A Dangerous Fossil (A Jurassic Jemma Mystery) by John J. Delaney (Audiobook)

 

A Dangerous Fossil (A Jurassic Jemma Mystery) by John J. Delaney.

Audiobook narrated by Fiona Mason.

From the cover of the book:

Fossils aren't dangerous, are they?
Jemma didn't think so.

When 'Jurassic' Jemma Thorne and her dog, Dino, find an incredible fossil on a Dorset beach, she doesn't realise that it will lead to a trail of greed, jealousy and murder.

As the guilt of her past comes back to haunt her, Jemma must fight to protect her family, her friends, her town and herself.

Can she overcome her demons and escape from the danger surrounding her?

***********

When paleontologist 'Jurassic' Jemma Thorne and her dog Dino uncover an amazing find on a Dorset beach, she is certain that it will help her to save the local natural history museum established by her grandfather.

News of her find spreads quickly, and although the publicity is great for the museum, it also attracts some unwanted attention that Jemma fears will uncover the secrets she has been keeping. Not everyone here is quite so keen to see Jemma and the museum succeed, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

A Dangerous Fossil is the first novel by John J. Delaney, and it begins a new mystery series featuring paleontologist 'Jurassic' Jemma Thorne. The story is part cosy mystery, and part gritty crime story, with a side order of domestic suspense, and Delaney quickly establishes the cast of characters and their place in Jemma's life, whilst crafting a pacy story that begins with oodles of tension on a stormy Dorset beach - and keeps up the action and excitement throughout.

There are multiple storylines around Jemma: some of which relate to her relationship and family past, with others that are very much in the present when her incredible find sets in motion a perilous chain of events. Delaney blurs them all cleverly together, and you really do not know who to trust, until the reveals begin to drop, and the pieces of more than one puzzle come together. There are some really juicy themes of jealousy, greed and hidden secrets to get your teeth into too.

The size of the cast of characters is a little unwieldy for the first book in a series, and I think less could have been more in this respect. There are elements of Jemma's personal life that would have been better saved for later books, particularly when it comes to her relationship history, as the love-triangle and stalking elements are a bit much all in one go. There is so much going on in Jemma's own life that it tends to get in the way of the bare bones of the story (if you will pardon the fossil pun). However, Delaney handles the plotting nicely, spinning the crime and mystery storylines with aplomb, and he certainly keeps you guessing.

I will admit that I was not too sure about the narration by Fiona Mason when I started listening to this audio book, as the setting on a stormy beach means she is rather shouty at the beginning, but once I got into her style I really enjoyed the way she keeps the story going and voices all the characters. I would certainly listen to her narrating a story again, which is the best recommendation I can give to any voice artist when it comes to audio books.

All in all, I very much enjoyed my time with 'Jurassic' Jemma, and I warmed to her passion and daring, although she could do with being a bit less 'angsty' and developing more of a sense of humour for this series to have real legs. It is a very decent start for a debut, and I look forward to seeing how Delaney grows the series in the future.

Many thanks to John J. Delaney for allowing me to listen to a free copy of this audio book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Since 1999 John has written plots for thirty murder mystery party games (boxed and downloadable) with worldwide sales in excess of 100,000 copies, mainly in the UK and USA.

John has written three musicals (Directions, Dream Home and 68 The Musical) and a pantomime. He has also written an opera called Tir na Nog and one of the arias from the opera, This Mortal Man, was included on the composer's album which reached number 1 on the Classical charts in the UK and number 18 on the USA Billboard chart.

A Dangerous Fossil is John’s first novel and features sassy fossil hunter ‘Jurassic’ Jemma Thorne. A tale of discovery, greed and murder set on Dorset’s Jurassic coast.