Audio Review: Carrots by Colleen Helme

Author: Colleen Helme
Narrator: Wendy Tremont King
Title: Carrots
Series: Shelby Nichols Adventures, Book 1
Length: 8 hrs, 39 mins
Publication: 2013
Publisher: Colleen Helme
Source: Author
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Shelby Nichols is an average woman who is married to the only guy she ever fell for. Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots. As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber's mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer. The next thing she knows, she's lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head. Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn't suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly 'hears' what people are thinking. With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she's bossy and too old to understand them, but that's nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn't want her to know? As if that isn't enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he's out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone's thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.

I love Shelby! She attracts so much trouble and it was fun listening to her try to get out of it. It all begins to what becomes an extremely bad day, all because she needs carrots for dinner. A shot to the head later, Shelby is in the hospital and discovers that she can hear the thoughts of those around her. Unsettled, she does her best to adjust to this ability but it only makes her family think she's crazy when she answers questions that haven't even been asked yet. If this isn't enough, the killer is on the loose and he knows who she is, which makes her a target and her husband's new co-worker, Kate rubs her the wrong way. Kate is a devious character and she plans to have her way with Shelby's hubby, Chris. I just enjoyed all the interactions between the characters, Shelby is something else. I even liked mob boss Uncle Joey and his assistant Ramos(think I spelled this right). Shelby is a strong female lead and it will be interesting to see how she progresses throughout the series because this book's loaded with action, murder and deceit...loved it! King does a fabulous work with these characters. Her voice is clear and inviting. She keeps a steady pace with the action without losing the tempo of the story. King breathes life into each character with her tone of voice. Overall, I think this book translates well as an audio and Helme has crafted an entertaining character in Shelby. Can't wait to see what trouble, she gets into next after that ending!