Audiobook Review: The Case of the Cursed Dodo by Jake G. Panda Produced and Directed by Roger Rittner

The Case of the Cursed Dodo

Book 1 The Endangered Files

Written by: Jake G. Panda

Unabridged Audiobook

Narrated by:  Michael McConnohie
Produced and Directed by: Roger Rittner
Voice Actors:

J.W. Terry, Dave Mallow, Molly Brandenburg,  Antoinette Attell, Ian Whitcomb,  Barbara Watkins, Bobb Lynes

Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins 

Release Date: October, 3rd, 2017

Publisher: Woolly Family Studios

The Endangered Files follows Jake, the hard-boiled panda detective, and an unusual cast of endangered creatures on a wild and woolly globe-trotting adventure involving a lost suitcase, a green bird, and a bunch of double-crossing critters all hot on the trail of The Last Dodo.

Opening Line:  "We fade in on a holding pen deep in the Moroccan forest." 

The Case of The Cursed Dodo begins at the Last Resort, a wildlife hideout for endangered species and home to resident detective, Jake G. Panda.  Jake's job is to keep the guests of the Last Resort safe and outta trouble.  Jake receives an unexpected call from his friend the Professor who 's in Morroco and tells him about a suitcase he found in the middle of the Sahara desert, as the two are talking the line suddenly goes dead.  Sensing trouble, Jake heads to Marrakesh to rescue his friend.  While searching for the Professor, Jake get's captured by a group of poacher's and lands in a prison where he finds the professor.  After the two attempt an escape, they fall into a hole housing the underground hideout of renegades.  Jake and the Professor eventually make another escape and find the suitcase.  Inside the suitcase is a map and small green carving of a dodo, as well as many unanswered questions.    Eventually, Jake is able to put together the clues to determine who the suitcase belongs to, what they want and the mystery of the statue of the dodo.  

Prior to listening to the audiobook, I was familiar with The Case of The Cursed Dodo having read the book that this audiobook is based on several years ago.  Although I don't listen to audiobooks very often, I really wanted to see how The Case of The Cursed Dodo translated to audio.  One of the things that I recall enjoying about the story was that it seemed to have this visual component to it and a very classic detective novel style.  Each chapter of the story runs about eight to ten minutes in length and gives a very nice recap of events that occurred in the previous chapter.  With short chapters, you can stop,  pick it back up and be right back on track.  It's also 2 1/2 hours long, so great for a short car trip.  There are all kinds of animal sounds, singing,  sound effects like trains whistling and lovely music that accompanies the narration.  The sounds and music are wonderful, it's like a classic movie for your ears.  This was a wonderful audiobook, lots of action and exciting storytelling with multiple voice actors and the narration by Michael McConnohie was excellent.  It kinda reminds me of Chet Gecko (by Bruce Hale) and an old-time radio detective story, but with endangered animals and lots more characters. The sample below should give you a good idea of the authors writing style and the narration.   The audiobook is available as a 3 CD set or instant download via  Pulpradio.net  and Amazon A huge thank you to the author for sharing it with me.      
         

https://www.endangeredfiles.com/previews