Title: Cobra Pose (This is Book 2 of the Yoga Mat Mysteries Series in Audio Format)
Author: Susan Rogers and John Roosen
Narrator/Voice Actor: Rupert Degas
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Techno Thriller, Romance, Humour, with a dash of History
Book Blurb:
Australia is a surfers’ paradise … but this is nefarious surfing on the ‘net’ … and will destroy the global financial system.
It’s not just a rippling ‘scam’ job. Has Australia been infiltrated at levels they’ve never known?
Elaina Williams uses a Cobra Pose in her Yoga studio to boost her energy – she will need it! Elaina’s father, Edward, is in trouble. He’s disappeared.
As a solicitor and now yoga instructor, Elaina drags Ric, a man she’s fallen for, into the bursting web of techno-thrilling intrigue.
Ric Peters has just returned from a disastrous trip to Indonesia. Ric bills himself as a photojournalist. Elaina suspects he shoots more than just photographs. Ric has insight into the journey he and Elaina must take. He knows Elaina isn’t ready for what’s going to happen. There are too many moving parts for him to control.
Time is running out before The Cobra and The Wolf strike with their heist. They are extending their fangs towards Australia’s ‘golden coastline’ to bite into and destabilise financial institutions worldwide.
The sparkling sub-tropical city of Brisbane, Queensland, is the epicentre of this hacking tsunami of the century! But these hackers are good at hiding. They make a living out of it. They are submerged Phantoms leaving no tracks.
Can the burgeoning amateur sleuth Elaina piece this puzzle together before her father’s fate is sealed? How far is Ric willing to go in deciding to save Elaina … or Australia?
Cobra Pose is a techno-thriller and second novel in the Yoga Mat Mysteries series. This book is filled with a snappy plot, dynamic prose, witty dialogue, and slow-burn chemistry. You’ll love Susan Rogers and John Roosen’s atmospheric whodunit. Click Cobra Pose to stretch your sense of adventure today!
Next in the YMM lineup is Tree Pose – coming soon!
My Review:
Story Impressions –
Wow, I’m speechless after listening to this audiobook. What an ending! What a story! What a beautifully written and acted techno-thriller. I was hooked from the prologue. The amount of research Susan and John must’ve done to create such an intricate and technical plot. Even the AI characters were expertly written. I couldn’t stop listening to this audiobook. Hands down, one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever heard.
Narrator’s overall voice – Rupert Degas has a gift for voice acting. I think his voice works really well for this incredible techno-thriller. He expresses the nuances of the story and the setting using a variety of inflections and tones.
Does the narrator fit the characters? Characters so real and accurately portrayed, you'd think you were experiencing it for yourself. So yes, the narrator fits these characters, even the AI characters.
Narrator’s reading style – His reading style is professional and remarkable. He uses different voices for each character in addition to the narrator.
Narrator’s impact on reading experience – Rupert Degas breathes life into Susan Rogers and John Roosen’s emotional techno-thriller. It’s a wonderful collaboration and makes for an astonishing listening experience.
Narrator’s pacing – The pacing is superb with just the right amount of dramatic flair.
Audiobook flow – The audiobook flow is flawless. There are times when I got so caught up in the story, I stopped what I was doing and listened.
What makes this audiobook unique – The different voices Rupert Degas uses make this a unique listening experience. His talent for orating really comes across in this audiobook.
Would I recommend this audiobook – YES! It’s one of those audiobooks that’ll make your heart race while listening.
My Rating: 5+ stars
Buy it Now:
Audible.com
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Amazon.com
Author Biographies:
Susan Rogers
Susan Rogers already knew she was a writer at age six, but as an adult she took a major detour in becoming a commissioned naval officer and a designated law enforcement officer. She has conducted sting operations, run extensive weapons training programs and directed the restoration of a Presidential yacht. In between, she has written a number of books. Susan’s work has taken her into government operations in the United States, Australasia, the South Pacific and the Middle East. She has run health and safety operations for multi-billion-dollar projects in Abu Dhabi and worked for engineering and environmental firms in the Middle East on projects across the region. She also revamped a South Pacific maritime service with responsibilities for local trade vessels and an international fleet servicing the maritime industry. Susan continues to write: whether braced against the hull of a sailing vessel on a hard tack, during a crossing of the Middle East’s empty quarter in a Mini, or bouncing around in a troop carrier in Australia’s outback.
After writing Surviving Paradise about their life in the South Pacific, John and Susan created the concept of their mystery series. Dead Man’s Pose is first in the Yoga Mat Mysteries’ line-up, with Cobra Pose as the second in the YMM series (online February 2023). Next will be Tree Pose – coming soon!
John Roosen
John Roosen started his career as a biologist, served as a commissioned naval officer, designated law enforcement officer and environmental emergency specialist in the United States, and has lived and worked in Australasia, the Americas, Antarctica and the Middle East. At a moment’s notice, he would respond to chemical and refinery plant explosions, deal with rocket fuel plant meltdowns and dismantle illegal drug labs. John worked in the Middle East on a number of projects in Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and several conflict zones and other locations. As a change-up, John switched careers to chasing pirates and dueling with a con artist extraordinaire on a remote South Pacific island as the Commissioner of Maritime Affairs. In between, he organised jungle expeditions and deep-sea scuba diving. However, John’s experience extends beyond responding to cataclysmic disasters and includes mastering the intricacies of making soufflé omelettes without burning the edges.
A Sharpshooter Marries a Frogman
And Together They Write Books
Anyone looking at the backgrounds of John Roosen and Susan Rogers would wonder how they met, how they stayed together, and how in the world do they write books together. “It isn’t easy, but it’s fun” they claim.
John Roosen spent many hours of his early life underwater, diving in a number of locations across the world for both work and pleasure. After graduating from university with a degree in biology (and in scuba gear most of the time), John became a commissioned naval officer.
Susan Rogers, the other half of the writing team, has spent hours on end, grounded to a weapons firing range. As part of her US Coast Guard career, she headed up a technical team teaching safety and marksmanship to military personnel.
The Rogers-Roosen duo met at Officer’s Candidate School, had an argument and fell in love. With two similar last names (Rogers-Roosen), they stood next to each other in formations and training. So it was fate! Susan was by the book, and followed all the rules … and John was, well let’s just say tested out a different approach.
Their attraction tore them away from a conventional life casting them across the world and landing them in Australasia, the South Pacific, the Americas, Antarctica and the Middle East. Despite pirates in the South Pacific, armed militias in several locales, blizzards and tropical heatwaves, they stayed together.
The real challenge has been sitting at a table for 12-14 hours a day with two computers and copious amounts of coffee. Their first mystery novel, Dead Man’s Pose, about a murder occurring in Sydney, Australia, became three murders after wrangling a plotline from the creative ether. They argued over everything—from character flaws, to location descriptions, to unique methods of murder.
It’s challenging for two strong personality types to build a gummy web of intrigue. Most of the time (almost miraculously), they maintained their humour. The impenetrable goal was not to tarnish (too much) their long relationship by arguing over Oxford commas, how to place Australianisms, or where to bury storyline clues.
As Cobra Pose was being written, they dug deeply into their backgrounds of military, law enforcement, English, business, technical writing, biology, chemistry and trivia.
During blazing arguments and work-throughs, they pounded out the direction they were headed and how they would get there. That’s where their passion for writing burns brightest. They have now produced two eBooks and two audiobooks in a year and a half.
And what are they doing next weekend? Tree Pose (Book 3) is next up and the laptops will be opened and they will be clicking away, coffee hot, and ideas flowing.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.yogamatmysteries.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/YMysteries
Reviewed by: Nancy