"" Writer's Wanderings: Books for The Road - Audio Book: Long Lost

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Books for The Road - Audio Book: Long Lost


On our recent road trip to Florida and back, I borrowed three audio books from the library. They made the miles and the hours fly by with little notice. Of the three, my favorite was Harlan Coben's Long Lost. It was a story of intrigue and action-packed. Harvard-educated sports agent/private eye Myron Bolitar who has appeared as protagonist in earlier books, finds himself in the middle of an unbelievable terrorist plot which Coben renders quite believable and keeps you reading. . .er, listening as was our case. It starts with Bolitar's breakup with 9/11 widow Ali and a phone call from, who else, a lovely woman from his past who is desparate for his help. His path takes him into murder, a mystery involving DNA and surrogacy as well as a maniacal plot put together by terrorists

While the story gets very tense at times, Coben adds a bit of comic relief with the wry humor of his characters. In places there also seems to be a bit of an underlying political agenda but it doesn't interfer with the great storytelling of a master suspense writer.

Travel Tip: If you decide to borrow audio books to play on a road trip be sure to get more than you need. I have found that sometimes I start listening and don't like the way the narrator sounds or don't like the story or perhaps find the CD or tape doesn't play right. Then you have some backup rather than listening to staticky radio stations that fade out every half hour.

And a new twist: We also listened to a James Patterson book (Run For Your Life). It had two narrators--one was almost a monotone, the other one sounded like Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel--and sound effects. Trust me, it is very unnerving to be driving along the freeway in the middle of nowhere and unexpectedly hear gunshots. That was one book I might have preferred reading the old fashioned way.

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