Book Review: Pam of Babylon

Author: Suzanne Jenkins

Narrator: Marnye Young

Length: 8 hours 37 minutes

Series: Pam of Babylon, Book 1

Publisher: Audio Sorceress

Released: Jun. 28, 2021

Genre: Contemporary Romance; Women’s Fiction

When Jack has a heart attack on the train from Manhattan, his wife and two lovers discover secrets and lies, and each other. For Long Islander Pam Smith, happily preparing for the return of her husband every Friday night is a way of life, until she receives a dreaded telephone call that will change everything, forever. Three very different women – a wife and two mistresses – gather at the deathbed of Jack Smith, the man that connects them all. As they grapple with their loss, they come to know one another, realizing that the man they all loved was not what he seemed to be. Can they discover the whole truth about Jack and make peace with it, or is their trust in him already too deeply shattered?

USA Today Bestselling, award winning author Suzanne Jenkins writes page-turning contemporary romance, mystery, and women’s fiction with passionately gripping characters that stay with readers long after they turn the last page. Girls in the City Series, The Saints of San Diego, Bittersweets Romance Series, Cypress Cove Romances and The Detroit Detective Stories are a reflection of American fantasy with historical reality. Her Pam of Babylon series with twenty-three books consistently rank in the Top 100 Best Sellers in American Drama with over 500,000 downloads.

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Narrator of Pam of Babylon, Marnye holds a Master of Fine Arts from Yale School of Drama and, in addition to her experience on stage and screen, has been building an impressive career as a narrator. In 2018, she started her own audiobook production company called Audio Sorceress. Today, Marnye is an award-winning narrator and producer having recorded over 170 titles. Audio Sorceress, with an extensive global roster of narrators to complete projects for clients all over the world, has grown to a team of six, including engineers, a production coordinator, and a graphic designer and will be marking their 200th production in less than two years. Her company continues to partner with different publishers to produce their audiobooks including Dreamscape Media, Books Fluent, Breaking Night Press and more. And this year, for the first time in Audio Sorceress’s young life, they published their first book “Pam of Babylon” by the incredible USA Today Bestselling Author Suzanne Jenkins which is available now on Audible, Amazon and Itunes. You can see a trailer for the audiobook on Audio Sorceress’s You Tube page at https://youtu.be/EsbgggpZdcM When she isn’t working and being a mompreneur, Marnye loves being outdoors and enjoys hiking with her husband and daughters.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Suzanne Jenkins. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Although I loved Pam of Babylon and really enjoyed listening, at times I wanted to smack Pam.

The unexpected is abundant. The story unfolds with Pam, the wife, dealing and exchanging one set of painful details with another.

Jack is the star in the lives of the women that loved him. His mother living with her regret for hurting her son. His Wife, his sister in law with a strange obsession for her brother in law. And, then his mistress.

While an affair alone should be a tell-tell sign of a person’s character, Jack does not really come off as a complete jerk, at the start anyway. Not by listening to those that loved him tell their side of knowing him. To hear them tell it, he was a great guy!

The most frustrating thing for me was the compassion that Pam had for Jack’s mistress, a perfect stranger. Then when her sister tells her tale, Pam is brutal and the complete opposite of being compassionate.

The author Suzanne Jenkins writes with a comfortable feel and a lot of realism. However, the contents are startling. At moments I was down right shocked. Just when I was sure I knew where the story was going, details were revealed that changed everything about how I saw the story and how the women in Jack’s life see him.

There is a pull that kept me listening. That pull developed into an anger, disgust even with all of these characters really. Especially with Jack. He really lived the life of a monster and did some horrible things that stayed long after he was gone. Bits and pieces are revealed gradually. Then as everything unfolds, I even said out loud “WHAT? WHAT? Did I just hear what I heard?” The story is really good. Really good! It is easy listening. There are so many secrets, none of which are expected.

The Narrator, Marnye Young, is a multi award-winning narrator for NY Times, WSJ and USA Today Bestselling Authors. The voice over creates a warm and cozy place to settle in. The story goes way beyond warm and cozy though. When Marnye switches from character to character, the personalities of the characters are made clear. For the most part, the characters are women but of different ages. Maryne Young does a great job expressing what each might sound like and displays their level of emotion very well. The story is interesting and the voice telling it has clarity, variety and flare.

I highly recommend this audible, especially if listening is your favorite way to get your books. This one is a wonderful, relaxing listen. It is a great fit for those that enjoy stories based on realism, complicated relationships, chic-lit, women’s literature. A drama with suspense.

Pam of Babylon is for a mature audience with adult language, adult situations and some adult imagery.