Uvi Poznansky's Blog, page 30
May 16, 2021
Amazing - Be Prepared Not to Leave this Story
LISTENER
Angelica Kate (Angela Naff)
OverdueAsh Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance, Book 4By: Uvi PoznanskyNarrated by: Heather Jane HoganAmazing - Be Prepared Not to Leave this Story Overall 5 out of 5 starsPerformance 5 out of 5 starsStory 5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed: 05-16-21
This story drew me in, as I listened on a long training run. I was so engrossed with the vivid imagery, suspense, and details of the story that made it come to life as I listened. Uvi is a master storyteller that made you keep guessing at each turn of this story of what might come next. I found myself trying to race ahead and guess where things were going but it managed to surprise me a number of times. I will say that that the narrator was perfect for this story, with the tone being ideal to keep you guessing, wondering, and feeling the suspense build. I listen to a lot of stories but this one I didn't want to turn off, and it made me want to pick up some of the other books that I haven't read in this series.
Be prepared with current events to viscerally feel some of the intense apprehension of the main character, more than any book I had read or listened to of late. Uvi did a great job of playing on some of the world's current events, medical possibilities, and the like to craft a tale that will grab you from the opening, and keep you to the end - still wishing for a bit more. This stunningly well-written and visually rich story is amazing to listen to and I highly recommend it.
May 12, 2021
Envy is the least of her problems, especially when compared to being dead
The last thing I need is to establish a connection with a jealous wife. Actually, envy is the least of her problems, especially when compared to being dead.
“Sorry,” I say. “I’m curious to learn more about Dr. Patel, especially about his professional life. Don’t ask me why. I have my reasons. But his wife? I want nothing whatsoever to do her!”
She huffs. “I don’t believe you.”
I insist, “What’s between them is not really my business.”
“It is, if you’re dating him!”
I’m at loss for a good comeback.
Meanwhile, the waitress pulls something out of her pocket. It slips down her windbreaker and over her drenched apron. She bends over, snatches it off the ground, and raises it to me over the edge of the cracked-open window.
Then, with a trembling lip, she says, “It’s yours now! I want nothing to do with all this trouble.”
I shake my head. “Keep it. Trouble is not what I need in my life, either.”
“Please,” says the waitress. Her voice is inundated with fear, which makes a shiver go down through me. “Take it!”
Is she out of her mind? Who is she to order me around? I have Ma for that!
I give a subtle hint to the driver to get us out of here and start closing my window, so as to block this woman out. “No, thank you,” I say. “You hold on to it, whatever it is.”
The waitress clutches the edge of the window so hard that her nails—chipped and painted red—nearly scratch through it.
Just then comes the second flash of light. It outlines her shoulders, fizzes around her hair like a fiery halo as she stumbles forward towards me. This time, lightening is clearly what it’s not.
She’s been shot at, she’s been hit.
Her fingers loosen, letting something drop inside, some small object that misses my lap, rolls over, and lands somewhere underneath me on the car floor.
Meanwhile her eye bulges over. It turns, turns, turns in its socket, until its iris seems to roll back around and over the eyeball, until her chest slips down along the sudden spill of blood upon the glass, until the terror finally lets go of her, leaving her wrung out by the wayside like an old dishrag.
“Stop,” I tell the driver. “Let’s pick her up, take her to the hospital.”
“No way,” he says, stepping on the gas. “Let’s get out of here, save our own skin!”
In the back window, she looks like a mound of tatters crumpling into the night as the car jerks into motion. It maneuvers wildly left and right as we make our escape.
(Volume III of Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance)
Audiobook US ★ UK ★ FR ★ DE ★ iTunes
Months after recovering from coma, Ash discovers that the man who performed her brain surgery has a questionable medical experience and a dark past. Should she expose him, at the risk of becoming vulnerable to his revenge?
"Heather Jane Hogan delivers depth and surprise to this already thrilling story. What a delight to hear her tell the story of Ash, who’s been out of her coma for a few months when headaches and dizziness require her to pay another visit to her brain surgeon, a mysterious man named Dr. Patel... This marvelous tale is brought wonderfully to life by Ms. Hogan, who delivers the final, terrific twist with a bang. Highly recommended, five stars!"
JA Schneider, Author of psychological thrillers
Terrific romantic thriller
LISTENER
JA Schneider
OverdueAsh Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance, Book 4By: Uvi PoznanskyNarrated by: Heather Jane Hogan Terrific romantic thriller Overall 5 out of 5 starsPerformance 5 out of 5 starsStory 5 out of 5 starsReviewed: 05-12-21
Buckle your seats belts, this audiobook has it all! A perfect storm combining an espionage thriller with identity theft in the pandemic – all narrated to perfection by the gifted Heather Jane Hogan. Ms. Hogan excels at all voices, accents, and inflection. There is fear in her voice when she interprets the thoughts of the protagonist, Ash, who has shot a Russian crime leader named Vlad. He now lies in a hospital bed in a coma - but how deep is his coma, and will he recover to come after her? When we hear Ms. Hogan interpret his wicked accent, it’s chilling. It’s also fascinating how she interprets both male and female voices and continues to build the tension as the story progresses. A mystery woman steals Ash’s identity and the violent Russian escapes. Ms. Hogan’s voice continues to lure us through one frightening twist after another.
To a story already gripping, Heather Jane Hogan adds the movie feeling of really being there, and this audio production is perfection. I want to thank Uvi Poznanski for this review copy, and have enjoyed writing this review. Well done, very enjoyable – five stars!
May 10, 2021
Ash Courageously Takes on the Russian Mob
LISTENER
kevin
OverdueAsh Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance, Book 4By: Uvi PoznanskyNarrated by: Heather Jane HoganAsh Courageously Takes on the Russian Mob Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 out of 5 starsPerformance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 out of 5 starsStory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed: 05-11-21
Ash is back and she finds her old nemeses Vlad, a Russian mobster is still up to his criminal ways. She finds herself being hunted and blackmailed, her life thrown into turmoil and misery. With extraordinary courage and an indominable will to get her life back, she manages to turn the tables on Vlad and bring the Russian mob's ambitions crashing in failure. I thoroughly enjoyed this audible version of Overdue, the narrators voice was perfectly aligned to keep you drawn into the story. I would highly recommend it.
Well-written, tense. Held my attention throughout!
LISTENER
Susan Patterson
OverdueAsh Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance, Book 4By: Uvi PoznanskyNarrated by: Heather Jane Hogan Another triumph for Uvi Poznansky! Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 out of 5 starsPerformance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 out of 5 starsStory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 out of 5 starsReviewed: 05-10-21
Well-written, tense. Held my attention throughout!
Heather Jane Hogan did a good job narrating.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
May 4, 2021
Soon, all of us will feel the heat
Swept by his excitement, Mrs. Komarov gets to her feet and hurries out the door to join the others, leaving me behind. On her way out she says, over her shoulder, “You, stay put. I need you to come up with a solution. Work on it like your life depends on it.”
I do. First—as soon as she turns her back to me—a quick change of cloths. I take off Linda’s shoes because by now my feet are killing me and remove the black skirt because it’s a bit tight. I look good in my spandex leggings, if I say so myself.
Then I smooth down the side of the skirt, sliding my hand into the pocket and grabbing the matchbook. Nearly all of its matches are gone. Only a single one is left. I’ll have to make it count.
With trembling fingers, I tear it out of the matchbook and strike it against the rough narrow strip. It doesn’t ignite. I strike again, approach the wastebasket, which is set in the corner behind the toilet, and throw it there, burning.
The flame is flimsy, at first.
For a while, I believe it has been extinguished. The match has sunk out of sight and disappeared under the dirty tissues. Then, a subtle glow appears. A little tongue of fire starts licking, touching a corner of a tissue here, an edge there, slithering across the mess, consuming it hungrily.
Once the fire starts blazing through the wastebasket itself, I carry the flaming thing, set it under the desk, heap in handfuls of the oldest billing complaints, and hurry out the door. I close it shut behind me and, with a little cheer, join the others in their impromptu celebration.
Soon, all of us will feel the heat.
(Volume IV of Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance)
New! Preorder Audiobook US ★ UK ★ FR ★ DE ★ iTunes
""This is a thriller which will have the reader gasping for air multiple times throughout The action starts out at a fast pace and continues to the end of the novel... Buckle your seat belt and settle in for an exciting ride." ~Serenity, Hall of Fame Reviewer
May 3, 2021
She tilts me into reckless speeding
She tilts me into reckless speeding. We’re out of the empty dining hall, racing down the corridor, where she slows things down to a screech of the wheels for just a second, when all of a sudden, her cellphone rings.
The sounds of hospital staff, running back and forth carrying equipment, mix in with the cries of patients, calling out for attention, for help. The din is deafening, so there’s no need for Betty to lower her voice—but she does.
“Vlad, darling,” she says, under her breath, “I’ll be out in the parking lot soon. It’s hard to find my way here in the dark, but I’ll make it, so don’t you worry.”
I don’t know about him being anxious—but in my case, fretting is all I do. It’s my activity of choice right now, if only because of this bumpy ride. In the lobby, beams of flashlights streak across the walls. The footrests of my wheelchair bang against this piece of furniture and that, which makes me try to shrink back into the seat and tighten every muscle in my ankles, in a feeble effort to protect myself.
Along the way, Betty keeps chatting with him. “Have some patience, will you? Just wait for me outside.”
Despite her chewing gum, or maybe because of it, she sounds like a woman late for a date, what with all those terms of endearment, like that Darling stuff. Ha ha, if I didn’t know any better, I would wonder why on earth she would want me to stick around for a lovers’ rendezvous.
“Yes, the girl is right here, with me,” she hisses, between one chewing chomp and another. “It’s a freaking mess in here, everyone is running in all directions like crazy. I thought I would die laughing, Vlad, when they left her in my hands.”
Cold sweat starts forming on my skin as her fingers drift, ever so lightly, over my bare neck. I have to remind myself that she must hand me over to him, not kill me outright.
As if she’s the one being tickled, Betty giggles. “I’m telling you, Vlad: no one will know, at least for a while, that she’s gone missing. What a stroke of luck for us, right?”
In response to something he says, she gurgles a nervous laugh. “It’s totally dark in here, Vlad, so it’s hard to figure things out for sure, but I think no one’s watching, no one’s following me.”
Too bad. I try to stomp on the footrest so as to spark off some noise, some clangor out of it, but to no avail. The sound is barely audible. It’s lost in the hubbub.
“Yes, thank you for the timely reminder,” she tells him, this time sarcastically. “I know that the power outage will soon be over. I’m not an idiot, you know? Don’t tell me I must hurry!”
Walking and chewing gum seems to be too much for her. Betty spits it out, perhaps because it has lost its sweetness, or else because of having to focus on the task at hand. Having reached the entrance doors, she struggles to push them open using her big butt, while at the same time maneuvering me about with one hand and—just as crucial—holding the cellphone with the other.
“Oh, stop it!” she cries. “Don’t you put too much pressure on me, darling—or I’ll snap!”
Just for the exercise, I push the door open with my foot. I know, I know, I shouldn’t have done that, but it works, anyway. Which is a delightful thing for me, and a scary one too, because who knows what’s waiting for us on the other side.
Ash Suspense Thrillers: Trilogy
Audiobook US ★ UK ★ FR ★ DE ★ iTunes
By popular demand, all three thrillers in one box!
Coma Confidential
Overkill
Overdose
"I am a devoted fan of Uvi Poznansky, and keep coming back to her wonderful books. In Ash Suspense Thrillers are three gripping novels all in one, each suspenseful with a wonderful, courageous young character who will stay with you."J.A. Schneider, Author
April 24, 2021
What is the point of resisting me? Give it up, will you?
“So, are you ready to spend your last moments with me? I promise not to disappoint.” Vlad leans over me from behind, his left arm tightening around my waist, his right elbow resting over the tip of my shoulder so as to steady his wrist, his control of the knife.
I try to swing my arm back and hit him, which only serves to make his grip more painful.
“What is the point of resisting me? Give it up, will you? I’m going to tell you a little story.” Vlad gives me one rough shake after another, which brings me to the verge of fainting.
When I come to, he presses on. “Long ago, when I was a child, my mother used to be a seamstress. I would watch her pluck pins out of the pincushion and mark the design on the fabric.”
His story sounds nostalgic, at first—but I know it is a prelude for a kill.
Next to my ear, he’s grinding his teeth. “Oh, how I hated her customers for nudging her to hurry! How I hated her for bowing down before them like a common servant! All for a few meager rubles. I was embarrassed by it. Infuriated.”
I say not a word, as I recall him sharing a childhood memory with Linda before slitting her throat.
“By the way my darling Mamushka averted her eyes from me, she probably knew how I felt,” he says, his voice cracking. “But she never acknowledged my hurt; never shared her own. Instead, she focused only on the stitch, on executing it with absolute precision. In a barely audible hiss, she would quote this Russian proverb, which has guided my hand ever since. ‘Measure seven times, cut once.’”
I can’t see his smile—but feel it, somehow, at my back, leaching into my flesh, sinking into my bones. He lets the blade hover over the base of my neck, barely coming into contact, barely imparting its cold touch.
“For you,” says Vlad, “I am willing to take things real slow, real gentle—not like I did with Linda.”
With effort, I find my voice. “Let me go.”
“Later.” He scores my skin, ever so lightly. “This is going to be real easy. Like slicing through butter.”
Hoping someone out there would hear me, I scream at the top of my lungs.
Vlad draws in a deep breath, which tells me how aroused he is, preparing for the slash. Just then, a sudden noise outside catches our attention. My body trembles; his shakes.
“What the hell was that?” he asks.
And now, here is that sound again, only louder. A second rock hits the window, this one busting it wide open, shards of glass sent spinning across the floor, one of them catching a dim ray of light.
Caught by surprise, Vlad inadvertently loosens his hold on me for a second, which is time enough for me to slip out of it, fall to my knees, and grasp the sharp fragment from the floor—at long last, a weapon!—which I slam, with all the power I can muster, right into his foot.
Yowling, he folds over. He tries to take a step, but the shard pins him in place. Tearing his foot away would free him—at the cost of cutting open the wound and causing even more damage. In torment, Vlad seems to have no courage for that.
Just in case he manages to muster it, I crawl away as fast as I can. Hands bleeding, I gather more glass splinters from the floor so if he comes after me, I can use them to fight him off.
(Volume IV of Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance)
New! Preorder Audiobook US ★ UK ★ FR ★ DE ★ iTunes
""This is a thriller which will have the reader gasping for air multiple times throughout The action starts out at a fast pace and continues to the end of the novel... Buckle your seat belt and settle in for an exciting ride." ~Serenity, Hall of Fame Reviewer
April 20, 2021
Overdue: The art of voice narration
I am ever curious about what going in the art of voice narration, and as soon as my narrator, Heather Jane Hogan, completed her beautifully evocative work on our newest project, Overdue I asked her for a glimpse of what it took her to come up with the voices.
This is what she wrote:
Narrating one of Uvi’s books is always a treat! I find her writing fits well with my narrative style; her characters are relatable (Ash’s mother is my personal favorite), and her turn of phrase will often catch me off-guard in the most delightful way.
There are a few new characters in this book, and new characters equals new voices! One in particular stands out. She has a more raspy sound than our Ash, and in one scene, Ms. Raspy needed to pretend she was Ash! I decided to adopt an “Ash” sound, but put a little more tension in my voice to make her sound like Ash, but obviously not her. I think Uvi liked the outcome, and I hope you do, too!
Another challenge for me is always dialect. I always want to be SO GOOD at the dialect that I sound natural. It hurts my ears when I hear someone speak with an obviously phony dialect the same way it hurts to hear a discordant note in music; its all I can think about. So when giving a voice to someone with a dialect, and especially one I’m not natural with, I try to focus on their character, so to speak, in hope the listener will forgive any technical errors if I give them something else to consider In this way, my delivery is more important than my accent.
For this book, British and Russian were my main hurdles. My British is fair, tho I don’t think I’ll fool any Englishman. My Russian… is new. I like to use www.dialectsarchive.com for all my dialect needs, and I also use YouTube, where there is a treasure trove of amateur videos on how to sound… like just about anything. In the book, there is more than 1 Russian character, and my challenge there was to make them sound different from each other, which was tough because my Russian is so new that I don’t know how to be flexible with it just yet and had to rely more on their character (as I mentioned above) to help tell them apart for a listener.
That being said, I hope you enjoy Uvi’s latest installment of the Ash Suspense Thrillers!
(Volume IV of Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance)
Audiobook Coming soon!
April 18, 2021
Then, a single shot blasts out, this one at close range
I put on my VR glove. Its touch sensors will let me interact with the elements of this place not only by vision but also by feel. Then I push open the virtual door, relishing the sense of how heavy it is, how it resists giving way.
On its other side, next to an IV pole, is an ICU bed.
Empty.
Bathed in unreal sunlight that streams in through a window, the bed is bare. Its air mattress platform, designed for pressure relief, has been stripped off. Soiled bedsheets are draped over a hamper in the corner of the space. This virtual model hasn’t yet been upgraded to include smell. Now that’s a relief.
I touch the bed, feel its corner bumpers, its castors. Strangely, it seems to have been stopped in the middle of performing its innovative tilting process, known to help turn the patient gently, minimizing physical effort. The plastic side rails have been dropped. There are no readout graphs on the overhead screens. No blinking lights, no beeps.
Just an eerie silence.
“So? Where’s Vlad?” I demand, doing my best to contain a growing sense of disappointment. “I thought we’re about to see him.”
“So did I,” says Michael.
“What?”
“I was told he passed away quietly.”
“No fair. He can’t do that to me!”
Of all the possible things I feared might happen, this—to me—is the most dreadful. In my book, a criminal must meet his just punishment. How did Vlad manage to escape it? How brazen of him to die before telling me the name of his goon, the one who beat me senseless and who can now remain at large. The thug knows where Ma lives, so he can lay a trap for me there—but I have no clue about his whereabouts.
That’s not how things were supposed to happen.
Greatly annoyed, I grab the cellphone from Michael and with a click, put an abrupt end to the phantom environment. “I drove us here all the way from LA after a sleepless night, for that?”
The hospital bed vanishes—poof!—into thin air, followed by the fluid med containers that hang from the IV pole, followed by the pole itself, followed by a last flash, shooting across a fading impression of its hooks.
Michael reaches for me. “Wait.”
I slap the cellphone into his palm. “There’s nothing to wait for, now.”
“Ash, wait, there’s more—”
“You don’t get it, Michael, do you? I’m so angry. I can’t even begin to tell you how angry I am.”
“Sweetheart—”
“Don’t you sweetheart me. How dare Vlad find a way out of my life without leaving me a hint of how I can put it back together?”
Michael tries to block my way, but my anguish makes me push him aside. I storm out of his garage and stomp across the street. The homeless, still probing through emptied garbage bags, glance at me from the corners of their eyes, as if to assess the threat I may pose to them.
Meanwhile, shots ring in the distance. I ignore them. Probably police forces sent to quell some riots.
Then, a single shot blasts out, this one at close range.
I run back to Michael just as he begins to collapse. My heart skips a beat as his head hits the blue cement floor, his shoulder smearing it red.
(Volume IV of Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance)
Audiobook coming soon!
"Overdue, by Uvi Poznansky, is a thrilling ride through pandemic-ridden Los Angeles with a fiery heroine, the nastiest of villains, and plenty of heart-pounding action." ~Aaron Paul Lazar, Author
