Blue Heaven

There's an almost overwhelming number of characters in this stand-alone from the author of the Joe Pickett series, and John Bedford Lloyd depicts them all proficiently. Whether he's mimicking the town gossip, the tight-lipped hero, the villains, or the two children on the run, Lloyd's rich voice and terse delivery generate almost too much excitement. A 12-year-old girl and her younger brother, having witnessed a murder, are in the woods of northern Idaho, being sought by the killers and the police. For the 48 hours over which the story takes place, Lloyd keeps the children slightly ahead of their pursuers, and the listener right behind them. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

October 15, 2007
At the start of this overly complicated thriller from bestseller Box, his first stand-alone, siblings Annie and William Taylor, ages 12 and 10, witness a gruesome murder in the woods outside the small Idaho town of Kootenai Bay, nicknamed “Blue Heaven” for its abundance of retired LAPD officers. Annie and William make a run for it after they’re spotted by the killers, a group of crooked LAPD cops who retired to Idaho eight years earlier after pulling a complicated heist in California that left a man dead. Rancher Jess Rawlins becomes the children’s only hope of survival after they take refuge in his barn. Jess must stay one step ahead of the killers, who have volunteered to “help” the local authorities investigate the children’s disappearance. Annie and William’s mother is frantic, as the scheming officers try to persuade her the children are gone for good. A subplot involving a retired California detective pursuing the original robbery case adds too many extra characters and undercuts the suspense. Readers expecting the same brisk story lines as the author’s Joe Pickett crime novels (Free Fire
, etc.) will be disappointed. 100,000 first printing; author tour.

Starred review from February 25, 2008
John Bedford Lloyd's rich, distinctive voice brings a strong sense of power to his reading of Box's first stand-alone thriller. In the rural Idaho town of Kootenai Bay, 12-year-old Annie Taylor and her younger brother, William, witness a brutal murder. Immediately the two find themselves being hunted by killers who will stop at nothing to ensure the children's silence. The two find refuge with an old rancher, Jess Rawlins, and recently retired police detective Eduardo Villatoro. Together, the two men make a desperate stand against the murderers despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Lloyd's crisp, laconic delivery easily handles a multitude of characters, accents and shifting points of view, creating just the right tone for the material and drawing the listener deep into the action of the story. He portrays his villains (a band of dirty ex-cops) with just the right amount of ruthless menace without going overboard, and he perfectly captures the essence of the aging rancher, imbuing him with the quiet strength and dignity of an iconic western hero. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 15).