The Expats

A Novel

By: Chris Pavone

Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò

Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

The international thriller that Patricia Cornwell says is “bristling with suspense” about an American abroad who finds herself in complex web of intrigue.

Can We Ever Escape Our Secrets?

Kate Moore is a working mother, struggling to make ends meet, to raise children, to keep a spark in her marriage... and to maintain an increasingly unbearable life-defining secret. So when her husband is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg, she jumps at the chance to leave behind her double-life, to start anew.

She begins to reinvent herself as an expat, finding her way in a language she doesn’t speak, doing the housewifely things she’s never before done - playdates and coffee mornings, daily cooking and never-ending laundry. Meanwhile, her husband works incessantly, at a job Kate has never understood, for a banking client she’s not allowed to know. He’s becoming distant and evasive; she’s getting lonely and bored.

Then another American couple arrives. Kate soon becomes suspicious that these people are not who they say they are, and she’s terrified that her own past is catching up to her. So Kate begins to dig, to peel back the layers of deception that surround her. She discovers fake offices and shell corporations and a hidden gun, a mysterious farmhouse and numbered accounts with bewildering sums of money, and finally unravels the mind-boggling long-play con that threatens her family, her marriage, and her life.

Stylish and sophisticated, fiercely intelligent and expertly crafted, The Expats proves Chris Pavone to be a writer of tremendous talent.

©2012 Chris Pavone (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A stunningly assured first novel.... An intricate, suspenseful plot that is only resolved in the final pages. The juxtaposition of marital deceptions and espionage is brilliantly employed.... A must for espionage fans.” ( Booklist)

“Brilliant, insanely clever, and delectably readable, this debut thriller breaks the espionage genre bounds with its American-as-apple-pie heroine... Pavone displays the best characteristics of the form and will earn a faithful and yearning readership.” ( Library Journal)

“Fans of John le Carre and Robert Ludlum will welcome [this] meticulously plotted, psychologically complex spy thriller.... The sheer amount of bombshell plot twists are nothing short of extraordinary, but it’s Pavone’s portrayal of Kate and her quest to find meaning in her charade of an existence that makes this book such a powerful read.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Very engrossing!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed listening to this! Yes, it jumps around it time quite a bit and you need to pay attention to where you're at, but I couldn't wait till I got in the car to start listening again! I was dying to figure out the end, but just when I thought I had it figured out, there was a new twist. I loved it!

Brilliant

I loved this book. I did read the reviews and went into it knowing that the story may bounce around without warning. As long as you are paying attention you can easily figure it out. The storyline was always interesting, character development was great, and the narrator was excellent. I highly recommend!

A Fun Distraction

Not a bad story overall - full of “international intrigue” “double crossings” and “red herrings” but I would not say I was at the edge of my seat.

Although I liked the book, I have a few complaints.

• I didn't like the way our heroine’s past was exposed to us. By reading the synopsis, you already know there are a bunch of revelations to come, but this one seemed silly, one too many, unnecessary. It’s enough that her double life is a secret from the other characters, I did not see the need for it to also be a secret from us.

• The back and forth in time narrative was too jumpy; it always took a moment to recalibrate every time the story jumped around and it became tedious. The present-day part was fine, but the past was all over the place. “Which past is this one now?”

• After a while, it seemed like the end of every paragraph was a cliff hanger. Very annoying! Sure a little suspense or tension is great, but the intended effect evaporates when it’s one after another after another after another.

In the end, would I recommend it? Sure, why not! It was a fun distraction.

Excellent

Twisting plot. Story jumps back and forth in time which requires paying attention and a good memory!

Captivating story from the very beginning! I couldn’t wait to continue!

I liked it all. The actress was so believable in her many roles. I will rww we ad another book that she narrates.

Great, entertaining thriller

What made the experience of listening to The Expats the most enjoyable?

The writing and the narration was great. Pavone's attention to detail and great dialogue, as well as the back and forth between the past, present, and future, kept me hooked till the end.

What did you like best about this story?

The dialogue and the heroine, Kate. The details about expat life were fabulous...I have lived abroad for most of my adult life and, while it is not as exciting as in the book, I definitely noticed things I could relate to.

The plot was also well thought out and crafted.

Which character – as performed by Mozhan Marno – was your favorite?

Kate was my favorite.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Too many secrets.

Any additional comments?

I was not crazy about the ending. The build up was so great, and I loved the final confrontation...not sure how it should have ended, but I was a bit disappointed in the way it did. That is the only reason I am giving it a four instead of five stars.

Great story, a bit choppy

The style of this story is that it switches from timeframe to timeframe, from a listener's perspective it is very difficult to keep straight what is happening 'now' v.s. past v.s. future. the story is very interesting, but the jumping around in time is difficult to follow.
I finished the story, but had to rewind A LOT.

Pretty good

I just reread this in 2019 to prepare me for the The Paris Diversion, having read it for the first time in 2012!! I remembered only a tiny bit, although I knew I'd read it, but didn't exactly know what was coming, probably because there are so many twists and turns. I do prefer the next book more than this one. I've enjoyed reading both back to back in a binge, really, but I wouldn't want to get stuck in that world where no one has much of a moral centre and everything is turned on its head. You would have to say how clever it is for sure in terms of plot and you do get the feeling of ennui that the main character feels.

Difficult listen

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

The Expats was a difficult listening in that the time element of the story changes frequently without acknowledging a change in time period, The only time reference was to the present. Maybe in print there is a break in the type to signify a previous time period. To complicate the listening, Mozhan Marno , the narrator voice is not adequate enough to identify characters and the male voice is very false.The story plot is intriguing if you can focus on the right time line, but the ending leave one holding on for more explanation.

Did Mozhan Marno do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Very poor job

Hard to follow

Was looking forward to reading this after reading a review, however I found this story hard to follow and the characters seemed very impersonal. It seems to be lacking something, I can't quite put my finger on it. Disappointed.