Audio Review: Fast Money by Colleen Helme

Author: Colleen Helme
Narrator: Wendy Tremont King
Title: Fast Money
Series: Shelby Nichols Adventures, Book 2
Length: 8 hrs, 39 mins
Publication: 2013
Publisher: Colleen Helme
Source: Author
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A trip to the mall gives Shelby the shock of her life when she finds an extra five million dollars in the bank account Uncle Joey set up for her. She thought he was out of her life for good, but with this fast money, she’s not so sure. Now she must decide if she will tell her husband the truth that she can still read people’s minds. Including his. How will he feel when he finds out she lied to him?

When the Mexican Police tell her that Uncle Joey’s been kidnapped and look to her for the ransom, she knows she’s in big trouble. As if that isn’t enough the police detective she worked with needs her help to solve a case, and she unwittingly becomes a witness to murder. In her fight to stay alive, she finds that everyone wants a piece of the money, and just how far they will go to get it, can be a matter of life and death. She just hopes it’s not hers.

Shelby thought she her time with Uncle Joey was over but when a lump sum of money appears in her account and the Feds knocking at her door, she realizes more trouble awaits her. Only a short amount of time has passed since the incident in his office that landed her another bump to the head and almost in the hospital, again. Thinking her ability is gone, she hoped she could be done with the drama that comes with working for Uncle Joey and her relationship with her husband, Chris was beginning to become strained from all of it. 

Shelby is a terrible liar, yet thankfully, nobody knows that she still has her ability. However, as events begin to spiral out of control quickly and her secret might not hold for long. So many people want to use her and kill her because of her ties to Uncle Joey and they want the money but one person just wants to kill her for ruining his plans of escape.

What I love about Shelby is that she's not entirely helpless and after a few occasions that involve a stun gun it's easy to see why. What amazes me is how easily she adapts to the chaos around her. People die and she holds herself together fairly well, she's traumatized but she copes.Her mouth does get her into several precarious situations but it's fun to see her wiggle her way out of them.

Tremont's voice is exactly what I visualize Shelby to sound like. She brings dimension to the character in a way that's inviting and the witty and snarky personality that Helme has written comes through in this audio translation of this work. I think Shelby's story works well as an audio because it's face paced, action packed and has a likeable female lead that carries the story well along with the other supporting characters. Overall, a great listen and look forward to more of Shelby's shenanigans.