Dead Line

With a range of accents to rival any narrator's and the ability to connect with the stories on the page, Simon Vance's recordings are almost a guaranteed hit. Such is the case with Chris Ewan's thriller. A good deal of this novel takes place within the thoughts of its protagonist, Daniel Trent. Vance's communion with Trent makes those thoughts fully dimensional. Further, each character in the story has a distinctive sound that enhances his or her personality while concealing the plot twists and building the suspense. The plot itself is unexceptional. A man searches for his pregnant fiancée in the midst of another man's kidnapping. But Vance's narration makes this production a thoroughly enjoyable listen. J.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

June 16, 2014
Englishman Daniel Trent, the hero of Ewan’s unexceptional second standalone (after 2012’s Safe House), specializes in the recovery of kidnapping victims. When Trent’s fiancée and business partner, Aimée Paget disappears in France, Trent suspects that his client Jérôme Moreau is responsible. Trent travels to Marseilles to question Moreau, but while he’s tailing his target, armed men in a Land Cruiser force both Trent’s Peugeot and Moreau’s Mercedes off the road and grab Moreau. After the kidnappers speed off, Trent tells Moreau’s “lithe and beautiful” wife, Stephanie, and the suspicious family bodyguard, Alain, both of whom were in the Mercedes, that he was following Moreau to test the adequacy of their security measures. To rescue Aimée, Trent must help secure Moreau’s safe release from the thugs who have seized him. Fans of Ewan’s Good Thief series may find the arrogant Trent a less sympathetic lead than burglar Charlie Howard. Agent: Vivien Green, Sheil Land Associates (U.K.).