Dirty Kiss, Book 1

By: Rhys Ford

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

A Cole McGinnis Mystery

Cole Kenjiro McGinnis, ex-cop and PI, is trying to get over the shooting death of his lover when a supposedly routine investigation lands in his lap. Investigating the apparent suicide of a prominent Korean businessman's son proves to be anything but ordinary, especially when it introduces Cole to the dead man's handsome cousin, Kim Jae-Min.

Jae-Min's cousin had a dirty little secret, the kind that Cole has been familiar with all his life and that Jae-Min is still hiding from his family. The investigation leads Cole from tasteful mansions to seedy lover's trysts to Dirty Kiss, the place where the rich and discreet go to indulge in desires their traditional-minded families would rather know nothing about.

It also leads Cole McGinnis into Jae-Min's arms, and that could be a problem. Jae-Min's cousin's death is looking less and less like a suicide, and Jae-Min is looking more and more like a target. Cole has already lost one lover to violence-he's not about to lose Jae-Min too.

©2011 Rhys Ford (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

Awesome Narrator!!

Wow, I thought I loved these books when I read them. Greg Tremblay takes this series to a whole new level. I am a major Rhys Ford fan. I have read everything she has written. Hearing her words in Greg's voice was truly a wonderful experience. This is one of the rare times where a narrator completely nails how I thought the MCs voices where in my head. I can tell that Mr. Tremblay "gets" Ms. Ford's words and his interpretation of Cole and Jae is spot on. This is a winning combo.

Oh yeah, and the story is awesome too, but that is a given. Ms. Ford writes wonderful mm romance mysteries weaving in aspects of Korean culture and how difficult it is to be gay and Korean. Her characters have tremendous depth. Cole has a tragic past and demons he must confront, while still being loving and witty with his friends and real and adopted family. Jae Min is a wonderful and loving man who is just trying to do the right thing for everyone. But he is forever torn between his family obligations and his heart. There are four books in this series so far and it is (hopefully) far from over. Soooo worth a credit.

First book in my favorite series

Any additional comments?

***** 4,5 Dirty series stars *****

Audio edition, narrator Greg Tremblay
8 hours 21 minutes

Overall: 4,5
Performance: 4
Story: 5

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"Saranghae, agi."
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This is one of my favorite series and characters of all time. I love these books, and by that I mean the audio edition narrated by my favorite narrator Greg Tremblay.

I love Rhys Ford's writing and the characters she has created with this series. Greg Tremblay gives life to the characters with his narration. Each character has his or her own voice.

Cole McGinnis: snarky and slightly sarcastic way of speaking, but with lots of feelings.
Jae-Min's Korean accent.
Bobby's growling one-liners.
Claudia's southern maternal and stern voice, with a "black" tone, if I'm allowed to call it that.
Scarlet's silky Philippine accent.
Mike's older brotherly slightly exasperated-over-Cole's voice.
And all the other characters that cross paths with Cole in this story.

It's impressive work!

I've listened to this book and the rest of the series numerous times, so I have lost count. Since I love the so much it's very difficult to be objective when rating them. But on the other hand rating should reflect how I feel about what I read.

I've taken off a half star for this one, though. This is because the quality of the audio is slightly less than the rest of the series. I have my suspicions that Tremblay has gotten a new and better microphone when narrating #2 (or was it #3?). Also, in the next books it feels as if Tremblay have gotten to know the characters, so his narration of them is better, and his narration as a whole is more fluid too. He has this little pauses.when.he.narrates sometimes which can be slightly irritating if you first start to notice them. These are less obvious in the next books.

This is all nitpicking, but it's there so I deducted half a star so I can give full score when the narration is perfect.

If you've read or listened to this and am unsure whether or not to continue the series, I recommend you to continue. When I read Dirty Kiss the first time I gave it 3,5. I wasn't very impressed. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I think it's the weakest in the series actually. Fortunately I continued the series and I'm so glad a did. As I said in the beginning of this review, the Cole McGinnis series have become one of my absolute favorite series. I hope you will enjoy the series too.

Despite the weird cover, this book is awesome!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! Greg Tremblay is probably one of my favorite narrators and I'm sad that he hasn't really done much. He did a FANTASTIC job narrating this book and I've already listened to it multiple times. For me this book is really enhanced by the audio version.

What does Greg Tremblay bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Jae-min. It literally sounds like another person is voicing him, and he does a perfect job with all the Korean, not that I'm an expert or anything but it sounded amazing to me. Jae is just the start though, because Greg makes pretty much all of the characters sound unique, and he even made me laugh out loud at some points because he voices the dark humor perfectly.

Who was the most memorable character of Dirty Kiss, Book 1 and why?

Jae-min. He is my answer to everything because I love him so, so much. He is so perfectly damaged and beautiful and badass that I just want to hug him and feed him cookies. I love the way he loves Cole and yet takes ZERO shit from him, it's perfect. He's the best. *sigh

Any additional comments?

Such a good book, and an amazing audiobook. Thanks to this book I was forced to buy all the other books in the series and now painfully await the last to be written. :(

I really enjoyed the witty banter

Fun dialogue in this book and good moments between characters and friends. Can see the fibers of Cole's life.

Expect a cliffhanger

The only reason I'm giving the story 3 stars, is because it feels unfinished. Don't expect the narrative to wrap up all the loose ends in this book, I fear that's what book two and three are going to do.
That said, it's well written and I enjoyed the story quite a bit. If I hadn't liked the story, I would be a little unhappy about having to buy the next two books.
Excellent narration. Tremblay has a relaxed style that I enjoyed immensely.

Aaahhmazing!!'

Greg Tremblay, what can I say about you & the happiness you bring me when I hear your voice narrating books, other than you are amazing!!! You bought the characters to life , specially Jin & made my enjoyment of rereading this awesome favorite series of mine by the talented Rhys Ford to a whole new level. Mr. Tremblay is one seriously amazing talented narrator, I always look forward to listening to his works. Onward to book 2, I'm so excited!!!

Fab - U - Lous

I hadn't read this series so was going in blind so to speak and I'm so glad I did, the narration by Greg Tremblay was absolutely wonderful, he totally nailed it.

I can't wait to see what happens next with Cole and Jae and will def be picking up the rest of the series.

I like Cole

What did you love best about Dirty Kiss, Book 1?

Instant attraction, not instant love.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dirty Kiss, Book 1?

The answer to who done it! I was suprised.

What about Greg Tremblay’s performance did you like?

His Cole voice was different than i imagined from when i read part of the book before, but I actually liked it better. Its a little monotone but after a while with the rhythm of Cole's speech it works

Any additional comments?

Hope the release the rest of these books.

Really transphobic language

"Female impersonator"... "LADY BOY"??? Are you kidding me? And the office manager is a total mammy black stereotype.

This crap is very distracting from what might have been an entertaining read.

Greg Tremblay is awesome as always.

Excellent story. Excellent narration.

Enjoyed every second of this book. The narration highlights just how well this book is written. There is just enough poetry in writing to add some extra flavor to how the story unfolds.

The details are impressive. Rhys Ford is one of the rare few writers who takes the time show what the long term consequences of serious injuries can be both physically and mentally. Sometimes scars really do itch when you think about how you got them.

The plot. I usually figure it out way to soon. Not with this book. I really didn't know until the end. The threads of the plot were held just an arms length out of reach until the very end.

The best part of this book was that I gained a cultural educational, but I didn't feel like I was being 'talked down to'. I just learned about a few things I have never experienced personally. A gift that I hope I can pass on.

This book is a rare treat.