Finders Keepers (The Jane Barnaby Adventures Book 1)

Let me begin with my thoughts on the actual story starting with our main character, Jane Barnaby. I liked this girl – a lot. She is smart, witty and doesn’t back down from a challenge – willing to get the job done, no matter what. Jane is a university student studying archeology. When her professor asks her for a favor involving delivering a box of pottery shards, she jumped for the chance, willing to prove herself in her chosen field. It seemed like an easy job – all she had to do is drive across three countries to a dig site in Spain. Easy Peasy, right? Well, not everything goes according to plan, when to start with, she has no idea how to drive a stick shift so she has to have a crash course (no pun intended) in order not to totally destroy her professor’s brand NEW Ranger Rover. She then quickly discovers that instead of the professors prized pottery shards, she has picked up a box of priceless Ancient Egyptian artifacts that some very determined thieves need to get back. This is where the action really picks up as Jane tries her best to get the correct package back to the professor and the Egyptian artifacts back to their rightful owner. In a game of cat and mouse, Jane must trust her instincts to determine which of her two new ‘assistants’ she can trust.J.J. DiBenedetto has created the perfect combination of mystery, action and intrigue with the start of this series and I can’t wait to see where Jane’s adventures take the reader next. If book one is any indication, it’s going to be one crazy and delightful time! I really loved the fact that the author did not drown the story in romance, which would have worked, but was so much better without it as the reader gets to concentrate on the actual details. There is a hint of a love interest, but it never evolved in this installment. I look forward to see if anything comes of it but in all seriousness, it really is not necessary in this series.The narration….In my opinion, what really makes this story pop is the narration. Cait Frizzell did an AMAZING job narrating this book. Her different accents for each character brought this story to life and made an already great book, simply fantastic! Her voices are crisp and concise and the pacing was perfect. Ms. Frizzell’s performance drew me into the story and I did not want to stop listening for a second – in fact, this was the fastest 6 hours and 27 seconds I have ever encountered!In conclusion....There is always some level of apprehension on my part whenever I start a book that is written by a new to me author AND narrator, but my worries were for not with Finders Keepers. I was pleasantly surprised by just how amazing this combination was – not only was this a fantastic story, the narration was perfect! Overall, Finders Keepers was a true delight and I look forward to reading more from DiBenedetto and will be definitely be searching out more audio performances from Frizzell.Story – 5 starsPerformance – 5 starsOverall – 5 stars

J J DiBenedetto has done it again with his first "Jane" book. I've been a huge fan of the "Dream Series" (if you haven't read them, you should check them out), so I wasn't sure what to expect with the new Jane Barnaby series. Let me say, this book does not disappoint. Jane Barnaby is an American student at Oxford University. She's a little lonely, grieving the loss of her mother, and her day includes a ritual where she chooses a stone and places it under a tree in memory of the mother she misses so much. All of this she hides from her father who's dealing with his own grief. She's an anthropology student and her favorite professor is from her home - the Bronx. DiBenedetto does a good job of setting up the background rather quickly before he jumps into the meat of the story, and meaty it is.Jane's professor asks her for an unusual favor - to drive his brand new Hummer from Oxford to Mallorca in Spain and to bring with her a box of pottery shards he's been collecting for the past 20 years. All of this would be fine except for two things: 1. Jane has never driven a car with the driver's side on the right, and 2. Someone wants the box she's supposed to deliver.The story proceeds with Jane's biggest problem being missing turns because she's having to focus on driving on the left side of the road to running from whoever wants the box. She can't be sure who to trust and at times, her intuition betrays her. The story had it's hilarious moments as Jane watches the Hummer drive away and she and her newfound accomplice go on the chase, but it's also full of excitement as you wonder what's really in the box that everyone between London and Mallorca seems to want.Bottom line - I couldn't put it down. Fun and well-written. Bravo, Mr. DiBenedetto!

Oi, 'tis a strangely funny one! (Lol).Jane is one tough American young woman who will either talk your ears off or deck you with one shot to the chin should you get her dander up.Reading about Jane, Alex and Tom in this zany misadventure was simultaneously hilarious and jaw dropping serious as Jane struggled to keep a box of valuable artifacts out of the hands of a bunch of thieves.Somehow this reminded me of a Donald E Westlake's book on a couple of thieves that robbed a bank with equally hilarious results.Most enjoyable I've read in quite a while.

Jane is to transport her professor's box pottery shards from his excavations. Instead the only box awaiting her is a box of priceless Egyptian artifacts. There are wild chases and the box is stolen then stolen back and stolen again. How can this young college woman stand up to experienced criminals.

Other than some editing errors, the book was great! It was fast paced and you never knew what Jane would do next.

I really enjoyed this book. Having read the Dream Doctor series by this author and loving it, I shouldn't have been surprised. There were a few places that things didn't quite make sense to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced adventure anyways. Looking forward to the next one.

Definitely not a plain Jane, nerdy student type! Feisty Jane takes everything as it comes, head on, with a goal in sight and to hell with the consequences. Exceptionally well written.

A lot of fun -- we read this book aloud on a road trip and enjoyed every minute. There were a lot of surprises throughout the book. The action scenes kept us in suspense. Jane's character has depth and is very interesting. We also liked how the book shifted perspectives. Now on to the next in this series!

Ok take an American Oxford University student. Jane Barnaby.A way to make an awesome impression on one of her Professors.A mix up of rooms and crates.And add a gang of International Art Thieves.Then you now have one hell of a story brewing, which J.J. DiBenedetto delivers wonderfully.This is just pure fun from the very beginning as Jane Barnaby is introduced in the first book of the series. Jane is a very likeable character being one crazy ass lady determined to complete her mission no matter what it takes. Her journey made me laugh and cringe all at the same time as she travelled 1,400 miles across 3 countries in a car she didn't really know how to drive. There were some pretty determined guys after her that were willing to do anything to get Jane's precious cargo. Throw in a promise of a little romance too and it just completes the scene.This is a brilliant book to read anywhere, Beit cosy on a sofa or the side of a pool on holiday. I read this book in.one sitting as I just couldn't leave Jane in a dangerous situation. It will be great to continue following Jane's future adventures in the rest of the series.

Really enjoyed this book, Exciting but king of gentle as well as in they were doing one thing but thinking another. great read for all would recommend.