The Copper Bracelet

By: David Corbett, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, David Hewson, Lisa Scottoline, Gayle Lynds, P. J. Parrish, John Gilstrap, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Alfred Molina

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

A peaceful picnic in the French countryside explodes in violence. A mysterious assassin hisses a deadly threat. And events are set in motion that could propel India and Pakistan down the road to nuclear confrontation.

Two years after the events of the Audiobook of the Year - The Chopin Manuscript - former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton and his Volunteers once again must crack a secretive conspiracy that not only threatens their lives, but the stability of the world. Their race against time will take them from London to the U.S. to Russia and beyond. And at the heart of it all is one question: What is the secret of the Copper Bracelet?

Sixteen of the world's greatest thriller writers collaborated on The Copper Bracelet. Once again, as he did with The Chopin Manuscript, Jeffery Deaver wrote the first chapter. Then, each successive author wrote a chapter in turn, finally returning it to Deaver to complete this thrilling sequel.

The Copper Bracelet was written by:
Jeffery Deaver
Gayle Lynds
David Hewson
Jim Fusilli
John Gilstrap
Joseph Finder
Lisa Scottoline
David Corbett
Linda Barnes
Jenny Siler
David Liss
P.J. Parrish
Brett Battles
Lee Child
Jon Land
James Phelan

PROJECT EDITOR: Jim Fusilli

©2009 International Thriller Writers, Inc., Jeffery Deaver, Gayle Lynds, David Hewson, Jim Fusilli, John Gilstrap, Joseph Finder, Lisa Scottoline, David Corbett, Linda Barnes, Jenny Siler, David Liss, P.J. Parrish, Brett Battles, Lee Child, Jon Land, James Phelan (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This was like playing on an all-star team, and all the hits were home runs." (Lee Child)

"A feast for the senses, The Copper Bracelet continues the standard of excellence established by The Chopin Manuscript. Action, intrigue, suspense, they are all there. Another certified no-question-about-it-winner from a remarkable collection of talent. Bravo." (Steve Berry)

"What a blast to collaborate with some of the greatest suspense writers around on the thriller event of the year." (Joseph Finder)

"I can't think of a more enjoyable writing experience in my twenty-five years of being a fiction author than writing The Copper Bracelet and its predecessor, The Chopin Manuscript. We writers spend way too much time by ourselves in dark rooms, and it was a delight to emerge from the cave and hang out, so to speak, with my peers. I have to say that I sat down to read the manuscript with more than little trepidation. I needn't have worried. I was blown away...[and was] fascinated to see how a group of authors with vastly varied writing styles and approaches to creativity produced such a cohesive thriller with a relentlessly fast-paced narrative. (And, okay, I'll admit, I got a voyeur's kick in seeing how my talented co-authors ply their craft.)" (Jeffery Deaver)

A great sequel

The Copper Bracelet, each chapter written by a different author, is a great sequel to "The Chopin Manuscript" and we look forward to more "serial thrillers". What a brilliant concept.

The concept is brilliant

Any additional comments?

And so are all the authors. The transition from one chapter/writer to the next is flawless. I enjoyed The Chopin Manuscript enormously and now this mystery. Albert Molina narrated with all the talent and skill I've come to appreciate in him. I love his distinctive voice. All in all, this book and the technique are innovative and just plain fun. Let's do it again! Next one, please?

Wonderful Collaberation!

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

Yes. Indeed there are a lot of twists and turns. I went back a few times to make sure I did'nt miss anything. Duh, this is an audiobook, pretty easy to go back and catch it again. And with the Narrator being so easy to listen to, why not?!

Have you listened to any of Alfred Molina’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. He is always what draws me to decide to buy the book. I think I could listen to anything Alfred Molina narrates!

Any additional comments?

I was surprised at the really negative reviews. Everyone's different, but this is quite interesting to get so many writers building on previous chapters. Definitely worth it. Money well spent!

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed listening to this tale contributed by several authors. The story was fast paced and intriguing.

Save your credits

I tried, really I did, but I wish I didnt use a credit for this one, Cant get past Chapter 3.

Disjointed

Difficult to follow.

interesting concept

good listening

Just plain silliness

Thriller novels ask the reader to suspend logic several times a book. In return the authors gives the reader several plot twists and turns that keep the story exciting. The problem with The Copper Bracelet is that 16 different authors each asked the reader to suspend logic serveral times a chapter and provided several plot twists. Too much of a good thing is not great. It becomes a little tedious and a lot silly. Exposure to 16 top thriller writers is a good idea. The way it was done in The Copper Bracelet just didn't work.

Not worth it...

Having recently listened to Steig Larsen's books, i can simply say that this is not in the same league.

I know its quite challenging for multiple authors to write a single novel. I think this is probably the root cause of the issue - The focus of the story keeps changing, and is like watching a bad bollywood movie.

If you are like me and got the book after the first chapter (which is the only chapter that's good) - you will surely be disappointed.

The narration is not all that great - and even I found an error in narration (He mentions heavy metal, instead of heavy water) - I think he was into headbanging possibly.

Like Playing Telephone

Molina's talents and some interesting characters kept me from awarding one star. The narration is wonderful! I loved The Chopin Manuscript, despite the jerky-at-times plot, so was disappointed and then increasingly irritated by the Copper Bracelet. With an ingenious central idea and already-established characters, the authors still seemed to deliver an unsatisfying whole. My take was that multiple excellent and experienced authors, given this task of advancing a plot handed off to them, felt it was important to make a mark in the plot and (nearly always) sent the story in a different direction. In their own books, surely, there are chapters that stabilize a plot or advance the characters a bit. Not here! Every chapter has a BOOM! The result was that I became increasingly frustrated and eventually abandoned the listen about 3/4 of the way through. Thus my take on the endeavor as a whole. For me, it was a lot like stories we tell to occupy children on a car trip: everyone takes a turn and hands off an improbable twist. Thus some entertaining episodes, but not a very satisfying whole. Well, except for Molina's steady and experienced hand.