Dark Ride

A Thriller

By: Lou Berney

Narrated by: Johnathan McClain

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

FINALIST FOR THE LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE!

From Lou Berney, the acclaimed, multi award-winning author of November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone, comes a Dark Ride

Sometimes the person you least expect is just the hero you need

Twenty-one-year-old Hardy “Hardly” Reed—good-natured, easygoing, usually stoned—is drifting through life. A minimum-wage scare actor at an amusement park, he avoids unnecessary effort and unrealistic ambitions.

Then one day he notices two children, around six or seven, sitting all alone on a bench. Hardly checks if they’re okay and sees injuries on both children. Someone is hurting these kids.

He reports the incident to Child Protective Service.

That should be the end of it. After all, Hardly's not even good at looking out for himself so the last thing he wants to do is look out for anyone else. But he's haunted by the two kids, his heart breaking for them. And the more research he does the less he trusts that Child Protective Services—understaffed and overworked—will do anything about it.

That leaves…Hardly. He is probably the last person you’d ever want to count on. But those two kids have nobody else but him. Hardly has to do what's right and help them.

For the first time in his life, Hardly decides to fight for something. This might be the one point in his entire life, he realizes, that is the entire point of his life. He will help those kids.

At first, trying to gather evidence that will force the proper authorities to intervene, Hardly is a total disaster. Gradually, with assistance from unexpected allies, he develops investigative skills and discovers he’s smarter and more capable than he ever imagined.

But Hardly also discovers that the situation is more dangerous than he ever expected. The abusive father who has been hurting these children isn’t just a lawyer—he also runs a violent drug-dealing operation. The mother claims she wants to escape with the kids—but Hardly isn't sure he can trust her.

Faced with a different version of himself than he has ever known, Hardly refuses to give up. But his commitment to saving these kids from further harm might end up getting the kids, and Hardly himself, killed.

©2023 Lou Berney (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Fabulous narration

McClain was fabulous. His embodiment of Hardly really took it up a notch. To me, this was a coming of age story, even if the main character was older than most COA characters. It’s dark though, so don’t expect a feel good story.

just ok

This was just OK. The story was rather boring and didn't hold my attention throughout. The narration was...interesting. I found it overdone, overly dramatic, and ultimately distracting. I appreciate the effort not to sound like a boring robot, but it was a bit too much for my listening tastes.

Hardly deserved a better ending.

I am so tired of emotionally investing in a character for a really negative payoff.

Bad Ending

I was really cheering for Hardly.
I thought his life was changing to become a productive adult. Felt like the author just got tired….

Engaging, Well Written, Funny

This was a really enjoyable and interesting novel. the development of the main character and his slow journey to having a more meaningful life from a life of just passive existence was one that is done often but this was done uniquely and with a subtlety and heart that is not always found in antihero stories. The plot was engaging and I found myself trying to go on this journey to think more critically with the main character trying to see all the angles before they were revealed. Ultimately with the read well developed plot and characters. I thought the reader for the audio was great, really gave a whole extra shape and dimension to the characters and story. The audio definitely gets loud in places so be prepared to adjust your volume if you're sensitive to noise fluctuations.

Happy Ending?

In today’s culture, I have a standard, that I only listen to things with happy endings, while the story does not have a happy ending, I’m still glad I listen to it.

Amusing, Dark and Hopeful work

This was a craftily written and compassionate slice of the fictionalized human experience. It was fun, clever and kept me engaged. Thank you Mr. Berney!

Also, I thought the reader was excellent. The book read more like a script and the reader read it that way.

Good Story

This story is awesome....but the ending was completely wrong. I got attached to Hardly and would have had a different ending for the reader. not right at all.

Conversational text

This book grabbed me from the very beginning. The narrator is one of the best I’ve heard. I could actually picture the main character. His conversations with himself and others are so realistic. I was riveted until the end. This is Lou’s best. What a great writer!

Too “Dark;” disappointing and terribly read

It took everything in me not to turn off Audible and return this book in the first five minutes—the narration is jarringly bad, bordering on shrieking at some points. But “The Long and Faraway Gone” is an all-time favorite, so I endured. I wish I hadn’t. Though fast paced and engaging early, this story takes symbolism and shoves it in your face. Metaphors are over explained and then explained again. Even though it’s obvious where the story is headed, I was unprepared for the very gratuitous ending and left feeling disturbed and disappointed. A story has to earn an ending this dark. Berney lets down here.