..she is unaware that her dad was a gambler and had stolen quite a bit of money from his brother...and things get really crazy...The more manic poor Reagan got the more my heart hurt for her...This is a powerful story if you know someone who suffers from mental illness...and I will be thinking about Reagan for a long while...Well worth a listen!

Thank You Audiobookblast(dot)com

Good Story

Another in what seems to be a trend in audio books. Well written stories that hold your interest, with TERRIBLE narration. The narration was so bad in this book that it detracted from the story and made it difficult to complete