Cliche - a Thriller of Epic Foreshadowing

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Oh my goodness!!! Just about every Cliche you have heard in relation to police stories are found in this book. It was so far overboard it was hilarious !!!


The narration was well done, The characters were excellently portrayed.

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Cliches can be fun

What did you love best about Cliche - a Thriller of Epic Foreshadowing?

I liked the humor and satire. Most of the thriller cliches were hit with humor and with enough twists to keep if fresh and interesting.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, I definitely wanted to know if an how Archer would solve the case.

Have you listened to any of J. Scott Bennett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First time for this author, but I'd be interested in a sequel.

Who was the most memorable character of Cliche - a Thriller of Epic Foreshadowing and why?

Archer Cross.

Any additional comments?

Would I listen this book again? yes
Would I read this author again? yes, I'd definitely be interested in a sequel and in this style for different genres - especially a romance.
Would I listen to this narrator again? yes.

four stars - I liked it

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1 person found this helpful

Tongue in cheek through and through

Any additional comments?

I know this book was not to be taken too seriously, the intro "reviews" hinted at that in case the title was not clear enough. The narrator was very good and the storyline was easy enough to follow and get engrossed in, I didn't see that ending though. I'm not sure it made sense, it didn't to me, but the download was well worth the listen.

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I Saw What You Did There...And I Liked It!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this listen. About an hour in, though, I had to admit to myself that I was invested in this story. It was like a train wreck that you can't stop watching!

Archer Cross, who appears to be delusional, is the self-described 'best detective the LAPD has ever known'. So good that his Lieutenant begs him to take on a developing serial killer case. We soon discover that there is a method to Lt. Vanderling's seeming madness. Once Archer is officially assigned to the case, all hell breaks loose. Archer grew on me as the book went on. I began to like him. A little. By the end, I was rooting for him. Every aspect of this book, from the characters backgrounds to the dialogue, is a cliché. Despite that flaw (or maybe because of it) this was a really fun listen. Aaron Patterson, Nora Robb: You're experiment worked!

I will listen to anything J. Scott Bennett narrates in the future. I might even go look for other books he has narrated. Every voice he did (and there were many in this book) was unique and nuanced. When they were on the phone, it sounded like they were on the phone! Mr. Bennett really made this listen for me and is a good part of why the book was so enjoyable.

I received this audiobook free from Audiobook Blast in exchange for an honest review.

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2 people found this helpful

Tongue in cheek through and through

What did you love best about Cliche - a Thriller of Epic Foreshadowing?

I liked the humor and satire. Most of the thriller cliches were hit with humor and with enough twists to keep it fresh and interesting

Who was your favorite character and why?

Archer Cross

Which character – as performed by J. Scott Bennett – was your favorite?

All. The narrator did an awesome job. All the characters were distinguishable, the pacing was good, and the female voices were done well

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Boom

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Fun.

What can I say about Cliche, other than it's..... well it's totally cliche, but so much fun!

Archer Cross thinks he is gods gift to law enforcement. He is the best of the best, so isn't surprised when his captain begs him to take on this serial killer case. Well, of course she would, wouldn't she!! So Archer takes the case and so begins the hunt for a killer!

So. Many. Cliches!! I mean, when a book starts out with "It was a dark and stormy night" and with fake reviews from high profile authors, you just know that it's going to be a fun read. And it was! It was so bad, it's good. It's a mark of a great author when they set out to write a bad story only for the reader to become invested in it and eager to see what happens next! It's a fun, fast paced read that kept me entertained and hooked till the end.

I have to say that Archer Cross was such a great character! He thinks he's the best detective ever and tries to emulate Horatio Cane from CSI. He even says it himself, that he is the best cop because he watches all these shows and it makes him better. He is the type of detective that could have the culprit right under his nose and be totally oblivious! Again, he is so bad, that he is good! A unlikably written character, that you can't help but like and root for.

J. Scott Bennett did such a brilliant job reading this. It sounded like he had fun doing it and enjoyed the story. He really brought Archers personality to life and I hope he reads the next installment! (There HAS to be more Archer!! He is too good not to expand ;) )

* I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affected my thoughts.*

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Cliche

Cliche has too many cliches.Arthur Cross thinks he'd gods gift to policemen.He's just an idiot.J Scott Bennett is a fine narrator.I was given this book free of charge for an honest review.

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A full day's worth of cliche

I had trouble getting through the filler in front. The fake reviews were fine, but I had to skip over them and don't think they should be in the beginning. The way the characters were introduced was a bit boring and confusing, but once the story got going, it got better. I did laugh a few times, I scoffed sometimes, and I gagged frequently. Some of the humor was just not well-placed in my opinion, but I know others who would disagree. I didn't like or care about any of the characters.

The writing was decent, and a lot of the humor was great. I'm pretty so-so on the book. It's definitely not bad, it's just not the funniest or most exciting audiobook I've ever listened to. I would be willing to read another book from this author and I recommend it to people who like straight-up comedy with a touch of gore. There are better heroes and villains out there, but they don't make cops nearly this entertaining.

The narrator did an awesome job. All the characters were distinguishable, the pacing was good, and the female voices were done well.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.

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The title is certainly appropriate.

I found the overuse of cliché’s tedious in this novel. The author tried exceedingly hard to be humorous and it just fell flat with me. Somewhere beneath the layers of nonsense is a halfway decent thriller. It’s just buried…deep. This is in no way a reflection of the narrator’s work. He did a wonderful narration with the content he was provided and he can sing well too! Bravo, J. Scott Bennett!

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Very cliche

I received a free review copy of this audio book, at my request, and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.

Cliche is a short book, with a long intro. It's less than 5 hour narrative is also broken up into 70+ chapters, making for many chapters of only a few lines. This, however, does not detract from this book.

What does detract, however, is the authors inability to choose between writing a parody and a serious novel. This book rides the fence and it makes the book worse for it. It lacks sarcasm, whit, physical comedy or even absurdity that would lend it into the comedy realm, like "Space Team" or "Post Apocalyptic Nomadic Warrior". However, the decisions and attitude of the main character take away from it being a proper mystery/thriller. I feel that this was supposed to be a "Naked Gun" type story, but it just couldn't pull it off. Often, while listening to the book I would slip into a "real story" mind set and think "well that a stupid cliche" then remember why.

However, the story is enjoyable, the characters likeable and the plot is mostly believable.

The characters are one dimensional caricatures of police officers. They are seemingly meant to represent the stereotypes of cops on TV.

The crime plot of the book is fairly straightforward. As part of the pov is told from the killer perspective, motives are clear and it is a cat and mouse story, rather than mystery. And it all flows fairly well, until one plot breaking statement towards the end.

The audio quality is very good and I love the touch of different effects for phone calls over speech. The voice acting by J Scott Bennett is very good. Male a female voices are distinct and he has a good range of voices.

In the end this a great audio book with an alright story, but I would have liked it to pick a style and lean into it. If the author does this for book 2, I'll definitely be back.


***spoilers ***

The issue with the plot is we have a serial killer who takes revenge on random men for reasons known to her. The pov from the killers pov has her picking victims and carrying out the murders alone. In the last instance we have Liv confessing that she was pulling the strings and killed before she can elaborate. But this actually doesn't make much sense. It maybe could have been written around if we had an explanation but as it stands we have one person who said they were in charge, but doesn't act like it when the 2 criminals were together, and a killer who's pov has her being a lone wolf. It was a reveal that would have been better off omitted.

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