Play Dirty

June 25, 2007
The seven deadly sins help propel this provocative, sex-fueled thriller from bestseller Brown (Ricochet
). Foster Speakman, an eccentric Texas paraplegic millionaire, offers $500,000 to Griff Burkett, a disgraced former NFL quarterback fresh out of prison after serving a five-year sentence for racketeering, to impregnate Foster's wife, Laura. Foster insists the child be conceived naturally (“The way God intended”). Broke with no prospects, Griff takes the job. Meanwhile, Stanley Rodarte, the crooked detective behind Griff's arrest, is bent on pinning an unsolved murder on him and takes to terrorizing Griff and those close to him in the hopes of nailing him when he self-destructs. After Griff's stint as stud takes a bad turn, the ex-footballer must track down the one man who can secure his freedom. The tension builds as lust, greed, pride, wrath and envy threaten to undo everyone in this tightly told tale of modern temptation.

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Griff Burkett faces hatred from the public after his release from prison for point shaving. Foster Speakman, a wealthy businessman who is paraplegic, wants to pay Griff to father a child with his wife, Laura, and pass the child off as Foster's own. The thick Texas accent that Victor Slezak provides Griff is tinged with a defensiveness that captures his resentment of the service he agrees to provide for the Speakmans. Laura's tones reflect her conflicted feelings toward Griff. Soon murder draws the two together, and as the story continues, Griff's evolution from a bitter, hardened man to a caring one is reflected in his voice as he falls in love with Laura. Slezak's ability to imbue each character with a distinctive voice is impressive. S.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine