No Rest for the Dead

By: David Baldacci - introduction, Laurie H. Armstrong, Sandra Brown, Jeffery Deaver, Robert Dugoni, Brian Gruley, J. A. Jance

Narrated by: James Colby, Richard Ferrone, Carol Monda

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

More than 20 New York Times best-selling authors team up to create a first-rate serial novel - a collaboration that combines the skills of America's greatest storytellers to produce a gripping, spellbinding mystery.

"The lineup of writers who have contributed to this mystery is akin to the Murderers' Row of the 1927 New York Yankees. There is not a weak spot in the bunch."
—David Baldacci, from the Introduction

Alexander McCall Smith. Sandra Brown. Faye Kellerman. J.A. Jance. Jeffery Deaver. Kathy Reichs. Lisa Scottoline. Jeff Lindsay. These are only a handful of the names that make up the all-star lineup of authors behind No Rest for the Dead, a tale of vengeance, greed, and love that flows seamlessly, in the words of David Baldacci, "as it passes from one creator's mind to the next."

When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San Francisco's McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried, convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death. In the years since the case was closed, he's discovered a web of deceit and betrayal surrounding the Thomases that could implicate any number of people in the crime. With the help of the dead woman's friend, he plans to gather everyone who was there the night Christopher died and finally uncover the truth, suspect by suspect. Solving this case may be Nunn's last chance for redemption… but the shadowy forces behind Christopher's death will stop at nothing to silence the past forever.

In this innovative storytelling approach, each of 25 best-selling writers brings their distinctive voice to a chapter of the narrative, building the tension to a shocking, explosive finale.

With contributions from David Baldacci (Introduction), Jeff Lindsay, Alexander McCall Smith, Jonathan Santlofer, Sandra Brown, Faye Kellerman, Kathy Reichs, Benjamin Kelly, John Lescroart, T. Jefferson Parker, Gayle Lynds, Matthew Pearl, J. A. Jance, Michael Palmer, Marcia Talley, P. D. James, Diana Gabaldon, Philip Margolin, Tess Gerritsen, Katherine Neville, Lisa Scottoline, R. L. Stine, Jeffery Deaver, Laurie H. Armstrong, Brian Gruley, Robert Dugoni.

©2011 Sandra Brown, David Baldacci, R.L. Stine, Lisa Scottoline, Jeffery Deaver, David Baldacci (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Twenty-six fantastic writers + one good cause = irresistible mystery nirvana." (Lee Child)

"Brilliant…. If you like your mysteries smart, with a great twist, then you must read this book.” (Linda Fairstein)

"Wow, what a line up! You can't go wrong here." (Michael Connelly)

Excellent book

This is one of the best books that I have listened to but I did figure it out before it really even started

Pass the story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would recommend this book because it was interesting hearing how each author provided clues and tied in the clues from the authors in the previous chapters.

Did the narrators do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

There were multiple narrators in the story. This made it feel a bit disjointed and also hard to follow characters. One narrator would have been ideal.

Not as good as expected

I was so excited to download a real who-dunnit by some of the greatest authors ever but... I don't know. It was good, but not as good as I had expected. I never really felt a significant connection to any of the charachters. It felt choppy, and not that surprising at the end. Not bad for a summer listen, but there's better out there for sure!

Distractions

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not as well spent as other books I have listened to

What do you think your next listen will be?

I will stay away from 'group' works

Any additional comments?

I found the change of voice and writing distracting. I had listened to a previous group work, but found this one more difficult to stay with.

High expectation

With so many talented writers ( that I really enjoy reading ) this book was a disappointment.
Felt like it was piece mealed together. Which I guess really was with each author writing a chapter.
Hoping my money from sal of the book goes to charity. So it was not just a complete waste of my money and time.

No Rest 4 Dead

The story is terrific although the underlying plot is nothing new. It is amazing with so many authors contributing that's it is so cohesive. I found it difficult however, to keep
the characters straight with so many narrators.

LOVED THIS BOOK!

I think collaboration was a total success.
The readers were terrific. The story was great!

Incredible colaboration!

Despite reviews about how difficult it was to understand this book with so many authors and their different styles, I purchased it anyway - and I was not disappointed!! It was a riveting, edge-of-your-seat thriller!

Great collaboration!

It was a great original story and kept me on the edge of my seat. It had Baladacci's name which is why I wanted to listen in the first place.
I love hearing new ideas and not the same old mysteries retold.

Good listen but not the best of compilation books

The story started off well but I thought it became obvious what was going on and the resolution seemed too quick compared to the pace of the rest of the story.