Altheide makes the most of this complex narrative, which explores reputation, desire, and flawed judgment.
Novelist Steven Hammer’s declining career and strained marriage leave him increasingly drawn to Astrid, the family’s Norwegian au pair. Eric Altheide’s subtle shifts in tone highlight Steven's many missteps of obsession, insecurity, and self-justification. Listeners have front-row seats to a middle-aged man’s inability to transition from fame to obscurity. Altheide portrays Steven's growing fixation on Astrid with mounting tension. His performance maximizes the overlapping circles of passion, manipulation, and power as Steven and Astrid's choices produce larger and larger consequences and a public scandal eventually erupts.
Altheide makes the most of this complex narrative, which explores reputation, desire, and flawed judgment.Pub Date: June 30, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 34 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063457201
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
A wild ride from the opening to the heart-pounding conclusion.
Narrator Alison McGirr is a perfect match for this thriller set in Melbourne, Australia. She masterfully conveys characters, including a terrified 10-year-old boy, through tone, accent, and pace. Listeners are introduced to Detective Sergeant Judith Lee, who is smart, brave, and carrying the burden of a dramatic backstory that influences her every decision. She meets with a university student who reports a psychologist’s inappropriate behavior. When mysterious packages with enigmatic messages are delivered to three seemingly unrelated people, Detective Lee is determined to find the connections between them and the student she met with. For the listener, letters from the past that are interspersed between certain chapters are confusing, but it all makes sense by the end.
A wild ride from the opening to the heart-pounding conclusion.Pub Date: July 21, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 28 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063042322
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
An expert evocation of the gradual collapse of one man’s orderly life.
Narrator Winson Ting gives a haunting portrayal of Tsuneo Asai, a Japanese civil servant whose life unravels as he delves deeper into the death of his wife, Eiko. Vidish Athavale narrates Pico Iyer’s introduction to Matsumoto’s 1971 psychological portrait. Ting’s base line for Asai is restrained and socially appropriate, but the tension steadily increases when Asai meets the woman in whose shop Eiko died and notices discrepancies in her story. Through careful control of pace and tone, Ting ratchets up the tension with a trembling voice, strained whispers, and tight pauses, revealing how Asai’s veneer of diligence and obedience begins to crack as he uncovers clues that dismantle his moral compass.
An expert evocation of the gradual collapse of one man’s orderly life.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs, 33 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217343171
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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