Damaged Goods

Hannibal Jones #4

by Austin S. Camacho

Anita Cooper was three times a victim. Her father's death crushed her dreams of college and a better life. Then her purity was drowned in powerless anxiety and her gentle fantasies displaced by unspeakable humiliation, all because of a hard man who knew the way of the world. Rod Mantooth stole both her innocence and her father's legacy, a secret that could have rebuilt her life. Anita was lost until she encountered another hard man who knew the way of the world-the urban paladin and professional troubleshooter named Hannibal Jones. Like a rolling mass of icy fury, Hannibal followed the trail of corrupted human debris that would lead to Rod Mantooth and a final showdown in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

Genres: Mystery

285 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Austin S. Camacho is the author of six novels about Washington Dc-based private eye Hannibal Jones, five in the Stark and O’Brien international adventure-thriller series, and the detective novel, Beyond Blue. His short stories have been featured in several anthologies including Dying in a Winter Wonderland – an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Top Ten Bestseller for 2008 - and he is featured in the Edgar nominated African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey.

Camacho is deeply involved with the writing community. He is a past president of the Maryland Writers Association, past Vice President of the Virginia Writers Club, and is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific thrill ride, this one dealing with one of the nastier sides of human behavior, the world of submissives, BDSM, and gaslighting of women by twisted men. One in particular, the slime who victimized the daughter of a brilliant chemist and stole her inheritance is Hannibal's quarry. The assignment of finding the inheritance and restoring said daughter was bankrolled by another genius, this one with a solid set of personal ethics and a fortune to back it all up. There's a whole lot else going on, of course, and all of the characters are clearly drawn and confirm or deny what is human in people. It's really the kind of storytelling that grabbed me by the imagination and wouldn't let go!
Narrator Royal Jaye seems perfect for this series as he can easily delineate the multitude of male characters with apparent ease.
I won this audio in a giveaway! Yay me!

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannibal finds himself in over his head on the trail of a man that uses and abuses women for his personal gain. The man, Rod Mantooth chose his victims carefully; single, meek, solitary women were susceptible. One such woman, Anita believed Rod had stolen an item of value left to her by her deceased father, asking Hannibal to retrieve it. As the tale unfolds, the world of submissives and BDSM are an unfamiliar subject to Hannibal. The deeper he dug, the more it upset him. Hannibal is basically a decent, caring man but when you mess with the bull, you get the horn. When Hannibal got his low-level hustler on to infiltrate Rod’s crew, the story took a welcomed step up in action and suspense. The search for and retrieval of the item leads Hannibal on an exciting and deadly chase. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Ulla Bisgaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliantly written hard core mystery

This was my first Hannibal mystery and it won’t be the last. It’s a tough and hard story that reminds me of the old black and white Bogard movies, I grew up with. It’s not for the faint of hard. The story contains scenes of abuse against women and violence, that might trigger some. For everyone ells it’s worth a listen. A big part of this is do the the narrator, who are probably the best I have ever listened too. It was like listening to radio theater. He’s performance was nothing less than brilliant. Superb changes of his voice for the different characters and a delightful rap too. You won’t be disappointed with this book.

[emeraldragonlady (Maddie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This book had a few too many “f” words for my personal taste. But as far as it goes with the story it fits the characters and their personalities. You would expect those types to be comfortable with saying it. This book like most of Austin’s book takes and unexpected turn. I was left guessing the whole time. He shows great respect for victims and I truly appreciate it. Austin truly does his research from all aspects and angles and it shows.
This book also had me laughing. Some of the things that Hannibal does is just funny. And you can feel it in those awkward moments.

[Suzan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was only okay for me. I struggled with finishing it more than once. The storyline moved very slowly for me and just didn't hook me in. Also, I found the narrator to read very slowly for my taste. Royal Jaye is the narrator and he has a rich voice which I did like very much just between the storyline being slow and the reading being slow it was just too much for me. I also had not read any of the other books in this series and maybe that played a small part too. This is all just my opinion and you should give it a try for yourself.

[mzbeastle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm definitely enjoying this series...although the number of typos, other grammar issues, is calling for a good editor's review. Characters are interesting, movement is good, story is intense - all in all I'm glad I found this series.

[Kerry-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Austin Camacho]

Anita Cooper was three times a victim. Her father’s death crushed her dreams of college and success. Then her purity was drowned in powerless anxiety, and her virtue crushed by unspeakable humiliation. Rod Mantooth stole both her innocence and her father’s priceless legacy, a secret treasure that could have rebuilt her life. Anita was lost until fate brought her together with the urban paladin and professional troubleshooter named Hannibal Jones. Like a rolling mass of icy fury, Hannibal followed a twisted trail that led to Mantooth, the stolen treasure, and a final showdown in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last Hannibal Jones book I read was three years ago and I had forgotten how much I liked his character. I rate this one 4.7 stars.