A House on Liberty Street

Tony Valenti Thrillers, Book 1

By: Neil Turner

Narrated by: Gary Bennett

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

A father. A son. A murder.

Meet Tony Valenti. His high-flying corporate law career just cratered. His society marriage blew up in a bitter divorce. He's returned to the Chicago suburbs to lick his wounds and regroup in the haven of the Valenti family home. But time to heal isn't in the cards.

Tony's elderly father inexplicably shoots a sheriff's deputy on their front porch. Nobody knows why, and Papa isn't talking. Then their house becomes an unlikely target for condemnation and expropriation by corrupt local officials and their cronies.

With money and hope dwindling, Tony steps up to defend his father and take on city hall, and quickly finds himself in peril when he unearths sinister connections between the cases. The audacity of the plot against them fuels a gritty determination to get to the bottom of what really happened—regardless of the risks and ultimate cost to himself. To win, Tony must earn his father's trust and outwit his wily opponents.

©2021 Neil David Turner (P)2023 Tantor

LOTS of Heart (This One Surprised Me)

4.5 out of 5 stars

I rarely pick up a book that surprises me, but Neil Turner's A House on Liberty Street did. I've read a lot of thrillers and this one had the fast-paced feel that a lot of them get but put it in a courtroom. I still can't quite figure out how Turner did that. It also had all of the twists and turns that I've come to love, and in some of them I might have said out loud "No way!"

A House on Liberty Street starts with a wild opening scene and after that launches into the legal battle that ensues when former corporate, now learning to be a criminal lawyer and a public defender puts up a battle against a slain police officer's counsel. It turns into a wild ride that I didn't think could happen inside of a courtroom.

It's also weird going into a book that I know has more books in it and for about 98% of the book I couldn't figure out how there was going to be a second book at all. When it finally clicked I started laughing and got excited to check out the next book.

I love it when I can pick up a new book by a new author I've never heard of before and enjoy it like this. It brings back that joy of finding a band that none of your friends have heard yet. A feeling that I feel like I'm honored to get to experience over and over again. And this book gave me that feeling. I enjoyed this one more than I expected and love that feeling.

I think what surprised me about A House on Liberty Street was the amount of heart it had. On the surface, it's a story about a son helping his father. But under, it's so much more. I love how much Turner was able to make me feel for these characters. When the final story was unfolding I was smiling and even shedding some tears. It has the right amount of payoff that you want out of a thriller.

Overall, I enjoyed this one a ton. Having Gary Bennett narrate it just launches this one into the stratosphere for me. He was able to perfectly match the pace that Turner was setting. The court battle goes up and down and is mostly at a frantic pace - and Bennett was able to take me on that journey that Turner intended. I love it when a narrator can do that and Bennett has been quickly climbing into the echelons of my all-time favorite narrators.

Believable Thriller You Must Finish

My first exposure to Neil Turner's stories, book 1 of the Tony Valenti Thrillers, A House on Liberty Street, was exceptional. The first chapter sets the stage for non-stop escalating action, suspense, and unexpected twists perfectly placed to grab listeners’ attention, like the click of a chambering bullet. Images of the places, characters, and events are built with precise colors and textures. Relatable characters are portrayed throughout with excellent dialogue exchanges.

Tony Valenti is a convincing character stuck picking up the pieces of his messy, convoluted life. When his professional and personal life hit rock bottom, he returned to his family home in suburban Chicago to decide on his best path. When his Italian immigrant father inexplicably shoots a police officer, Tony decides to defend his Papa, who is accused of murder. Planning the defense case, Tony uncovers enough related information on historical activities to make the rats squirm—big time. The ensuing legal showdown exposes secrets and corruption at all local government levels.

Gary Bennett turns this masterfully told story into a perfectly executed audio tale. The characters' voices perfectly deliver the chills and thrills of A House on Liberty Street. The tonality, pace, and quality are done to prevent the listener from taking too long a break from the edge-of-the-seat wild ride.

If you are new to the stories by Neil Turner, this book will open your eyes and ears to a storyteller you should follow. Fans of well-crafted legal thrillers will seek out the additional books in this series; they are that good. Put this on your books to listen to or, at the very least, read. You won’t regret it.