American Outrage

Jake Carlson is an investigative reporter whose 13-year-old adopted son, Sam, wants to learn the identity of his biological mother. Even though Jake is juggling a high-profile television career and his grief over his wife's recent death, he agrees. Scott Brick portrays Jake's many emotions, using perfect timing and a dramatic narration to increase suspense as Jake sifts through layers of dirt hiding a truth that would make an incredible exposé if he didn't care so much about his son. Brick zips in and out of roles as he becomes ruthless Eastern-European gangsters involved in international child trafficking, a high-born corrupt politician, and a determined Sam who risks danger to solve the mystery of his past. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

February 5, 2007
Bestseller Green (Kingdom Come
) introduces a tough, appealing hero in his action-packed 12th thriller. Jake Carlson, a correspondent for the tabloid TV news show American Outrage
, based in New York City, has softened his hard line a bit after his wife's recent death, but is still capable of going for the jugular when necessary for a hot story. On the home front, to help his preteen adopted son, Sam, get over his grief, Jake agrees to try and track down Sam's biological mother. This simple request goes from bad to worse once pseudo-celebrity Jake starts asking questions about the boy's supposed Albanian roots. After Jake is drugged and shot at, his personal life becomes tabloid fodder as his own colleagues ruthlessly chase down the story. When Sam disappears, Jake gets serious and sets out to do whatever it takes to bring his son back, regardless of who pays the price. Green's tale is ripe with irony and full of barbs.

When Sam Carlson asks his adoptive father to find his real mother, trash TV reporter Jake Carlson sees the chance to improve his career. But once Carlson starts on the investigation, he finds that the story behind his adopted son is more fascinating--and more dangerous--than he ever thought. Jesse Bernstein reads more often than he performs, but he gets the job done. As it stands, Tim Green's novel maintains interest on the strength of his writing. Bernstein sounds young enough for most of the roles, and he plays a convincing a street-tough television producer. However, he falls short on the older characters, such as the elder antagonist, who may or may not be Sam's grandfather. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

March 1, 2007
Sure, Jake Carlson is making big bucks as a reporter on the tabloid news show " American Outrage," but the former foreign correspondent is ashamed of his job, and his personal life is a mess, too. Widowed for a year, he's struggling to keep his 13-year-old adopted son, Sam, on the straight and narrow. Jake finds a renewed sense of purpose, though, when Sam convinces him to help find his birth mother. He knows the hunt will be difficult, but he doesn't realize just how challenging until he starts asking questions. The head of the agency Jake used for the adoption had died, and there's no trace of the agency, which had been operating slightly under the radar, funneling babies from Albania to the U.S. for couples desperate for children. As Jake attempts to tie his investigation into a story to bolster his waning popularity at " American Outrage," he and Sam become the target of violence and revenge. Genre veteran Green hits his stride here, with his best novel since his early football thrillers (" Outlaws" , 1996). (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)