The Driver

May 29, 2017
Los Angeles limousine driver Michael Skellig, the hero of Hanson’s nimbly plotted first novel, has spent the past 28 hours ferrying around Bismarck Avila, a celebrity skateboard mogul. A former Special Forces sergeant, Michael is waiting outside a Santa Monica hotel for his client when he believes he hears the voice of the Chechen torturer he killed a decade before in Yemen warning him of danger. He runs inside the hotel just in time to save Avila—but not one of his bodyguards—from two gunmen. Michael wakes up hours later in the hospital only to discover that the police suspect him of the murder. Avila will vouch for Michael with the LAPD—if Michael agrees to become his full-time personal chauffeur. But the job is more than just driving Avila: Michael needs to find—and stop—the person who’s targeting the skateboarder. Hanson, creator of the TV series Bones, melds well-placed bits of humor with a serious look at the emotional trials of returning veterans. The energetic plot demands a sequel. Agents: Eve Attermann and Claudia Ballard, William Morris Endeavor.

Narrator Ari Fliakos fully inhabits the character of Michael Skellig. The former Army Special Forces officer operates an L.A.-based limo company with fellow veterans, some of whom suffer from severe PTSD. After Skellig foils an assassination attempt upon a celebrity client, he and his friends are drawn into a deadly money-laundering scheme. Fliakos's droll delivery is a perfect match for Skellig's endearing mix of pragmatism and whimsy. Apart from portraying Skellig, Fliakos's range is stretched a little thin by the diverse supporting cast, but his narration still works. Ultimately, Fliakos's performance compensates for an undercooked plot, and Skellig's musings on Hippocrates, relationships, and proper corpse disposal are well worth one's listening time. A.T.N. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine