Starred review from March 26, 2012
Set in a small western Massachusetts college town, bestseller Katzenbach’s impressively powerful and emotional thriller delves into dementia, teenage angst, and Internet voyeurism. After receiving a diagnosis of degenerative dementia, a slow but sure death sentence, Adrian Thomas, a retired professor alone in the world who has “spent much of his academic life studying fear,” decides to go home and shoot himself, but fate intervenes. When Adrian pulls into his driveway, he witnesses a man and a woman in an unmarked van kidnap 16-year-old Jennifer Riggins, who’s running away from home. The couple have seized Jennifer to star in Whatcomesnext.com, a Web site where viewers watch the girl’s torture in real time. Despite his failing mind, Adrian is able to use the psychological insights he gleaned as a professor to hunt for Jennifer. The tense plot smoothly shifts between Adrian, who teams with a skeptical, compassionate detective, and the captive girl. Katzenbach (The Wrong Man) avoids the clichés of dementia, while deftly showing the inner resolve that Adrian and Jennifer each discover in themselves. Agent: Moses Cardona, John Hawkins & Associates.
July 30, 2012
Katzenbach’s latest thriller charts the efforts of retired college professor Adrian Thomas to solve a kidnapping he witnessed on the usually peaceful streets of his picturesque New England town. His journey leads him into a sinister world of unspeakable sexual exploitation, available for viewing via the Internet with just a few clicks of a mouse. William Roberts turns in an effective, nuanced performance in this audio edition. His evocative reading captures the horror of the dark basement in which Jennifer Riggins finds herself held hostage, and his rendition of Jennifer’s inner monologue is sincere and touching. Roberts also successfully navigates a potential minefield in his balanced portrayal of the convicted sex offender who uses his unsavory experiences and desires to help Adrian work the case and attempt to free Jennifer. And while Roberts occasionally fails to distinguish the book’s male characters during sections of dialogue, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise entertaining listen. A Mysterious Press hardcover.