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  • For the Love of Mike

  • Written by: Rhys Bowen
  • Narrated by: Nicola Barber
  • Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (20 ratings)

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For the Love of Mike

Written by: Rhys Bowen
Narrated by: Nicola Barber
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Publisher's Summary

Molly Murphy is starting to think the cards are stacked against her. She's determined to be a private detective, but hampering her investigations is the fact that she's finding many places in turn-of-the-century New York City where women are not welcome, something that's as frustrating to her fiery Irish pride as it is to her rapidly emptying pocketbook.

Then two business opportunities pop up simultaneously. An aristocratic family in Dublin fears their daughter has fled to the New World with her unsavory boyfriend, and they hire Molly to track the two down and send the young woman back home. Before she has time to consider her good luck, she's asked to go undercover as a piece worker in the garment business and investigate a potential case of industrial espionage. Now if she can only solve both cases without the help of Daniel Sullivan, the police captain who claims he loves her but who is engaged to someone else....

Full of the rich detail of New York's teeming immigrant community and the colorful historical personalities of the age, For the Love of Mike is the triumphant third installment in Rhys Bowen's Agatha Award-winning series.

©2003 Rhys Bowen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about For the Love of Mike

Average Customer Ratings
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

LOVE this series

I find the story and the narration terrific. I’m hooked. I’m on the fourth and need to slow down and savor them.

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  • MJ
  • 2019-10-28

Loved it!

Much more engaging than the previous story and the narration was on point. Can’t wait for the next one.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Bobby Knight
  • 2014-04-27

Light and repetitive read

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Things to change:

1. There is a lot of repetition. For example, The leading male character is always yelling at the heroine. When he does this he says the same thing over and over again. These incidents occure several times in every book. Then the main character reviews these conversations in her head several more times. The gist of these conversations are as follows:

Male lead: I am drawn to you because your spirit and bravery. And now stop being so spirited and brave because you will get hurt.

Female lead: I'm going to tell you that I'm not going to be spirited or brave anymore, but we both know that in the next 50 to 100 pages I will do something stupid and end up back at police headquarters to be lectured by you once again.

2. Maybe use some more Irish terminology in the main character's dialogue. Throwing in the word "blarney" in several times in each book followed by the word's definition (ever single time) just isn't enough.

3. Authentic details would go a long way in these books to creating a believable setting.
The majority of the details are common knowledge.

4. Does the main character have to almost get raped in every book?

5. Maybe the harsh world of turn of the century America is not the best time period for a light hearted romp.

What could Rhys Bowen have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

It would be nice if the author could add some more authentic and complex details to the book that would set it more firmly in history.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The reader does a passable Irish accent. The voices of main characters are fairly distinguishable.

14 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2014-01-01

The Third Installment is as Good as the First!

Where does For the Love of Mike rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would give this series a 4.5/5. It is not epic, but the books have a continuity that binds them all together and progresses the series. The stories themselves are entertaining, solid, and the protagonist is a strong woman, but not without vulnerabilities. Mrs. Bowen portrays turn-of-the century New York with great detail and accuracy. The narrator is adept at all of the accents and definitely adds to the story. Though not the most compelling book I have ever listened to, it is worth the credit and is on par with the author's other works-- it is a classic mystery with an enjoyable story line and well defined characters.

9 people found this helpful

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  • Simone
  • 2014-05-11

The Best Yet!

This third instalment of the series is the best one so far.

Perhaps it’s because the plot in this book was better than in the 2 previous books? or maybe (by now) I feel as though I know the characters better, and have begun to like them more and more?

Although it’s all ever so slightly over the top, that’s part of its charm; it never seemed preposterous or silly to me because I was so wrapped up in the adventures.

I love the setting in the Turn of the Century New York City and Molly is becoming quite sympathetic to me. I look forward to her continuing evolution in future instalments.

5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Glenda
  • 2015-07-04

Too politically correct

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was okay but none of the male characters were realistic.

If you’ve listened to books by Rhys Bowen before, how does this one compare?

I don't particularly like this series. This will be the last one of the series I listen to.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was excellent

Could you see For the Love of Mike being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

4 people found this helpful

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  • S. Hanford
  • 2015-04-29

Molly is great fun

I've read about a dozen of the two series by Rhys Bowen. They are just such a fun break from the other mysteries. I love all the usual suspects but after a while it's time to add some humor. I hope this and the Lady Georgiana series keep coming. I hope you don't pass them by. And the narration is excellent. Sounds exactly as you picture Molly in your minds eye.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Ashleigh
  • 2014-01-13

Love the series

Would you consider the audio edition of For the Love of Mike to be better than the print version?

n/a

What other book might you compare For the Love of Mike to and why?

a female Sherlock Holmes

What about Nicola Barber’s performance did you like?

Great voices and story telling

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me excited to see what was going to happen next.

Any additional comments?

Love the entire series. Can't wait to read the next book!

2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • KC Burrows
  • 2020-02-11

Another great installment!

I really enjoyed this installation. Capt. Sullivan didn’t get as much page time but I loved how that opened up further opportunities for Molly to explore and detect with new characters and in new ways. I really like that she’s come into her own in this novel, proven her mettle, and claimed her new profession. I’m looking forward to the next in series (although the summary makes me cringe thinking it’ll be boring) and seeing how she’ll end up with who I’m sure she’ll end up with all while enjoying the mystery and being drawn into adventures in the time period.

1 person found this helpful

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  • 55 and alive
  • 2019-06-12

really liked the book

I really liked the book. But I will admit that the story didn't grab me as much as the last two books.
The narrator was excellent. She bought interest to each of the characters. She is most excellent with all of the different accents. That's one of the reasons why I like to listen and not read certain books.
Looking forward to hearing the next in the series.

1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Laurie S
  • 2019-05-04

Starts slow

This is the second time I've tried this book. It's a slow start but interesting, especially if I listen at 1.25 speed. The narrator is great at Irish voices. A couple irritations have been the whispering, which means I have to rewind or listen closely. That makes it hard to listen while doing other things. The other thing is the men's voices. Not great, and they definitely sound too modern and some have almost southern-like drawls. Narrator is much better at women's voices and could use some coaching and development with men's.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Charles
  • 2017-08-29

interesting

this story is part of a series that is interesting to listen to an extremely well-read. It gives a view of history of New York and provides insights into immigrant life

1 person found this helpful