Author – David Hewson
Narrators – Jonathan Davis and Ramon de Ocampo
Publisher – Audible Original
Date – December 2019
Length – 10 hours 30 minutes
Stars – 4.5/5
Review
I am fairly new to Audible having subscribed for the last 5 months and listened to 5 books so far. I am still making my mind up as to whether audiobooks are for me. I struggle to keep up sometimes and find myself distracted but still I have enjoyed this latest novel.
Shooter in the Shadows is a crime thriller and bases itself around a journalist come author, Tom Honeyman. The book reads in two different times in two separate places. Present day in Venice and many years previously in New York. The book centres around a tragedy that took place in New York, Honeyman’s hometown, resulting in the death of a teacher and a student at a local school. Honeyman has written a book about the tragedy which places a local fireman very much in the limelight. So much so that this unfortunate fellow is killed when the police come to arrest him. The public seem to take the media’s word for it that the police got the right guy.
Fast forward a few years later. Honeyman has made a good amount of money selling the story but his relationship with his daughter is still fractious since his wife’s apparent suicide in the interim. Honeyman finds himself held hostage on a remote Italian island by a man who talks to him through a walkie-talkie and is able to hack into his computer. His captor seems to know things that he shouldn’t. Insider knowledge you might say which becomes the undoing of Honeyman. He is tasked to write a new story with ‘the truth’ and has only four days to do so whilst his daughter is also held hostage by the same man.
There is a cracking twist in this story that I didn’t see coming. At points it had me on the edge of my seat and, at times, I would finish my journey home from work but be sat in my car for another 20 minutes outside my house whilst the chapter finished. It really hooked me. Well written and the characters are developed nicely with thorough backstories. There is also a nice glimpse into the life of a writer and the struggles in getting published as told by Honeyman. I thought this was a great way for the author to draw on his own experience and add to the authenticity of the story.
I think some credit needs to go to the narrators too and Audible for editing this work into such a compelling listen. The narrators are able to capture you from the very first chapter and keep you listening. If all audiobooks were this exciting, I think I would more inclined to listen to them.
Overall, an excellent listen! Has anyone else listened to it? Let me know your thoughts.
The Kindle Book Reviewer 