DP54Cover - Deadly Pleasures

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Deadly Pleasures
she needs fodder for a column, she’s not above trashing
acquaintances she’s thinly veiled. Charley gets a letter
from someone who makes her look like a saint.
Jill Rohmer has been convicted of the death of
three children for whom she babysat. The children were
tortured and abused, resulting in a death sentence. Jill
contacts Charley to write her memoir. She promises to
release details about the crime. Jill’s attorney doesn’t think
Charley is the right person for the job, which makes
Charley take on the project. She hopes Jill will reveal her
accomplice, something she didn’t do in her trial.
Jill is difficult to deal with, though Charley enters
a relationship with the attorney. Jill is irate about that. If
trying to deal with Jill isn’t hard enough, Charley is getting
emails threatening her children. When the threats are
acted upon, Charley has to find a way to save her family.
She does so, but not without a lot of angst, much of it
brought on by her own actions.
OK, I couldn’t stand Charley. She was abrasive to
everyone, and though she did have contact with her
mother, it seemed to me it was just to use her as a
babysitter. Charley puts herself first in most matters. Her
children are the only people she seems to genuinely care
about. Though I don’t want to do a spoiler, her actions
when her children are in danger are stupid. The only
reason I finished the book is that I kept forgetting to put
another book in the car.
As to the reader, I’m not sure that she is to blame
for Charley’s constant screaming at everyone. For the
first 5-6 cd’s, Charley rarely used a normal voice. I didn’t
like the mother’s accent, for someone who lived in Australia
for twenty years, it didn’t seem right. I also got tired of
Charley’s son’s lisp. NOT RECOMMENDED.
George Easter Reviews
THE FINDER by Colin Harrison (Macmillan
Audio, Unabridged, $39.95). Read by Jason Culp.
Ratings: Book: A- Reader: A Jin Li is a Chinese
woman managing a shredding company in New York City
for her wealthy brother. After work one night she takes a
ride with two of her Mexican female workers. They stop
in a remote parking lot and Jin Li goes off into the bushes
to do her thing. While gone a sewage disposal truck pulls
up next to the car, traps the two girls in it and fills the car
with their refuse, smothering them. Later Jin Li realizes
that she was the target and so she tries to disappear, but
soon finds herself pursued by several factions and most
importantly by her former boyfriend who is intent on
protecting her.
Before too long the reader is introduced to a
complex plot involving Chinese investor fraud, high-stakes
Wall Street trading, low-life Brooklyn criminal dealings
and most importantly the power of love, both between
father and son and between man and woman.
COLLISION by Jeff Abbott (Brilliance Audio,
Unabridged, $38.95). Read by Phil Gigante. Ratings:
Book: A- Reader: A In Hawaii Ben Forsberg and his new
wife Emily are enjoying
the last CWA few hours Winner of their
honeymoon. Ben goes
to take Louise
a shower and
when he returns minutes
later, his wife is ly- Penny
ing dead on the floor,
the victim Tells of a Us sniper
shooting. Flash forward
two years About and Ben is still
shaken by Herself that event and
still mourning the death
of Emily.
The focus suddenly
shifts to two Irish
assassins, Nicky and
Jackie Lynch, who attempt
to murder computer
geek Adam
Reynolds and the “big
guy” he is talking to. Nicky is successful with killing Adam,
but not the “big guy” who turns out to be a former CIA
agent known as “Pilgrim.” Soon thereafter Pilgrim and
his boss are attacked and Pilgrim barely manages to
escape while his boss “Teacher” is taken captive.
Ben Forsberg comes back into the plot when he
is accused of murdering Adam Reynolds. He goes on the
run and teams up with Pilgrim to get to the bottom of why
they have both been set up for a downfall.
Lots of suspenseful action made COLLISION a
compelling “listen.” When I get into the middle of a book
like this, I don’t try to overanalyze it as to whether there are
logical gaps in the plot (I suspect there are in this case.) I
just go with the flow and enjoy the journey.
Phil Gigante’s reading is flawless and I especially
liked the voice he used for Pilgrim – it really seemed to fit
the character to a “t.” I am recommending this as one of
the best thrillers of the year.
THE MOONPOOL by P.T. Deutermann (Brilliance
Audio, Unabridged, $36.95). Read by Mel Foster.
Ratings: Book: B+ Reader: A- Cam Richter, head of
a private investigation agency in Wilmington, North Carolina
is shocked to find out that one of his female operatives
has been found dead in a gas station restroom – the
apparent victim of poisoning. But when her body sets off
radiation alarms in the pathologist’s office, high government
officials become suspicious that there may be terrorism
involved with her death – especially since it occurred
so close to the Helios nuclear plant.
Richter is asked by a plant official to look into the
matter and thus begins a somewhat convoluted, but often
interesting (especially the background material on how a
nuclear plant operates) thriller. The only downside for me
was what I perceived as the weak and unconvincing
motivation of the chief villain of the story. If you don’t like
snakes, I’d stay away from this one. There is a really
creepy scene in which Richter is trapped in a structure
made from shipping containers and must do battle against