Steve Manke

This version of the audiobook was a special production by Audible. Each character was represented by a separate narrator, so there was a pervasive cast of voice talent. The experience was much more like the radio dramas of a pre-television era. All in all, a unique and enjoyable experience.

I'll have to compare this version of the book to the original at some point because this recreation is entirely dialog based. There is absolutely no exposition in the telling of the tale. Only spoken action is represented in the dramatic portrayal. That must have required some editorial work because the story holds up. I suspect some revision was made to give the narrators a unique preset point of view for this to work the way it did.

Credit to Audible for bringing these talented narrators together and making this production successful.

A clever plot, great characters, and some fantastic twists that kept spinning in different directions right up until the end. I really enjoyed the book.

The phrase, meah, comes to mind. It was a good enough adventure in the end, but if you're a fan of the Gideon Crew books and the Ice Limit releases specifically, this just falls short. The characters are watercolor versions of their prior representations and I was hard pressed to become invested as a reader. It's worth reading. It's just not a book that brings anything of consequence to the series. In that, I am disappointed.

I read this for the first time years ago. Now, after 18 Harvath books, I wanted to go back to the beginning to remind myself how it all began. I recall Scot being a very different character at the start and wasn't disappointed. If anything, I think the early books showed a Harvath with a little more emotional range. It was before he became the hero who didn't make mistakes. Going back to his time with the Secret Service was a great deal of fun.

If you liked the show, you'll like the book. It takes place shortly after the events of the Veronica Mars movie, which was a cool piece of continuity. And all of your favorite characters are represented. The audiobook is even narrated by Kristen Bell. On top of the everything, the underlying mystery was well staged and consistently paced. It could have driven an entire season of the show or another movie. No matter how you look at it, it was entertaining and fun.