The Return

Jonathan Davis is the perfect narrator for this story of a man with a mission who learns he has a brain aneurysm that's going to kill him. Marder packs up and heads to Mexico with his longtime buddy, Skelly, to avenge the death of his former in-laws who were murdered there by a drug lord. Marder is complex and can be vicious, and Davis milks his character for all the excitement he can generate. Marder and Skelly are ultimately joined by Marder's daughter, Stach, an MIT genius who adds familial complexity to the plot. Davis is especially capable when Marder flashes back to his military service (with Skelly) in Vietnam, when he was a cold-blooded killer. The well-crafted surprise ending is worth waiting for. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

July 22, 2013
The diagnosis of an inoperative brain tumor rouses New York book editor Richard Marder’s desire for revenge in this convoluted, overwrought stand-alone from bestseller Gruber (The Good Son). Feeling he has nothing to lose, Marder puts his business affairs in order and buys a palatial beachfront estate in Mexico, where he plans to spend his last days tracking down the men who murdered his late wife’s parents. Marder enlists the help of a fellow Vietnam vet, Patrick Francis Skelly, and together these old soldiers end up taking on two Mexican drug cartels that are at war with each other. The plot predictably disintegrates into a frenzy of battle scenes as Marder and Skelly, aided by the families who are squatters on the estate’s grounds, make the most of a seemingly unlimited arsenal. Fans of action films starring Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone may be entertained, but readers should be prepared for one-dimensional characters and preposterous twists toward the finale. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House.

Starred review from January 1, 2014

In Gruber's (The Good Son) latest, a retired book editor and his army buddy return to his late wife's Mexican hometown, only to be besieged by vicious drug gangs that covet his property. However, readers of this review should renounce the above plot summary as a lame attempt to summarize a listening experience that surpasses synopsis, trivializes character sketches, transcends its cover illustration, and eclipses any superlatives proffered by reviewers. Gruber's cinematic writing coupled with Jonathan Davis's seamless performance creates a literary thriller that will commandeer all its listeners' waking moments. VERDICT Those who can handle physical and sexual violence will not want the experience of this audiobook to end and afterward will plumb the library catalog for previous Gruber novels in a reading frenzy. Highly recommended. ["Despite some flaws, this novel will please readers who enjoy their thrillers on the literary side," read the review of the Holt hc, LJ Xpress Reviews, 9/13/13.--Ed.]--Judith Robinson, Dept. of Lib. & Information Studies, Univ. at Buffalo

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