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Ashes Never Lie

By: Lee Goldberg
Narrated by: Eric Conger, Nicol Zanzarella
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Publisher's summary

Worlds collide as Eve Ronin and Sharpe & Walker race to find hidden secrets in smoldering ash, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.

Vacant homes in a new housing development are erupting into flames in broad daylight with no apparent cause. It’s a perplexing mystery for dogged arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his restless new partner, Andrew Walker, an ex–US marshal who craves action.

But as they puzzle over the blazes, another home miles away burns to the ground, leaving a man’s corpse in the ashes and homicide detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone demanding answers. The burn patterns and charred body tell Sharpe a bizarre story that only creates more questions for Eve. So the four detectives team up to find the answers. Their investigation into the two unrelated cases leads to one shocking discovery after another.

Now they must gamble their lives to unmask a brilliant arsonist, crack open a massive swindle, track down a desperate fugitive with a terrifying secret, and race against time to save thousands of people from an agonizing death.

©2024 by Adventures in Television, Inc. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
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Critic reviews

“Goldberg manages to give each of his four leads their due while keeping the investigation’s fuse burning bright. This series deserves a long life.” Publishers Weekly

“The sequel to Malibu Burning unites Goldberg’s Ronin and Pavone police team with his arson investigators Sharpe and Walker in a clever, complicated story. With its witty banter and well-developed characters, Goldberg’s latest procedural is tailor-made for readers who enjoy shrewd investigators in fast-paced dramas.” Library Journal

“Pure enjoyment for anyone who doesn’t happen to own a home in the Valley.” Kirkus Reviews

What listeners say about Ashes Never Lie

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loved

Great book great narration loved the interactive way it was read with all voices .... I am a fan

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A smoking hot two-fer

Walker: “You’d be lost without your stereotypes.”
Sharpe: “Says the sheriff’s deputy wearing a Stetson.”
While I enjoy mysteries, I’m tired of the ones that bog down in the violence and grit. I think that’s why I’m enjoying this series so much: mystery delivered with a side of buddy-cop humor and things that go boom. At times, the made-for-TV over the top one-liners and wild arson scenarios were too much.
But, I’d rather roll my eyes a bit at the cheese than plod through another gruesome murder mystery.

“I thought we avoided our exploding house for today.”
Book 2 expands upon both MC’s personalities and their new partnerships. I love that Walker’s psychologist wife is still in the mix. I also welcomed the addition of Eve, a famous/infamous cop
(even if I’m not sold on the new narrator voicing only Eve’s lines ala duet narration).

“This is the way.”
Pop-culture and Mandalorian fandom figure prominently here, almost as much as the arsons.
Being free of sex and F bombs contributed to the prime time TV level feel. Finally, there are two different arson investigations, each with unique, if implausible, aspects, making this a double-value two-fer.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Twisty, amusing, and great characters

I am very pleased with this sequel to "Malibu Burning". I love hopping along on Walker and Sharpe's new arson cases, and we get the added bonus of police detective Eve Ronin (from the author's other series). I love how the book is a duet performance with the female narrator only speaking Eve's speaking parts. The cases are fascinating and sometimes dark. Trigger Warning about suicide. The story is told from Walker's perspective, and I love his personality and sense of humor. Great narration! I highly recommend this series to all mystery fans who are okay reading about house fires and wildfires.

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Nice crossover

Great story and I was so happy to have Eve and Duncan show up to join the fun.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Smart and fun storytelling! The narration, not so much :(

I loathe when audiobooks weave two narrators speaking to each other during passages with back and forth dialogue. It completely breaks the flow of the story, as your mind has to adjust to such a different voice. (I do not mind at all when chapters switch between narrators!) I think dialogue is much better done with a good voice actor who can do many voices, rather than add in multiple actors.

Unfortunately for this book, the audio producers made the choice to add a Nicol Zanzarella to read Eve Ronin’s voice in conversations. All other parts and characters and passages are read by Eric Conger. Don’t get me wrong, Zanzarella is an absolutely wonderful narrator (esp. in the Eve Ronin series!) However, Eric Conger is perfectly capable of doing great narration to change his voice to reflect female characters (as he does for Walker’s wife Carly, ME Nan Baker, Emilia Lopez, Agent Leland, etc. as he did with the female characters from Malibu Burning.) This would have made the whole listening experience much more smooth, seamless, and enjoyable.

Overall, Ashes Never Lied was just as fun and smart as Malibu Burning, and Lee Goldberg did not disappoint in the least. I look forward to future books in the Walker & Sharpe (and Even Ronin!) series, but will avoid the audio if they are narrated this way again.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

brilliantly written intertwining stories.

This story is actually 3 stories. an insurance scam, an arsonist and, to boot, a bio-weapon story. All brilliantly weaved. Ya just have to read the book. It’s also the story of relationships between Walker and his mentor Sharpe, Walker and his wife and between arson investigators and 2 sheriff officers. Great characters written with humor and wittiness. It was a quick read. Cannot wait for the next one. The narrators Were also brilliant story tellers.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, multiple narrators is poorly done

Multiple narrators require a sound engineer who can make them sound like they are in the same room. Eve’s narration sounds like it’s an electronic voice, especially at first. I find this terribly distracting and takes away from otherwise great narrators. I’m going to try to keep listening… I’ve already read the book and I know I like the story…but I’m not hopeful.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

No politics please

Characterizing Ivermectin users as people “gobbling horse dewormer” and conspiracy theorists are what to call people who suggest that China was possibly attempting a biological weapon? Please just stop. That viewpoint is so 2020. Everyone on both sides of the aisle (other than Pfizer employees) have broadened their minds in the past 4 years to thinking that just perhaps … just maybe … we were all misled about a few things. So unnecessary to add this but obviously purposeful. Disappointing

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

May not be able to finish due to narrative style

I loved the first book in this series & was excited to pre-order this 2nd. Goldberg's fiery Los Angeles is such a perfect setting, it's actually a character. Narrator Eric Conger is spectacular when speaking as the grizzled veteran Sharpe with main character energy. It was shaping up to be a wonderful sequel UNTIL the jarring conversational-style narration started in the middle of a chapter and continues Everytime that character speaks. Now this might have been brilliant except an AI generated voice gives more emotion and nuance than the robotic narrator Nicol Zanzarella. YIKES 😬 If the intention was for me to loathe this character then Zanzarella understood the assignment. Despite the quick pacing and excellent mystery I know Goldberg has in store, I'm having trouble getting through this style of narration with such a wooden actor. Cringe! Please speak with the person or persons who 1) thought a jarring conversational-style narration would be lit and 2) hired this actor. Big YIKES! Both detract from an excellent mystery. Despite my admiration for Goldberg's writing and plotting and enjoyment of Conger's Sharpe, I cannot believe I used a credit for this. pluh

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, terrible narration

I absolutely loved the Malibu Burning audiobook—it quickly became one of my all-time favorites, and I found myself listening to it almost every week. Naturally, I preordered the second book as soon as it was available.

Unfortunately, book two falls flat and doesn't live up to its predecessor. The decision to have one narrator for everyone except Eve Ronin was a big misstep. Honestly, Eve didn’t even feel necessary in this story. Most of her dialogue was just asking questions while the men explained things to her. That’s not the Eve Ronin I remember—she was always charging ahead, making assumptions, and never asking for permission. This version of Eve lacked her usual backbone and talent, and her lines felt like they were recorded separately, which was jarring.

Her constant interruptions also disrupted the flow for the main narrator, affecting his overall performance. Many characters ended up sounding too similar, which hurt the experience.

"Disappointed" doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel. Sadly, it feels like a wasted credit. I might borrow the print version from the library to see if it reads better without the narration.

I’ve already gone back to Malibu Burning and am currently on chapter 8, thoroughly enjoying it all over again.

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