Hooked

Listen to the latest from Matt Richtel for a short time--and you're hooked til the end. Richtel's plotting and Kirby Heyborne's narration form a delicious combination. Nat Idle, a medical school graduate, and a journalist of sorts, is nearly killed in a bomb blast that levels an Internet café. Just before the explosion, he's warned to leave via a note purporting to be from his former fiancée. But she disappeared in a boating accident four years earlier. Is she still alive? While the answer is not entirely satisfying, the plotting will keep you guessing. Heyborne delivers a smooth and believable performance that does justice to all the characters. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine


Moments before the cafe he is sitting in blows up, Nat Idle is told to get out by someone who resembles his dead ex-girlfriend, Annie. With his life intact, the journalist in him yearns to put the pieces together. In his pursuit, his answers only yield more questions; further, he discovers that his body and mind are quickly deteriorating. As comprehension dawns, he may be out of time. Jason Singer's soft, determined voice works well for this first-person narration. Though his voices for female and secondary characters aren't noteworthy, he captures Idle's character well. The abridgment, however, seems to have hollowed out the story, especially as its reaches its climax and denouement. L.E. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine