Three-Day Affair

Starred review from July 2, 2012
A momentary lapse of judgment leads to dire consequences in Kardos’s excellent first novel, a crime thriller sure to please fans of Scott Smith’s A Simple Plan. Musician Will Walker has recovered, mostly, from the trauma of seeing a fellow band member killed right next to him, the innocent victim of a drive-by shooting, by the time he and his wife leave Manhattan for the New Jersey suburbs to start over. As the couple gear up for parenthood, Will notes that “violent crime was about the farthest thing from my mind, until the night when I helped one of my best friends kidnap a young woman.” That surprising crime follows the arrival in Newfield, N.J., of two college friends of Will’s, politician Nolan Albright and Internet millionaire Jeffrey Hocks, for a reunion. While the three are out for a drive, just after Will has persuaded the other two to invest in his plan to start a record label, Jeffrey emerges from a convenience store with a hostage in tow—for no good reason. Kardos (One Last Good Time, a story collection) makes the most of his intriguing setup, populated with plausible characters and enhanced by a vicious closing sting. Agent: Jody Klein, Brandt & Hochman Literary.

October 29, 2012
Narrator Ray Chase delivers a strong, subtle performance in this audio edition of Kardos’s debut novel. Will Walker, a onetime drummer in a rock band, is looking forward to the annual get-together with his old college friends. But what should have been a fun weekend of drinking beer, playing golf, and reliving old times takes a dramatic turn when one of the friends attempts to rob a convenience store and ends up kidnapping the young girl cashier. Chase all but embodies first-person narrator Will, providing him with a perfect everyman quality that lends an easy, believable simplicity to his storytelling. Because of Chase’s compelling narration, listeners will be pulled into this sometimes dark, often compelling, and always intriguing story. A Mysterious Press hardcover.

February 1, 2013

An annual golf weekend for three old college buddies shifts to the dark side when Jeffrey requests a convenience store stop. Seconds later, he races back to the car, the teenage clerk in tow. Responding to his friend's urgency, Will tears out of the lot, unaware for the moment that Jeffrey has involved them in robbery and kidnapping. Short story writer Kardos's first novel is a masterpiece of timing, driving an improbable incident into an explication of friendship, revenge, and murder as the men painfully extract themselves from potential disaster. Relatively new to audiobooks, Ray Chase narrates, his vocal quality, accents, and pacing flawless. VERDICT Surprises abound in this suspense-filled, character-driven novel that is sure to please listeners who want more than just action in a thriller. ["This debut thriller...by an award-winning short story writer (One Last Good Time) takes you on an unexpected journey. As you read, you think you know which way the author is driving the narrative, only to have it swerve several times before the fascinating conclusion," read the review of the Mysterious Pr: Grove/Atlantic hc, LJ 8/12.--Ed.]--Janet Martin, Southern Pines P.L., NC

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