Those Who Wish Me Dead

April 21, 2014
A lack of morally complex characters facing tough ethical choices makes this fast-paced thriller a lesser effort for Edgar finalist Koryta (The Prophet). At an abandoned quarry in Indiana, 13-year-old Jace Wilson, who’s just jumped into the quarry’s pool, sees two men in police uniform cut a man’s throat and toss him into the water. The killers chase Jace after finding his clothes, but he manages to escape. Jamie Bennett, a former U.S. Marshal, places Jace in the care of a friend of hers, survival trainer Ethan Serbin, who takes him along on a wilderness training program that he runs for troubled youths in Montana, though Ethan doesn’t know which of the seven boys he’ll be instructing needs witness protection. Inevitably, the two creepy killers get on Ethan’s trail. For someone as smart as Ethan is supposed to be, he fails to anticipate an obvious move on the part of the killers, leading to the first of several developments that many readers will view as contrived. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management.

Robert Petkoff flexes his considerable vocal talents in this thriller, set mostly in Montana. He's convincing as bewildered teen Jace Wilson, witness to a murder and now being hidden from his killers in a wilderness survival program. Petkoff's characterizations of the murderous Blackwell brothers will send shivers down every listener's spine. The suspense is almost unbearable, and Petkoff's timing never falters as Jace flees through the mountains with fire and the killers at his heels. He finds an ally in fire watcher Hannah Faber. Petkoff draws listeners into this thrilling story of survival and doesn't let go. C.A.T. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine