Love You to Death
Charlie D. Mysteries, Book 1
by Gail Bowen
Narrator: Daniel Maté
Audio Book Length: 1 Hr 34 Min
# of Audio CD's: 2
Download ISBN: 978-1-927401-74
Post Hypnotic Press
Genre: Mystery
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0
Charlie D is the host of a successful late-night radio call-in show. His listeners have a particularly intimate relationship with him and often reveal much about themselves, confident that he will honor their trust and that he can save them. In their minds, he is perfect: one of life's winners. But Charlie feels he's something of a fake. His easy confidence on-air belies the reality for a man born with a wine-colored birthmark that covers half his face. Love You to Death covers one hour on "The World According to Charlie D"--an hour during which he must both discover the long-time listener who is killing the people who trust him and attempt to come to terms with the man behind the birthmark.
Review:
Charlie D has a popular night time radio talk show where he fields calls from many troubled callers who use his show as a type of suicidal ‘crisis’ line. Sometimes he directs them to professional help and sometimes he takes their calls privately to soothe them in times of urgency. The callers view Charlie D as a winner who encourages them to do better and see more in themselves. The callers don't realize that Charlie has his own reasons to feel desperate about life at times so he has a lot of empathy for his callers.
Two of his regular call-in fans have been found dead. The police suspect another fan who has fixated on Charlie D, and wants to eliminate the competition. They set up a call show for “Obsessed Lovers” hoping to draw out the killer. The police, including a police psychologist, are at the studio listening to every call. Not only are Charlie D’s fans in danger but, with the murderer trying to get to Charlie, can the police protect Charlie and his show producer, Nova?
This is a very engaging, quick sound bite, mystery. The villain is an appropriately twisted psychopath. I enjoyed the introduction to Charlie and Nova who have their quirks and a solid working relationship. I recommend this to mystery lovers and it is perfect when you want a quick listen/read to enjoy.
Audio Notes: The narration was spot on for the story, with the narrator appropriately conveying the nuances of voices, personalities and emotions. Stay tuned as I am looking forward to more ‘rapid reads’ and night time talk line with Charlie D.
I received this audio book from Post Hypnotic Press for an honest review.
