Head Wounds

Starred review from March 10, 2008
Ex-boxer and former corporate exec Sam Acquillo, now a hard-drinking carpenter living in a run-down cottage on the shores of the Little Peconic Bay in Southampton, N.Y., becomes the prime suspect in the murder of local builder Robbie Milhouser in Knopf’s superb third Hamptons mystery (after
Two Time
and
The Last Refuge
). With the evidence against him almost overwhelming, Acquillo enlists a misfit group of supporters to help him uncover the real killer’s identity. As he digs into the dead man’s troubled past, Acquillo discovers a disturbing link between Milhouser and Acquillo’s current girlfriend, Amanda Battiston. Knopf excels in describing the rustic underpinnings of Long Island’s east end, especially its vast array of eccentric characters. Brisk pacing and sharp dialogue carry the reader along, but it’s the endearing and deeply flawed Acquillo that’s the heart and soul of this exceptional series. How can you go wrong with a philosophizing hero who drinks Absolut, reads Kant, drives a ’67 Grand Prix and has a dog named Eddie Van Halen?

The more one listens to Richard Ferrone narrate HEAD WOUNDS, the more one appreciates how well he crafts the novel's dialogue. Chris Knopf's murder mystery is an excellent story all by itself, the account of how former boxer and former corporate executive Sam Acquillo finds himself the prime suspect in the murder of a local builder in the Hamptons. He responds resourcefully--by recruiting various people to help him find the real killer. Further, the richness of Ferrone's portrayal of Acquillo--a unique soul who reads Kant and has a dog named Eddie van Halen--makes this performance especially outstanding. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Knopf has written a thoroughly entertaining story with excellent plot twists that leave the listener guessing, and ultimately very satisfied. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine