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The Jacq of Spades: The Red Dog Conspiracy, Volume 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

3.9 out of 5 stars 229 ratings

In a far future US, the once-beautiful domed neo-Victorian city of Bridges is split between four crime families in an uneasy cease-fire. With social disparity increasing and its steam-driven infrastructure failing, a new faction is on the rise: the Red Dogs.

Jacqueline Spadros has a dream life: a wealthy husband, a powerful family. But her life is not what it seems. Kidnapped from her mother's brothel and forced to marry, the murder of her best friend Air 10 years before haunts her nightmares. She finds moments of freedom in a small-time private-eye business, which she hides in fear of her sadistic father-in-law.

Air's little brother disappears off his back porch and the Red Dogs are framed for it. With the help of a mysterious gentleman investigator hired by the Red Dogs to learn the truth, Jacqui pushes her abilities to their limits in hope of rescuing the child before the kidnapper disposes of him.

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  1. Listening Length
    8 hours and 32 minutes
  2. Author
    Patricia Loofbourrow
  3. Narrator
    Machelle Williams
  4. Audible release date
    August 2, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Red Dog Press, LLC
  7. ASIN
    B01JDI40WI
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length 8 hours and 32 minutes
Author Patricia Loofbourrow
Narrator Machelle Williams
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date August 02, 2016
Publisher Red Dog Press, LLC
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01JDI40WI
Best Sellers Rank #536,099 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#582 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#2,050 in Steampunk Fiction
#2,251 in Hard-Boiled Mysteries (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
229 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a mystery story of the first order, with elaborate characters and excellent writing that is well-edited. They appreciate its readability, with one customer noting it's a great Steampunk crime novel.

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26 customers mention "Intrigue"23 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the intrigue of the book, describing it as a mystery story of the first order with a good plot.

"...The mystery, thick with tension and backstory, unfolds descriptively from the first page and does not let up until the end...." Read more

"...The Jacq of Spades is an all-around excellent mystery story that should appeal to any lover of mysteries, crime action, or to fans of stories about..." Read more

"...Jacq of Spades Patricia Loofbourrow creates a uniquely noirish post-apocalyptic steam punk world that yet manages to reflect many of the 21st century..." Read more

"...I loved every minute, from getting to know the characters, flashbacks to days gone by and enough mystery that I sometimes forgot where I was as the..." Read more

18 customers mention "Readability"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as an incredible and well-thought-out novel with excellent quality, and one customer specifically mentions enjoying the character Jacqui.

"...Great world-building. What I also liked about the book was the excellent and skillful editing...." Read more

"...All of the characters are believable and the reader is left satisfied up until the end...." Read more

"...- but the glimpse into this post-apocolyptic world is worth the read. It's a world that feels all too uncomfortably familiar." Read more

"...The world in which the book is described is darkly solid, the characters are elaborate, but there is still work to be done, the writing is good, but..." Read more

16 customers mention "Character development"16 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one mentioning the strong lead character.

"...The characters were skillfully drawn, as were the descriptions of the city itself. Great world-building...." Read more

"...All of the characters are believable and the reader is left satisfied up until the end...." Read more

"...The main character is fantastically portrayed, her emotions and actions and dialogue seamlessly crafted." Read more

"...The world in which the book is described is darkly solid, the characters are elaborate, but there is still work to be done, the writing is good, but..." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, noting its outstanding and well-edited nature, with one customer highlighting how it brings the story to life through vivid descriptions.

"...What I also liked about the book was the excellent and skillful editing...." Read more

"...This story, however, is well written and well edited. I noticed no textual errors to distract me from the story...." Read more

"...me reading despite that fact is a testament to the author's outstanding writing. There were a few things that I didn't care for...." Read more

"...characters are elaborate, but there is still work to be done, the writing is good, but the story of the search for the boy is a little incomplete,..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Lynn Reads
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Steampunk A. C. Doyle
    Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Jacq of Spades is a mystery in the vein of Arthur Conan Doyle, if Doyle had written steampunk. Jacqueline Spadros is a detective—a female Sherlock Holmes in Bridges, a post-apocalyptic world reminiscent of a Victorian era city, but one that is run by four mysogynistic and brutal crime families.
    The mystery, thick with tension and backstory, unfolds descriptively from the first page and does not let up until the end. I noted that this was “Part One”, which I am sure, heralds a Part Two that continues the mystery. I did feel that the mystery was resolved sufficiently to satisfy me at the end.
    The characters were skillfully drawn, as were the descriptions of the city itself. Great world-building.
    What I also liked about the book was the excellent and skillful editing. In most books I read, I find errors, even if a few, and this book was free of any kind of error. Congratulations, Ms. Loofbourrow, for a job well done! I would highly recommend this book for discerning readers of a steampunk mystery. There is very little, if any, not to like here.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Clabe
    4.0 out of 5 stars What transpires is a mystery story of the first order in the best tradition of Sherlock Holmes
    Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2016
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    Bridge is an isolated domed city divided into four quadrants each of which is controlled by a crime family who manufactures and distributes a drug known as “Party Time”. Each of the four quadrants contains affluent areas, areas known as the “pot” which are areas of the city that were destroyed during previous warfare between factions, and the slums where the very poorest people live. The crime families establish the economic systems for their quadrants and large portion of the population are starving. Large scale poverty and continual competition and mistrust among the families make Bridge a proverbial powder keg for violence.

    One quadrant is ruled by the Spadros family. Jacqueline Spadros is the twenty-two bride of Spadros heir-apparent Tony Spadros. Jacqui was raised in the Spadros Pot in a brothel and she has a multitude of reasons to mistrust and detest Spadros patriarch Roy Spadros. She knows if anything happened to her husband, Tony, Roy would not allow her to continue as part of the family. Because of this, she has taken on a secret business of her own; that of private detective.

    When Jacqui is contacted by a woman whose son, David, has disappeared she is surprised to learn that she knew the woman many years earlier and that the death of her older son plays a key role in Jacqui’s nightmares. Although the woman does not recognize Jacqui at first, Jacqui cannot resist trying to find David for his mother, partly to ease her own guilt left over from the death of the older boy.

    What transpires is a mystery story of the first order in the best tradition of Sherlock Holmes. Jacqui is a young woman in a precarious position who must uphold a social image, deal with her husband’s and the family patriarch’s expectations, deal with inter-familial politics, run a household, find David and stay alive in her spare time. How she manages this is remarkable and makes a first-rate mystery story.

    All of the characters are believable and the reader is left satisfied up until the end. Unfortunately, this book is a serial series; the reader must throw in another nickel for the next installment to achieve any satisfaction as far as finding out who did it. I am not a fan of serial series and strike the names of authors who use that method off my reading list. This story, however, is well written and well edited. I noticed no textual errors to distract me from the story.

    The Jacq of Spades is an all-around excellent mystery story that should appeal to any lover of mysteries, crime action, or to fans of stories about life in dystopian cultures. The end is a letdown for those, like me, who think readers deserve to know who did it in the end. That of course is the nature of the serial series and that, alone, will cost it a star.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Bonnie Milani
    3.0 out of 5 stars Steampunk Noir
    Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    With The Jacq of Spades Patricia Loofbourrow creates a uniquely noirish post-apocalyptic steam punk world that yet manages to reflect many of the 21st century's concerns: gang violence, class struggles, the disenfranchisement of the poor, and - certainly not least - women's rights. A child of the 'Pot' slums, the narrator Jacquie has for some unknown reason been selected to marry the gentle son of her Quarter's gang lord. Unwilling for reasons of her own to bear children, Jacquie risks life and her husband's family's reputation to pursue her need to investigate mysteries. Only one of her mysteries just may get them all killed. It's unfortunate that the book leaves the resolution of the mystery to the next book (or books?) in the series; I would vastly have preferred to see at least this stage of the overall story wrapped up satisfactorily - but the glimpse into this post-apocolyptic world is worth the read. It's a world that feels all too uncomfortably familiar.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • Dingo 883
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great story and writing even if it's outside your genre of choice
    Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017
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    This was a tough review for me due to the book being outside my usual genre. Had it been more of my usual flavor, I might have given it 4 stars, because I'm a pretty picky reader. The fact that it kept me reading despite that fact is a testament to the author's outstanding writing. There were a few things that I didn't care for. There are frequent flashbacks that give is insight to our heroine's past mixed in with the narrative. The use of bold instead of italicized words to denote emphasis on a word was odd and a little distracting. The manuscript was very clean but not spotless. I found a couple of minor typos but nothing egregious. The story is about a woman raised from the slums to become the wife of a major mafia family head. Apparently, she does some side business as a detective of sorts, in this instance, to find a missing boy. The main character is fantastically portrayed, her emotions and actions and dialogue seamlessly crafted.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Rosemary Hughes
    5.0 out of 5 stars I was originally put off by the Title, but found it a fantastic tale!!
    Reviewed in Australia on April 7, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed the audio rendition of this book, which I had been given an advanced copy of and had never wanted to read, purely because of the title. This I now regret, as I quickly became engrossed, by this futuristic tale of a world where crime families once again rule, and the general population is mere servants to those in power. However, it is difficult to leave your roots behind and although now Mrs Spadros, Jacqui had been a "gutter rag" , what was classed as the lowest in this society. She had been enforced into her marriage, but still wanted to help those that could not help themselves
    Yes, an interesting yarn, with much intrigue and drama. I cannot wait to see what the next episode reveals.
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  • snowdrop1941
    5.0 out of 5 stars Jacq Trumps All
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I found this a very novel book. It was a mixture of old technology and new. It was a strange world with strange customs. I liked that a woman was the main character, and that she led a double life. I was fascinated by the undercurrants that permeates the whole book. I cannot wait to read the next book. " The Queen of Diamonds"
    The author was unknown to me but I am now a fan.
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  • Daryl J Ball
    4.0 out of 5 stars ... book which uses a Neo-Victorian setting was an absolute delight. There's an intricate plot and complex characters which ...
    Reviewed in Canada on September 18, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This book which uses a Neo-Victorian setting was an absolute delight. There's an intricate plot and complex characters which helps make the world feel bigger especially since it's the first book in a series.

    It's clear from the outset that the author had a great deal of fun in creating the characters and their world, how they speak, how everything is done and it's especially evident in the names of major characters.

    Choosing to introduce us to the longer arc and this world through the character of Jacqueline Spadros is an excellent choice. She moonlights as an investigator for the less well off, a life she was born into but is also married to the heir of one of the big four "families" that run the city. As such she's the perfect character for us to see everything through.

    When the younger brother of a childhood friend is abducted, she gets called into investigate but it becomes a much bigger situation than she was ready for. It seems to just be the beginning as more threats arise and put everything in danger for her and those she cares for.
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  • Julian
    4.0 out of 5 stars Steampunk mystery.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2017
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    A futuristic steampunk city, somewhere in what used to be America, ruled by four Families named after the card suits. The protagonist is married into one of these families - an arranged marriage - but has a sideline as a private investigator, unknown to her husband at least.

    One of the interesting things about the book is that we are thrown into the middle, as it were, with very little background. The author gradually reveals some elements - but by the end we still klow very little about the city of Bridges and its history. (There is a prequel which adds a lot of the missing history but it's not essential reading - and there is a wealth of online material as well, for those who care to search it out.)

    An intriguing plot which is essentially resolved - but enough threads are left dangling for at least one sequel.
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  • Mig Bardsley
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not sure about this
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Put it this way, I remember the book (which I read about a month ago) I remember the characters (strong and interesting) and I remember bits of the plot (very complicated). I also remember good world building and a strong sense of place and time. And a tight but slightly disjointed writing style.
    However, I can't remember how it ended and I haven't looked for a sequel. Is there one?
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