Keeps You Guessing
Fly-fishing guide Jake Trent catches far more than he bargained for when he comes to the aid of a friend whose girlfriend has disappeared—just the beginning of a thriller that runs the gamut of seemingly unrelated plot twists. From China to Jackson, Wyoming, to Washington, D.C., the story of murder, political corruption and greed, involving a host of odd and suspicious characters will confuse and exhaust many a listener. But eventually, author David Riley Bertsch appears to connect all the dots, and the bad guys get what’s coming to them. Narrator Peter Berkrot did a top-notch job, with the perfect tone, emphasis and characterization in River of No Return, the second book in the Jake Trent series. The book would have benefitted from tighter editing, and more consideration for the nuances of an audiobook. Two different characters, Schue and Xiao (both pronounced “Shoe”) wouldn’t confuse the hardbook reader, but might have the audiobook listener scratching his or her head. Also, two other characters, each with the uncommon first name of “Layle,” may cause the listener to hit the rewind button, or the reader to flip back many pages, to ascertain which Layle died halfway through the book. Overall, it’s a suspenseful mystery that will keep the listener guessing until the very end.