Solomon's Whisper: A Liv Bergen Mystery

Written by Sandra Brannan

Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky

As Liv Bergen investigates the long-ago murder of her niece, she uncovers a well-guarded secret—and stumbles into one the most prolific killer she’s faced yet

Once an amateur sleuth, Liv “Boots” Bergen has now found her footing as an official FBI agent. It should be Liv’s dream career—she’s working closely with a bureau legend, Agent Streeter Pierce, as well as the exotic Agent Jack Linwood, with whom she shares a growing romance. Liv has proven to be an adept agent, and the whole office has been moved to a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in central Denver.

And yet, doubt plagues her. Liv is tormented by the knowledge that her work with the FBI could endanger her extended family—and has almost resolved to leave the bureau as a result. Agent Streeter Pierce, who harbors an affection for Liv that sometimes transcends the professional, comes up with an unorthodox plan to keep her around: she can investigate a cold case that’s especially important to her, the kidnapping and murder of her ten-year-old niece, Brianna.

Liv jumps at the chance, but her focus on finding Brianna’s killer is soon diluted. Piece by piece, the case reveals itself to be just one point in a harrowing series of murders. Spanning decades and the country, the web of crime Liv uncovers causes her to question everything—including the integrity of her own colleagues.

www.sandrabrannan.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
• Release date: May 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781632993458

Reviews for Solomon's Whisper

[roses7184_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For the first time since I started this series, it's actually been tough for me to write a review. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of both Liv Bergen and her creator. I love Liv's vibrant personality, and the fact that she's such a down to earth person. In fact, I don't even bat an eye at this point when one of these books is offered to me for review. I'm a fan of Liv Bergen, and I'm not afraid to admit it. This time around though, I have to say that it took me a long time to fully settle in. Solomon's Whisper takes a sharp turn from what I was used to previously. I'll explain below.

One of the things I always enjoyed most about Liv's stories was that they weren't your typical crime novels. Her cases have always been rather personal, whether she was protecting her hometown or her family members. There's something comforting about knowing the person that you're following has a firm foot in the mystery they are solving. It was refreshing to be able to enjoy a story that dealt with the FBI and not have to slog through a ton of infodumps or hunt down terms. It's why I fell in love with Liv's books. She was always so personable and brave.

That being said, this particular installment threw me off at first. To fans of the series, you'll remember that Liv is now working with the FBI officially. I was excited to see her in her new role. Eager to see where her new contacts and abilities would take her. The first third or so of the book centered around her settling in and, to be completely honest, took me a long time to get through. Those infodumps I wasn't missing before? They made their debut. It wasn't until Streeter gave Liv a case related to her, which I was hoping for, that things picked back up for me. Once again I was excited. Where would it take her?

Unfortunately, this particular book doesn't deal with just one case. Instead, that one case branches off into multiple cases that are similar, and soon I found myself swimming in an overload of information. Names, dates, events, all blurred together into something that I just couldn't latch onto. It took me until almost the very end to feel fully immersed. Then that ending? It killed me. So much.

I can't say I didn't enjoy this read. I still had Liv, and I was able to see how she'd grown. For that, I was appreciative. Everything else just didn't feel like what I was used to. It seemed like too much was going on at the same time, to be honest. For Liv, and for our past together, I'll offer up three stars to this book. Solomon's Whisper is the first time our leading lady has been fully tethered to the FBI, and it's probably just my own bias that kept me from loving it. I know I'll still be back for more.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the fifth in a series centered around Liv Bergen, former limestone miner and now an FBI Special Agent in Colorado. The attentions of Liv, good-looking and talented, are coveted by two of the best and most attractive agents, Streeter Pierce and Jack Linwood. In this book, Liv has decided she has fallen in love with Jack, but she hasn’t told him yet; he is out of town on his yearly fishing trip.In the meanwhile, Liv works on a number of child murder cases including the cold case of her niece Brianna and another more recent case obviously based on the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the child beauty star killed in 1996 in Colorado at age six.Complicating the solving of these murders is the fact that those convicted or even suspected of the crimes have been murdered in ways resembling the ways the children were killed. Moreover, only the FBI has known the details of how exactly the crimes took place. Is there a vigilante serial killer in the FBI? And is Liv, by exposing more details and suspects as she works the cases, putting more people in danger?I have to say I got a little confused during the dénouement, which was nevertheless very exciting. I believe one was supposed to be confused at any rate, because the whole idea was that during the whole very edge-of-your-seat situation, you didn’t know who were the good guys or the bad guys.Discussion: The books in this series are about crimes, but they are also very much about family ties, female empowerment, and romance. In addition, the books all have a focus on children and on religion - but only in the sense that Liv had a Catholic school education and thinks often in her head of her third-grade teacher Sister Delilah who might have admonished her now for her thoughts or actions, but who thankfully now can’t make her say Hail Marys (or she’d be saying them all the time). The other unusual aspect of this series is that, very unlike lead protagonists in “hard-boiled” crime series, Liv is so nice and seeing-the-world-through-rose-colored-glasses that she doesn’t seem very realistic. However, it so happens that I met the author, and the voice of Liv Bergen is just like her. She is a lovely person - sunny and full of warmth. Reading her books feels like you’re spending time with her and listening to her talk, and makes you believe in the character, because yes, there really are people like that in the world.Evaluation: The writing itself won’t necessarily wow you, but the main characters are so nice that they will win you over to the series.Liv Bergen Crime Novels in Order:In The Belly of JonahLot's Return to SodomWidow's MightNoah's Rainy Day

[annie.michelle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

solomons whisper 5 starsLiv is back! this is number #5 in this wonderful series. Liv who used to be a miner and is now an FBI agent and in love with...whoops! better not tell, you can find out for yourself. Some wild and crazy things have happened to Liv and her family lately and Liv thinks it has been a little too much and maybe her being an FBI agent has put her family at risk. While contemplating this she is offered a cold case by her boss Streeter (love the name!) a cold case involving her niece which then leads to another cold case and Liv is off and running!meanwhile her boyfriend is acting strange and Streeter is too... Love the book, love the series I'm waiting for the next one!