Layover

May 27, 2019
Frequent business traveler Joshua Fields, the nice guy narrator of this fast-paced thriller from Bell (Somebody’s Daughter), is in the Atlanta airport when he bumps into an attractive woman, Morgan Reynolds, who, after a second encounter, agrees to join him for a drink while they wait for their respective flights. They sit down in a bar, where Joshua immediately feels close to the obviously troubled Morgan. On parting, she gives him a passionate kiss, but warns that “we’re never going to see each other again.” In Kentucky, Det. Kimberly Givens struggles to resolve two missing persons’ cases. When one victim turns up at an abandoned family amusement park, the police focus their hunt on finding Morgan, who they suspect of killing the person found in the amusement park. Meanwhile, Joshua, who’s dissatisfied with his mundane home life and job, pursues Morgan across the country. As the suspense grows, the question remains: is she guilty of murder or just a damsel in distress? Bell keeps the reader guessing whodunit until the end. Fans of romantic sentimental thrillers will find a lot to like. Agent: Massie & McQuilkin.

Narrator Robbie Daymond is well matched to 20-something Joshua Fields, who meets and shares a drink and a brief, passionate kiss with the beautiful, enigmatic Morgan on a layover in Atlanta. After they part, Joshua abandons what he feels is his vacuous life to pursue--or some might say stalk--Morgan. The listening experience becomes somewhat challenging when the point of view switches back and forth from Joshua's to that of a female police detective who is struggling between succeeding at work and co-parenting a preteen daughter. Daymond, who so convincingly voices Joshua, is less successful with the story's female characters. What starts out as a promising plot--a brief liaison on a layover--turns into a credulity-stretching listening experience. E.Q. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine