Even

By: Andrew Grant

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

David Trevellyan, a Royal Navy intelligence operative, takes a late-night walk to his New York City hotel. A huddled shape in an alley catches his eye - a homeless man has been shot to death. Trevellyan steps forward and a cop car arrives. A split second too late, Trevellyan realizes he's been set up. Obliged to clear his name, and with no idea who's a friend and who's a foe, he penetrates deep into a huge international conspiracy.

The price of failure will be death, and the reward for success will be redemption, both for himself and the huddled corpse from the alley.

©2009 Andrew Grant (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Modern noir at its best.... Even is brilliantly plotted and smart, and delivers the bone-jarring kick of a .45. Here's hoping author Grant is hard at work on the next installment featuring his thoroughly compelling tough guy hero, David Trevellyan." (Jeffery Deaver)

hardboiled throw back to Dashiel Hammet

I enjoy this genere so I liked this book, I think the narrator could have done the surrounding characters voices a bit better but in any event it made my commute breeze by a bit quicker. Give it a try

Remarkably ok

I listened to this because I’ve listened to all the Reacher novels. It clearly has similarities that are sometimes a little to “on the nose”. I felt the story was too simple at times with the protagonist just escaping. The plot seemed to wander at times to me. The reader was a bit detracting to the story with his presentation of the other characters. Overall. It was very meh.

Superb for a first book!

This stands by itself as a worthy read/listen, and I'd recommend it is own merits. However, if you're also a Jack Reacher fan, you'll love the similarities -- almost as if David Trevellyan were Reacher's own brother. You'll also noticed some stylistic similarities as well, but I'm not going to point them out because I don't want Andrew to change anything in the future.

The plot was good, and I quite enjoyed how it all began, including the cocky confidence that David showed right off the bat. There were a few "pacing" issues in the middle where I was hoping we could fast forward, but these were minor. Overall, well-constructed and beautiful character building of the "bad guys," which I won't go into so as to avoid any spoilers.

Recommended! I'm off to the sequel...

The lead character

It took a bit to get into the story, but I enjoyed it. The first novel I’ve read by the author.

I liked the plot. it was suspenseful

I liked the character since he was similar to jack reacher
I like that type of confidence in a main character

EVEN IS RIGHT, TOO DAMN EVEN!

The book has a certain "Bondian" attitude at times, cartoonish escapes and more evil than evil villains, and dead folks littering the playing field, but it takes a tack and stays there. Should have been called "Even Keel". Then he kills off the only likable player of the lot, Tanya (sp).
Vignette after vignette with little or no suspense. No crescendo building or mystery lurking. David is mean-spirited and soulless enough but even the remotest and detached of the double-oughts has a little sex along the way. Once they broke out the formaldehyde the imagery had nowhere to go but down.

Trevellyan to join the ranks Bourne & Bond

Grant's novel is like a chess game that can only be appreciated as it unfolds. David Trevellyan accidently discovers a homeless person's body in an alley in New York. Instead of passing it by, he stops to verify that the person is deceased and almost immediately the NYPD arrives and assume that he is the perpetrator. Trevellyan realizes shortly afterward that he has been setup and takes matters into his own hands to clear his name. David Trevellyan afterall, is not your average person. He has previously undergone extensive training in the Royal Navy including espionage. Each subsequent move has more significance as the plot thickens. Grant weaves a finely crafted thriller. This was a thoroughly entertaining book to listen to, although the ending seemed sadly a little abrupt. However, it of course leaves the door open for further adventures. The narration by John Lee was also superb and lended to the entertainment value of the book

very convoluted

ok story, but you have to strech to believe the story line. good performance.

Disappointingly boring

I really wanted to like this book--it looked to have all the elements that I like: action, espionnage, mystery. It did have these elements, but the author's execution was so poor that the book ended up a tedious, rambling mess. The main character is pedantic, uninteresting, and unlikeable. The plot is a mess with several boring threads throughout. The other characters are equally uninteresting and flat. The narrator (British--possibly Scottish?) is also a disappointment, with some of the worse drawn-out and lugubrious American accents that I have ever heard. I agree with the reviewer who said that this book is a waste of 10 hours. (If only I had heeded that warning!) If you want taut espionnage and an interesting character, don't choose this one.

Somewhere A Roscoe

Life is too short to waste 10 hours listening to this unimaginative crud. If you listen you will learn Nothing, and you will be duller for it.