Audiobook Sample
Listen to the sample to experience the story.
Please wait while we verify your browser...
- Title: Undone (A Cora Shields Suspense Thriller—Book 1)
- Author: Blake Pierce
- Narrator: Emma A. Gould
- Length: 0.218738426
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 18-Oct
- Publisher: Findaway Voices
- Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Horror, Suspense
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
There’s something about the open road that makes an audiobook feel like a companion whispering secrets in your ear. I’ve driven through deserts and jungles with tales keeping me company, but few have hit me quite like *Undone (A Cora Shields Suspense Thriller—Book 1)* by Blake Pierce, narrated by Emma A. Gould. This isn’t just a mystery thriller—it’s a visceral plunge into the life of a woman teetering on the edge, and I couldn’t stop listening.
It reminds me of a time when I was crisscrossing the Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest place on Earth, with Gabriel García Márquez’s *One Hundred Years of Solitude* filling the silence. The surreal landscape outside my window mirrored the magical realism in my ears, narrated with a voice that felt like it carried centuries of wisdom. With *Undone*, though, the stakes feel more immediate, more raw. Cora Shields, a former Navy SEAL turned FBI agent turned vigilante, isn’t spinning intergenerational fables—she’s hunting killers and battling her own demons, and Gould’s narration brings every jagged edge of her story to life.
The story unfolds like a dusty trail through unknown territory. Cora’s a badass on the outside—think of her leaping from helicopters or staring down a suspect with ice in her veins—but inside, she’s a mess of painkillers and despair. Fired from the FBI for bending one too many rules, she’s adrift until a friend’s missing daughter pulls her back into the fray. What starts as a personal favor explodes into a cross-state chase, unraveling a conspiracy that’s as twisted as the backroads of Oaxaca I once navigated with a local guide who swore the spirits still whispered there. You can almost feel the gravel crunching under Cora’s boots, the sweat on her brow, the ticking clock as she races to save a life.
Blake Pierce has a knack for breakneck pacing—something I’ve come to crave in a good suspense thriller. This audiobook experience is relentless, packed with twists that hit like sudden curves on a mountain pass. One minute, you’re piecing together clues; the next, you’re blindsided by a revelation that makes you question everything. It’s the kind of storytelling that keeps you up past midnight, earbuds glued in place, muttering, “Just one more chapter.” And Cora? She’s no cookie-cutter hero. Her addiction, her depression—they’re not just plot devices but layers that make her feel real, flawed, human. Pierce doesn’t shy away from the messiness, and that’s where the magic lies.
Emma A. Gould’s narration is the heartbeat of this audiobook. Her voice has a gritty warmth that suits Cora perfectly—like a storyteller around a campfire, pulling you close. I think back to those evenings in Oaxaca, listening to a grandmother weave tales with pauses so perfectly timed you could hear the night itself breathe. Gould has that same instinct. She knows when to let the tension simmer, when to let Cora’s desperation crack through, and when to push the pace so you’re clinging to every word. The audio quality is crisp, immersive—you can hear the strain in Cora’s voice, the echo of a slammed door, the hum of a car engine as she tears across state lines. It’s a performance that elevates the text, making this listening experience unforgettable.
But it’s not flawless. At times, the plot leans hard into vigilante tropes—think lone wolf with a moral code—and some twists feel a tad convenient, like a road sign popping up just when you’re lost. Cora’s inner turmoil, while compelling, occasionally overshadows the mystery itself, leaving me wanting more depth in the conspiracy she’s chasing. And while Gould’s narration is stellar, there were moments I wished for a bit more variation in secondary characters’ voices to keep them distinct. Still, these are small quibbles in a journey that grips you from the first mile to the last.
Compared to other thrillers I’ve devoured—say, Lisa Gardner’s *Find Her* or Karin Slaughter’s *Pretty Girls*—*Undone* stands out for its protagonist’s unapologetic edge. Where Gardner’s Tessa Leoni is methodical and Slaughter’s sisters are raw survivors, Cora Shields is a storm of instinct and chaos. Pierce’s style echoes that roller-coaster vibe reader reviews rave about, but with a vigilante twist that feels fresh in the genre. It’s not just about catching the bad guy—it’s about what happens when the system fails and you take justice into your own hands.
If you’re a fan of mystery and suspense with a side of grit, this audiobook free download is a no-brainer. It’s perfect for anyone who loves a strong, complicated heroine—military vets, crime junkies, or just folks who root for the underdog. I’d recommend it for a long drive or a quiet night when you want to lose yourself in a story that doesn’t let go. The fact that it’s the start of a series (*Unwanted* and *Unhinged* are next) only sweetens the deal—I’m already itching to see where Cora’s road takes her.
Reflecting on it, *Undone* hit me in a way few stories do. Maybe it’s because I’ve walked my own winding paths—hitchhiking through Brazil, swapping tales with strangers over smoky fires—and I recognize that hunger in Cora to find purpose when the world’s gone sideways. Listening to her fight, fall, and get back up felt personal, like she was riding shotgun through my own memories. Pierce and Gould have crafted something that lingers, like the aftertaste of a strong mezcal shared with friends under a desert sky.
Until our next adventure, keep chasing the stories that move you—Marcus Rivera
