Cash Burn

By: Michael Berrier

Narrated by: Jeff Hays

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Jason Dunn is an executive overseeing billions of dollars flowing through his clients' accounts. He's perched high on the corporate ladder, but after one mistake he falls with a crash, barely keeping his job. When his new lover has an idea to cash in and disappear with her, the temptation to burn the institution that burned him is too enticing to resist.

©2011 Michael Berrier (P)2014 Michael Berrier

Entertaining thriller

Would you listen to Cash Burn again? Why?

If I was looking for an entertaining thriller to listen to with others or to distract me, say on a long car trip, I would definitely consider Cash Burn again. As far my regular audiobook consumption I think think most of the books appeal comes from the first listen, when the characters and story are still unknown.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

If you enjoy thrillers like those by Clive Cussler or John Grisham then I would recommend Cash Burn. It is a fun paperback listen. If you're looking for something deep or substantial this isn't it.

To me the first half of the story was slower than I would have liked and as a result it took awhile to get pulled into the story. The second half, while more exciting, felt contrived (in a Clive Cussler kind of way, which isn't necessarily bad for thrillers). About half way through, when a major plot element was added, I almost immediately had a pretty good idea how it was going to end.

What about Jeff Hays’s performance did you like?

Jess Hays did an excellent job narrating. It seemed like he thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and it was definitely NOT a monotone or boring narration. His rendition was very active and helped make the story more exciting!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The first half of the book was slow and I kept putting it down. The second half was much more exciting and despite knowing where the story was going I definitely wanted to finish it all one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I think Cash Burn was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining thriller.

Depressing but still entertaining

Where does Cash Burn rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Cash Burn was great to listen to and it was pretty well-written. It's one of the better audiobooks I have listened to. Excellent performance, the writing was excellent as well, the story was good. I liked how Berrier brought smells and images clearly to the mind's eye with descriptive language and metaphors.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Cash Burn?

My absolute favorite moment in the book is when Jason says to Brenda "who's your friend, and who's her daddy?" I literally laughed out loud in that moment. My other favorite part of the book is the walk that Jason goes on with Miles, and the conversation that ensued. I am not a religious person at all but I enjoyed Miles speaking of God, I found it gorgeous.

What about Jeff Hays’s performance did you like?

I really liked Jeff's performance, he was good about switching between characters, which all sounded different. I enjoyed the movie preview voice he takes on during narrative parts, and I especially enjoyed the voices of Miles and Peavy. I really felt Tom's anger when he spoke, and I got a kick out of the women's voices. Jeff did really well portraying the women, especially since his voice is so low.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did want to listen to it in one sitting, but it took two. I am kinda bummed it is over so I might have to go buy more books now.

Any additional comments?

My criticism of the book is that I had figured out the ending maybe halfway through, which I was disappointed about because I wanted it to be more mysterious than it actually was. Also, I found it was awfully sad. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I guess part of me wanted a happy ending for at least one of the main characters (Brenda notwithstanding)
I didn't really like Brenda. I think I didn't like her because it seemed like she was lying through the whole story. Keep writing Berrier!

Slow build to a great end

The description of this book focuses on Jason Dunn, banker and possible corporate revenge artist. But this is really only half the story. Interlaced with Jason's story is the story of his brother, Flip. An ex-con, just released from gaol, Flip has returned to town where Jason and his father live but has unfortunately brought trouble with him.

Throughout most of the book the two stories interact with one another but don't actually appear to impact each other that much. Their impact is certainly there but is more nuanced in how the brothers react to one another rather than a direct causality of one brother making the other do something. In this way it almost feels like two separate stories with shared character, rather than one story. As it builds to the end the stories do come together a little more.

Flip's story was more interesting of the two, to me. He is an ex-con and clearly does some violent and horrible things for money but it is compelling. Jason, on the other hand, is much harder to understand or like. He's stringing both a wife and girlfriend along,

I'm not sure if this is a "Christian" book or not. Maybe it is just a book that happens to have a positive representation of a Christian in it, rather than written specifically for the message. It has a gospel message told by a preacher at its heart, but it's not overly preachy and it certainly isn't a "turn to God and he will sort out your issues" ending.

For the majority of the book I was mildly interested in it. Enjoying it, but it didn’t really grab me. Only in the last 20%, as things start ot come together and build to the climax did it really start to grip me. The ending was great. I can't say much more for the sake of spoilers, but the book isn't long and does have a good payoff. It gives resolution without giving all the answers, leaving you with things to think about.

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I may yet have run out of things to say about Jeff Hay's narration. I've listened to many of this books and I can't think of a misstep yet. He does great inflection and carries the emotion of the story. He provides a variety of voices, making each character distinct. I think the two main females in this book were a little close in sound but there was never a time in which it wasn't clear which one was speaking.

Speaking of females, Hay's does good female voices. I'm not sure they actually sound like a female narrator but they don't sound like a male narrator pretending to be a female. I'm not sure if that makes any sense at all, but it does to me.

Modern Banking Culture Crime Fiction

I had figured out what was going to happen much earlier than I should have, but the detailed descriptions of banking culture make up for the lack of suspense in the plot. The narration is excellent as well - probably better as an audio book than a printed book.