audiobook review: The Accident by Chris Pavone

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narrated by Mozhan Marno

 The backstory: A few months ago, I listened to Chris Pavone's debut thriller, The Expats, and loved it. When I saw his follow-up was also narrated by Mozhan Marno, it moved to the top of my audiobook queue.

 The basics: Featuring some of the same characters as The Expats, The Accident is the story of an anonymous manuscript of the same name. The manuscript implicates many famous people and its release could have devastating consequences. The narrative begins with a publisher receiving a copy of the manuscript. Pavone intersperses key sections of the manuscript itself as the novel's events unfold.

 My thoughts: As a reader, book blogger and librarian, I'm pretty tuned into the business side of publishing, but The Accident takes the reader deep into the publishing business, and it was a fascinating subplot. It's actually hard to decide which plots are subplots in this novel. There are many characters and locations, but the narrative never felt muddy. As is often the case with novels featuring multiple characters in different places, I keep reading (or in this case listening) to see each character one more time. The Accident's addicting storyline had me listening any chance I could. When it ended, I found myself a little sad to leave these characters--and sad there aren't any more Pavone books to read.

 The verdict: The Accident is a tight, twisty thriller. It's salacious and suspenseful, but it also mines human emotions deeply. It's a worthy sophomore novel, and it cemented Chris Pavone as a gifted storyteller whose new books I will continue to look forward to.

Audio thoughts: Mozhan Marno has definitely emerged as one of my favorite narrators. She's now in Cassandra Campbell territory--I will listen to almost anything she narrates. Even more fun: when one character from The Expats appeared in The Accident, I said out loud (she sounds like [spoiler], and I was right.)

 Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Length: 11 hours 39 minutes (402 pages)
Publication date: March 11, 2014
Source: library

 Convinced? Treat yourself! Buy The Accident from Amazon (Kindle edition.)

Want more? Visit Chris Pavone's website and like him on Facebook.

As an affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!

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