THE DESERTER

Go-to narrator Scott Brick delivers this first installment of a planned trilogy featuring Army CIS officer Scott Brodie and his partner, Maggie Taylor. The pair are in Venezuela looking for Delta Force deserter Kyle Mercer. Brick narrates in his usual breathless style, which is perfectly suited to this page-turning thriller, coauthored by father and son. The plot takes a while to get going, with numerous false starts and wrong turns, but the characters' one-liners--delivered with great timing by Brick--keep the pace up. While the elements of character, plot, and setting don't always hold together, the descriptions of a country ravaged by corruption are oddly mesmerizing, especially as delivered by Brick. L.W.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2019]