Chance

Constance, Book 2

By: Matthew FitzSimmons

Narrated by: Michael Crouch

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

A clone plays a dangerous game of life, death, memory, and murder in a twisting thriller by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Matthew FitzSimmons.

Cloning is a luxury for the wealthy. For Chance Harker, it’s a way of getting on with his lives. Five years ago, when he was sixteen, he and his brother, Marley, were murdered in a kidnapping gone wrong. Chance was revived—and his grieving parents met his existence with anger, neglect, and aversion. The public, though? They can’t get enough of the death-defying stunts he has parlayed into a social media spectacle.

But after Chance’s latest “refresh,” he awakens to accusations that he’s killed Lee Conway, a stranger Chance has never met. Has one of his clones? With no memory of his previous selves, and working fast before he’s arrested, Chance digs into Conway’s background, the mysteries of his own life—and death—and the tragic abduction that tore his family apart.

All Chance has to do is stay ahead of the LAPD; his kidnappers, who are back on the hunt; and a growing mob of incensed protesters outraged that a rich clone appears to be getting away with murder.

©2023 Planetarium Station, Inc. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Fitzsimmons's thought-provoking novel delves into the possible conflicts and ethical considerations arising from human cloning, for society and for individuals who have been cloned. Narrator Michael Crouch delivers the story with a scratchy, melancholy voice that is just right for Chance. Readers of gripping and provocative futuristic novels should enjoy. Share with fans of Scott Britz-Cunningham's Interface or Blake Crouch's Upgrade.”—Library Journal

“FitzSimmons hooks readers with the clone angle and then expertly mixes SF and mystery tropes till he’s implicated every party in sight in some sort of crime or coverup. A seriously playful novel of ideas.”—Kirkus Reviews

Nice follow-up for this new series

Iwas really looking forward to the next Gibson Vaughan book when I saw that Matthew FitzSimmons started a new series with Constance, and what a change the new series is. Really enjoyed Constance and Chance and hoping he keeps both series going.

Great read

I enjoyed this mystery very much! Really entertaining from start to finish! One of the best I’ve read recently.

Good second book in the series

I really enjoyed this second book in the series. Narration was great and kept my attention. Great sequel to first book. Hope there will be a third in the series

Mind-Challenging!

A smart and thought-challenging sequel to ‘Constance.” The plot continues to get intricately woven, until resolution begins to unfold. Enjoyed it thoroughly, and highly recommend!

Lackluster follow-up

I loved Constance enough that I pre-ordered this as soon as it was available. Sadly the two-prongs of this tale lack the intrigue and depth of the first book. One side sort of fizzled, and the other just filled in gaps of what felt obvious mid-way through story. It was fine overall, but not something I would recommend very strongly.

Fantastic!

Even better than the first in the series. Listened to this in 1 day. Another great book from Matthew Fitzsimmons. Narration was perfect. Loved this book!

Take a chance, you won’t regret it.

I liked Constance and read it for irs novel premise. I thought it got bogged down in establishing details of the world it inhabited to the detriment of the story. No so Chance. The story is a hoot. I didn’t crack the mystery until shortly before the reveal and that was fun. The author gives a much better “feel” of the mind of a reanimated person. I found the prose jaunty and crackling. The trader was terrific and just as I avoid books with great authors but bad readers, I will now listen to books I dont care for if Mr. $$$$ is the reader. I didn’t give 5 stars to book because it’s obvioythe author is just warming up. I anticipate his next book will attain the Extraordinary 5stars. But until then, read this one. It’s better than the first and zips along at a jumpy pace. I won’t recap the story except to say a supporting character carries through from book one and may be our spirit guide through all the books, if only she can live to tell.

Hoping for a third (and fourth)!

I pre-ordered this sequel to Constance and was not disappointed. I enjoyed the suspense, the action without graphic description and excellent character development. I enjoyed Constance's story and Chance's story and hope there are more to come.

Interesting Enough

Great narrator and performance, with an interesting take on clones as well as some great insights on extreme wealth. The story line was a bit winding and unbelievable at times.

Fascinating

View of cloning and how many ways it can play out. Excellent job showing how the human heart/mind works.