Audio Book Review ~ Absinthe of Malice by Rhys Ford

Audio Book Review ~ Absinthe of Malice (Sinners Series: Book Five) by Rhys Ford

Title: Absinthe of Malice
Series: Sinners Series: Book Five
Author: Rhys Ford
Narrator: Tristan James
Release Date: October 3, 2016
Category: Mystery/Suspense
Length: 6 hours and 49 minutes
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We’re getting the band back together.

Those six words send a chill down Miki St. John’s spine, especially when they’re spoken with a nearly religious fervor by his brother-in-all-but-blood, Damien Mitchell. However, those words were nothing compared to what Damien says next.

And we’re going on tour.

When Crossroads Gin hits the road, Damien hopes it will draw them closer together. There’s something magical about being on tour, especially when traveling in a van with no roadies, managers, or lovers to act as a buffer. The band is already close, but Damien knows they can be more—brothers of sorts, bound not only by familial ties but by their intense love for music.

As they travel from gig to gig, the band is haunted by past mistakes and personal demons, but they forge on. For Miki, Damie, Forest, and Rafe, the stage is where they all truly come alive, and the music they play is as important to them as the air they breathe.

But those demons and troubles won’t leave them alone, and with every mile under their belts, the band faces its greatest challenge—overcoming their deepest flaws and not killing one another along the way.

*Audible code provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my listening pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Absinthe in Malice is Book 5 in Rhys Ford’s Sinners series and it absolutely must be read in the appropriate order with all the other books. This book is about the couples from the first four books, so you have eight POV’s. This is about four couples in established relationships.

Crossroads Gin is going on tour and this book follows their tour. Damien has pushed for the tour to allow the band to connect with each other. But, as typical of the previous books, nothing is ever as easy as it should be. Damien thinks the band must start at the beginning and play in dives, stay in cheap rooms and travel in a used van with the guys taking turns driving it. Each band member has their own struggle that they must work through, and lucky for them, their man is always available to pick them up when needed.

I probably would have enjoyed this more had I been reading it instead of listening to it. For me, all the points of view and characters were impossible to distinguish from the other. And, Ms. Ford, I just want to ask, what do you have against Miki? 😉 Can’t that guy catch a break? Sure, you gave him Kane but, come on, the rest of the guys got their man and don’t face constant attacks and threats to their life. I just want Miki to get a little break. 😊

The narrator of this story is Tristan James. I think the narrator did a good job with the story for the most part. As I mentioned previously, there were a lot of point of views so it made it hard for me to distinguish between couples without being told who was speaking. There were long pauses at the end of each chapter, sometimes long enough that I checked to make sure it hadn’t shut down. But, Tristan brought the characters to life. When I read the first four books, in my head, I didn’t realize that the accents would be so thick, so that was surprising when I first started listening.

There is a mystery running throughout this storyline and a cliffhanger to that mystery so you’re not going to find any easy answers in this book. And though there isn’t a lot, because this story is focused on the band and their touring, you get some sweet moments between the band members and their men. Don’t tell anyone, but Forest and Connor are my favorite and I loved them in this book. They are the decadent sauce that transforms a good dessert into an out of this world dessert!

Overall: 4 stars
Performance: 4 stars
Story: 4 stars