Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott **Audio Review**

Adrenaline
by Jeff Abbott
(Hachette Audio 2011)

This excellent story is launched with an engaging paradox. A CIA operative, Sam Capra, is called out of a meeting in Company offices in London by his pregnant wife Lucy. As he leaves the building, he sees Lucy in a car with a scarred man who strikes her. The office is then blown up, killing all of his colleagues. The CIA believes Lucy to be a spy who has harbored by Sam.

He is imprisoned, interrogated, and tortured by the CIA. Sam maintains his confidence in Lucy as well as his own innocence. Ultimately, Sam becomes a bartender watched closely by the Company.

A skilled operative and parkour athlete (running over, through, and around impossible obstacles), Sam slips away. He gets back to Europe and picks up the trail of Lucy and the scarred man he saw strike her in the car. Jeff Abbott introduces us to a host of interesting characters as the action criss-crosses through Europe.

In the end, the central mysteries concerning the guilt or innocence of Lucy, birth and survival of baby Daniel, the identity of the scarred man, the identity of real protagonist, and so on are revealed, often with new mysteries.

Adrenaline is a well written, thoughtful, and exciting book, driven by its own dose of nerve stimulation. I will read or listen to more of Jeff Abbott. There is plenty of riveting action, with the violence presented in an inoffensive manner. Romance runs through the story in Sam’s devotion and faith in Lucy, and anticipation of his son Daniel.

We listened to the audio version of this book. It lasted almost 15 hours. We drive about 12 hours back and forth to Rosemary Beach in Panhandle Florida from Dallas. We listened to Adrenaline in two installments, never missing a beat after a few weeks. The story is so well written that we both felt as if we were watching a movie, fully immersed in the action. The ability to write in a manner that is so engaging and revealing, even when the words are being ready by a talented actor, is quite amazing.

Warms, Cym

Amazon

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The Choice by Nicholas Sparks *Audio Version Review*

The Choice
by Nicholas Sparks
read by Holter Graham
Hachette Audio 2007

How would you react to having to make a life decision for your sweetheart? What if the decision in your heart violated a promise that your love had extracted from you? Would you follow your heart or a promise made long before the actual events framing the choice occurred?

Of course, none of us can know the answer to these questions until we are in such an uncomfortable place. Were I the sweetheart who had extracted the promise from my mate, I think I would have trusted her to make whatever decision she thought best, not be riveted by some probably idle promise and the views of the medical establishment about what should be done.

In any event, The Choice is a lovely story told by a gifted storyteller, Nicholas Sparks. As the story evolves, we are invested in the evolving love of Gabby and Travis on the shores of North and South Carolina. Their beloved dogs initially bring them together.

We listened to an abridged version while driving from the beach back to Texas. The tape was about 5 hours in duration, professionally edited and read. It was thoroughly enjoyable and consumed our attention for most of an 11 hour drive. We have become serious fans of audio books.

This sweet story of love and devotion warmed our hearts, just as it would had we read it sitting on the beach with a bottle of wine.

I am delighted to recommend both the story and the audio version.

Warms, Cym

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New York to Dallas by J.D.Robb **Audio Book Review**

New York to Dallas
by J.D. Robb
Brilliance Audio 2011

Imagine that you are a detective in New York City. As a child, you were abused by your father. As an adult, you became a police officer. In your first major case, you apprehended a serial child abuser in the most harrowing circumstances, outwitting the long-term pedophile, who was sent away for at least life. Like you, the pedophile was abused by his mother, whom he killed at age 19 as he would later kill mother substitutes who facilitated his rampage. In due course, you marry a wealthy spouse who supports your detective work in a manner not available to ordinary officers.

The incarcerated pedophile escapes a maximum security prison and launches a new campaign of terror through twin victims from his earlier time. His object is you, who interrupted his initial work.

Our heroine is Eve Dallas, married to an engaging Irishman, O’Rourke. They come to Atlanta where the pedophile is at work. The detective does her work, with the help of O’Rourke and his on-line wizardry. The sleuthing process is addressed in detail, though a few of the steps require a bit of faith in the integrity of the story teller to accept the leap. Like all good mysteries, the denouement is exciting.

I enjoyed listening to New York to Dallas. This medium has become a favorite means of passing time as we drive between Dallas as Rosemary Beach. The storyline is an interesting paradigm for thought. As I find with most clever stories, a variety of thoughts emerged as the story unfolded. I was curious to see how Eve would reconcile her own childhood abuse with that visited upon the children she was determined to protect. How will the reliving of her own experience impact her psyche? Her marriage? Her willingness to bear or adopt children, perhaps abused orphans? Will the childhood abuse of the pedophile result in an exploration of the psychology of abuser and abused?

These threads of emotional interest were not explored in the story itself. While I understand that the genre does not delve into the emotions and psyche of the protagonists, it would have been satisfying to have heard Eve and O’Rourke share with us their own emotions, which, of course, who have to be addressed in real life.

A fine listen!

Warms, Cym

Additional Resources:
AMAZON
Barnes & Noble
J.D.Robb

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The Trill of Victory *Audio Book Review* by Sandra Brown

The Thrill of Victory
by Sandra Brown
Sandra Brown 1989 Brilliance Audio 2011

I have recently discovered the joys of audio disks, which we enjoy driving back and forth from Dallas and Rosemary Beach in the Panhandle of Florida. These disks, containing excellent stories, pass the time like magic. An additional benefit I have discovered is that sometimes the stories were actually written long ago by authors who have become famous.

Such is the case with this adult romance story, written by the now famous Sandra Brown in 1989 and, apparently, self-published at the time. The Thrill of Victory is the story of a world class tennis player, Stevie Corbett, who has devoted her life to being a Grand Slam. Her nemesis has been a local Dallas sports writer, Judd Mackie. She is at the top of her game and he at the bottom of his.

Stevie collapses on the court. Judd is delinquent in getting the story of what is behind the collapse. Drugs, alcohol, failed love affairs, or what could so undermine the globally famous star on her way to the Grand Slam. The unlikely pair each find magic in the other as they descend into rural East Texas to the farm of his grandparents, where they can be alone and address the real story.

This is a sweet story, a nice change of pace from the intensity of many of the books that I read. One element typically absent from the thrillers that I review is poignant love and emotion, which I believe leaves such stories devoid of critical elements of walking around humanity. In any event, this story is not a thriller, is full of erotic activity, and Ms. Brown spares no detail in the story-telling.

We enjoyed this interlude from the seriousness of thriller and the range of other books that we typically read, enjoy, and review.

Try this one as an audio book, about 5 hours in length.

Warms, Cym

AMAZON
Sandra Brown

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