Slice of Life Post for March 27, 2025 (6:52-7:23) by Barb Edler

It’s 7:00 p.m. and I’m looking for my next great listen. I have a few long road trips on my schedule, and I am desperate to find a suspenseful or fun book or podcast to listen to. When I’m driving whether it’s a short trip or a long trip, I want to be entertained without having to check a radio dial.

Mystery, thrillers, and suspense books is where my taste generates so I’ve listened to several of these. If you haven’t listened to or read The Maid by Nita Prose, I highly recommend it. The central character is clearly on the spectrum and her perceptions and observations are delightful.

Kathleen Early is one of my favorite narrators. She consistently reads Karin Slaughter books. Will Trent is featured in these along with Sara Lipton. I enjoy their characters although the sexual abuse in the series can be overwhelming.

I also enjoy a believable fast-past drama such as S. A. Cosby’s Razorblade Tears which shares an interesting story that focused on two fathers, one white and one black, who have lost their gay sons. Lots of gritty violence in this book, but the dialogue is incredible. Loved, loved, loved this book!

My husband and I both enjoyed listening to The Outsider by Stephen King. Oh my gosh, King’s ability to create a monster with the ability to make itself look like another person, is mind-boggling. Creepy, creepy, creepy, but the characters and plot were riveting. Lots of heartache in this book, but it takes the readers/listeners on an incredible dark and twisty ride.

I rarely listen to podcasts, but I think I would enjoy them. Serial is one program I have listened to, but I know there’s others out there that I am sure I would appreciate. My husband only seems to appreciate sports podcasts.

You’ve probably caught onto the fact from my list of favorite listens that I appreciate fast-paced thrillers with perhaps a little romance thrown in, too. More importantly, the speaker’s voice makes all the difference. For example, I listened to Chris Whitaker’s We Begin at the End, but I did not enjoy the narrator’s voice, and I know I would have enjoyed this book far more had I read it instead of listened to it.

Please share any suggestions you have for a good listen. I’m all ears!

A poem I've been working on that focuses on a recent book I read.

Marcellus’ Desire

She only has one heart,
I have three.
Let me fill hers
before my end embraces me,
like the cold dark sea that once 
cradled me.