When Chuck is bored at work, he decides to become nosey and get into business that he should not be involved in at work. What started out as a simple investigation here and there quickly turns into something that has many people involved and becomes very dangerous when checking up on the wrong people. While Chuck tries to keep out of the way, it becomes difficult as he discovers more and more people and their involvement in a murder plot. This book was a true page turner, I read it in less than half the time of the typical book this length, and I enjoyed every second of it! ( )

ABR's original Smile Now, Cry Later audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Smile now, cry later is the first book in the series “Chuck Restic Mystery” by Paul MacDonald, which is Published in January 2015, narrated by Paul Dake. The genre of this book is modern detective.

Chuck Restic is a normal office worker in Human Resources for a large corporation, when a man in his corporation disappears suddenly. Only Chuck’s bad emotional state (his very near divorce) and his free time, made him start looking in this case, where he discovers that this disappearance is just the surface for something much bigger than he could have imagined.

The settings are very real, it screams bureaucracy of corporate America. However, what was really realistic was the characters, they were very, logical, understandable, and cool (and I’m talking about a bunch of NORMAL BORING peoples) ….. Let me take a moment to explain how much I liked the style of the characters in this story (sorry about that, but I have to rant or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.)

So here we have the protagonist “Chuck” who is unlike most heores in detective stories. He isn’t a macho man with all the charm that makes each female sown to the ground. He isn’t a hero with skills in Karate or an expert marksman the likes of a Matrix character. He is a BORING OFFICE WORKER, and you know what that’s okay, he gets beaten up, and threatened, but doesn’t go back to avenge his manly pride, he feels vulnerable, sad, and motivated to help another human being, his only weapon is his knowledge of psychology and HR skills (which is awesome by the way).

okay I’m done….

The events here are told form Chuck’s narrative point, they are fast paced, but not so predictable as part of the plot, we can see the plot is logical, fun, and surprising.

The narration of Paul Dake was very good at moving along with the events, he showed the suitable voice for each scene, he really could deliver the emotional states and the thoughts of Chuck with ease. However, there were some moments I just laughed out loud, he really did a great job with the story.

Audiobook provided for review by the author. ( )

This is a Chuck Restic Mystery and I'm really please to note there will be more in the series. This one covers off his first case, a pretty ugly plot that results in more murders than anyone expects.

Chuck is a Human Resources manager for an unidentified company. He's cynical and he's bored. When one of he associates under his charge disappears, Chuck finds it hard to resist a little poking around. What he finds leads to a steaming pile of corruption and betrayal.

I recommend this to anyone who like a gritty mystery where you never know who to trust. ( )

This was a really funny modern day mystery which is set in Los Angeles. The author introduces the reader to the character Chuck Restic, who is an unhappy, HR manager who finds himself dealing with a strange disappearance of a colleague. Being all too familiar with at some point working in a monotonous job we can all relate to this.

This is a fast moving thriller and one I can see up there this summer in the top ten.

I was asked to review this by www.librarything.com. I was really glad I did. I thoroughly recommend this author. ( )

I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Chuck Restic is a bored HR manager who after hours uses his excellent people skills to investigate the disappearance of a co-worker. As his search leads him from the Armenian mob to the LA police and the world of city real estate developers he finds himself dealing with some very dangerous people. He has a great sense of humor and his antics and fumbling ways made me laugh. I enjoyed this book a great deal and love the author’s creativity as he writes about a new kind of PI. I recommend this book and hope to read more about Chuck Restic in the near future. ( )