Naked Came the Phoenix
Written by Marcia Talley, Nevada Barr and J. D. Robb
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Thirteen of today's hottest female crime novelists—one thrilling mystery: Naked Came the Phoenix
The promise of discretion and pampering-and a long-overdue reconciliation with her mother-draws Caroline Blessing, the young wife of a newly-elected Congressman, to the fancy Phoenix Spa. But after her first night in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, Caroline wakes to find the rich and famous guests in turmoil and under suspicion: the spa's flamboyant and ambitious owner has been murdered. As the secrets come out-and the body count rises, can Caroline keep herself from becoming the next victim?
With contributions from:
Nevada Barr ~ J.D. Robb ~ Nancy Pickard ~ Lisa Scottoline ~ Perri O'Shaughnessy ~ J.A. Jance ~ Faye Kellerman ~ Mary Jane Clark ~ Marcia Talley ~ Anne Perry ~ Diana Gabaldon ~ Val McDermid ~ Laure R. King
Marcia Talley
Marcia Talley is the Agatha and Anthony award-winning author of seventeen previous crime novels featuring sleuth Hannah Ives. Her short stories appear in more than a dozen collections and have been reprinted in several of The Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories anthologies. She is a past president of Sisters in Crime, Inc. Marcia lives in Annapolis, Maryland, but spends the winter months in a quaint Loyalist cottage in the Bahamas. Previous titles in the popular Hannah Ives series published by Severn House include Footprints to Murder, Mile High Murder and Tangled Roots.
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Reviews for Naked Came the Phoenix
118 ratings13 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to have a great concept and storyline, with believable and interesting characters. The ending is loved by many. However, some reviewers found the story unfinished and boring, and do not recommend it. The audio book version is praised for its narrator, but some readers found it difficult to keep track of the changes without being able to look back. Overall, this book is a good story with twists and turns, and is enjoyed by many readers.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gotta love the idea of the biok, and it was done masterfully.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I wanted to like this. I did love the narrator. And you just might love the audio book! So definitely give it a try if you are used to listening to murder mysteries by authors you don't normally read. I really only listen to a few authors. JD Robb is one of those. So I tried this and listened to the very end. But honestly, it would have been much easier for me to read in print. I just couldn't keep track of the changes from chapter to chapter without being able to look back. I will try a couple of the other authors in print if my library has them. Good luck and happy listening!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved this book so wonderful how so many talented women could weave the story so seem less also I love Susan Erickson as a narrator
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the most fun books from all my favorite authors!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good story. I loved the twists and turns, Brilliant .
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best stories I have listened to in quite some time. Had me on the edge of my seat right till the very end.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great concept, great storyline. Believable and interesting characters with plot to keep your interest. I loved the ending. Enjoy reading this book.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5There was too much of the story unfinished. It was completely unbelievable and boring. I will never read any more and do not recommend this book to anyone.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a fun book written by an all-star cast. Many years ago I read "The Floating Admiral" which introduced the concept of a serial mystery, and I was happy to see this format addressed by many of my favorite writers. It's a quick read, and a chance to see some authors in a different light. Good for a rainy Saturday read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Audiobook - Good - for the most part the book came together well considering it was written by 13 different authors.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great 'serial novel' mystery! Must get more Naked books. Fantastic concept, each author writes a chapter in a mystery, building on the previous authors. Delightful, almost seamless, I loved it! Would never have read this if Diana Gabaldon hadn't been one of the authors.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sometimes, when a book has been in my TBR pile for a long time, I kick myself for waiting so long to read it. I've had Naked Came the Phoenix for 5 years, and as far as I'm concerned, I might as well have left it in the TBR pile for another 5.Naked Came the Phoenix is a serial novel--each author writes one chapter, building on what went before, but without collaborating with the other authors. Reading the book with that in mind is the only way to enjoy it. It starts out with senator's wife Caroline Blessing and her ambitious mother going to a spa owned by an old acquaintance of her mother's. The spa is populated with a variety of the rich and famous--an aging rock star, a young supermodel and her manager, a famous movie star, etc. Then the owner of the spa is killed, and in true Agatha Christie fashion, it seems everyone has a potential motive.I'd been warned that the story started slow, then picked up with the second chapter, written by J. D. Robb. I took this with a grain of salt, since it came from Nora fans, but found it to be absolutely true. The first chapter was excruciatingly dull. The second chapter was, indeed, more lively, and the characters developed actual personalities. But that faded away, as subsequent chapters focused more on introducing new plot twists and all too often either ignoring or contradicting what happened in previous chapters.As a mystery, it falls flat because of the contradictions--for example, several characters' ages seemed to change from chapter to chapter, a real problem because age was a clue to one of the mystery threads. Another one was the disposition of the spa--in one chapter, a character had purchased enough shares in the company to be the owner anyway, and in the next chapter, it became a matter of inheritance instead.But what was fun was looking at it from outside the story, imagining the authors rubbing their hands in glee, saying "let's see what you do with this!" while scrambling to deal with the twists the previous authors had handed them.I bought Naked Came the Phoenix as soon as it came out, because I'm a fan of two of the authors: J. D. Robb and Diana Gabaldon. I've since become a fan of Laurie R. King as well, so I'd had, if not high hopes for the book, at least higher hopes. Still, it completes three author's collections (I'm pretty sure I have all of King's books--the paperbacks, at least), and the purchase did benefit breast cancer research, so I'm not sorry I bought it.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Three of my favorite authors were among the contributors to this serial novel. It was written with a nod to the long mystery writers tradition of writing serial novels and the proceeds went to a good cause (although I wish I'd known that before I bought it used -- oops!). But, it is not a good book. It's more like a good outline for a book -- it could be whipped into shape by a good editing session (or 12) but it's not a good book as is. The story isn't all that interesting. The characters are disjointed and frequently act out of character. There are dangling plot devices left all over the place. And, of course, that is part of the nature of the serial novel. Since each author writes just one chapter, the thread of plot is twisted and knotted and some threads dangle uselessly while sometimes a big ugly rope is tied on for awhile. Am I sorry I read it? No. I was procrastinating doing schoolwork and I was curious. But, I don't think I'll read anymore serial novels -- even with the lure of three of my favorite authors contributing chapters. It just doesn't work for me.