The Winter Dark

By: J.S. Cook

Narrated by: K.C. Kelly

Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Veteran police chief Eli Gallagher doesn't ask for much, but he does insist that his officers uphold the "serve" part of "serve and protect". Conscientious young Deputy Stan Leach takes Eli's moto to heart, maintaining a high standard of personal accountability.

When Eli's long-distance boyfriend, Gilbert Nees, telephones from Philadelphia, Eli thinks he intends to further cement their relationship. Unfortunately, Gilbert's news is anything but good. But Eli doesn't have time to wallow, because a violent act results in murder in the small town of Morristown, Mississippi.

But as Eli and Stan uncover evidence, their personal lives begin to unravel. Stan, working closely with Chief Gallagher, grows increasingly attached to Eli and learns what it really means to be an advocate of justice.

©2014 J. S. Cook (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

K.C. Kelly Cured My Writer's Block!

What made the experience of listening to The Winter Dark the most enjoyable?

K.C. Kelly's narration - it literally dissolved a terrible case of writer's block I'd been fighting for the past year or more. (I'm the author of this title, by the way.) Something about hearing Mr. Kelly's incredible talent voicing my characters sparked my creativity - a part of me I'd assumed was gone for good. I'm writing, and I'm excited about it - no, *possessed* by it is probably more accurate. The kind of excitement that feels like you're carrying a hollow glass ball around inside your chest...the kind of excitement that can't *wait* to get back to the page.... Something about hearing Mr. Kelly's voice really inspired me to think about these characters again. As soon as I did, this new story began unrolling inside my head, almost like a movie. I find I'm racing to try to keep up with it, to get everything down and not miss anything. I had been so burned out for so long, I thought I'd never write again. I'm glad I was wrong.

K.C. Kelly, thank you a thousand times over for your brilliant narration of my book. You've inspired this author to write again.

Good storyline

Very good story line but I feel it was lacking in details in certain areas. It felt rushed at some points but then fine at others. Gave details when none where needed but then lacked when you would of liked more.

Good Afternoon listen.....

I liked the characters and the way the story was going but I feel like the ending and character development was rushed at the end. But at least everything was wrapped up neatly. Overall a good listen, K.C. Has a great voice.

great story - awesome narration!!

I really enjoyed this story. I've not read J.S. Cook previously; however, I knew that I love K.C. Kelly and took a chance. I was not disappointed!!! Highly recommend.

I'm so confused.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better storyline and a more coherent narration.

What could J.S. Cook have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Maybe actually reading this book might have been better. I was very confused, more than once, who's pov I was in. The majority of the book, which is a novella already, the two MC's were with other people. When they did finally get together I wasn't even sure why and then the book was over.

Would you be willing to try another one of K.C. Kelly’s performances?

The backdrop of the book was Mississippi and I've lived in Mississippi, they do NOT sound like whatever dialogue Kelly was using that sounded more like an audition to read the credits for the movie Deliverance!

What character would you cut from The Winter Dark?

All of them?

Any additional comments?

Yeah, sorry, I tried I promise. I listened to the entire book thinking "Okay, next chapter they'll get together and the story will iron itself out." Nope. I don't like having to hunt down my characters and that's how I felt this story was conveyed.

i was left underwhelmed by this one.

This is the story of police chief Eli Gallagher and his deputy Stan Leach. As a violent crime rocks their little town their personal lives are unraveling.

This story was super short, too short to wrap up all the plot points that would make it a complete story. At the beginning of the story the author spent a lot of time developing the relationships of Gallagher and Leach with other men. This was more than half of the story, and at this point I assumed there wouldn't be a relationship between the main characters. Both of those relationships ended abruptly and we moved into the mystery part of the story.

The mystery ended up not being so mysterious because we knew who the culprit was from the get go, but because of the stress of it Eli and Stan hop in bed together. Next thing you know the book is ending and the epilogue has the couple making serious relationship steps without any relationship growth throughout the book.

For me, the plot was really choppy and didn't flow well. With some polishing and added detail it could make a good full length novel, but it definitely needs more detail about the budding relationship between the main characters.

I grew up in Mississippi and I was hoping the narrator would have an authentic Mississippi accent. I was hoping it would take me back in time and add another dimension to the story, but speaking slowly isn't a substitute for an accent.