I have been a fan of David Morrell since his earlier books and so, although I have only known him in print, I looked forward to this audiobook. No disappointments there; the story is an intriguing one, with a child disappearing, and then the action shifts forward a few decades to find his brother a successful architect with a family of his own. Following a TV appearance, he is contacted by a number of people claiming to be the lost sibling. Then one provides the background to prove his claim.

There follows a predictable period of getting to know one another before the dark side takes over and the "long lost brother" disappears with the hero's family. I will not spoil the ending by revealing too much.

In general I enjoyed the story in Morrell's latest book, but some of the production made me wish I had read the adventure rather than listened. The plot and construction is well crafted, but somehow it did not translate well to the spoken word. The language sounded rather na•ve at times. Perhaps a more dynamic adaptation would have suited it better.

Overall, it was very enjoyable and it will satisfy mystery fans but I think I might have preferred the print version.

[ by Nicky Rossiter ]
Rambles: 20 July 2002