The Silent Hour

A Lincoln Perry Mystery

By: Michael Koryta

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Whisper Ridge, a multimillion-dollar architectural project built to house paroled murderers, was the passion of Alexandra Sanabria, the daughter of a deceased Mafia don. But the program never got off the ground. Uninhabited but also kept off the market, with taxes paid by a legal trust that Sanabria established just before she and her husband left town, the home remains as a strange monument to dangerous secrets.

While the couple's abrupt exit was unique, it was also not regarded as criminal until the bones of Alexandra's husband were found more than a decade later. Private investigator Lincoln Perry has mixed feelings when an ex-con hires him to find Alexandra. It is a task that will challenge both Perry's abilities as a detective and his commitment to that calling.

©2009 Michael Koryta (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Edgar-finalist Koryta spins a dark tale of broken dreams and second chances in his stunning fourth mystery to feature Cleveland, Ohio, PI Lincoln Perry." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Feisty plotting and the most memorable prose since Chandler. Koryta belongs on every genre reader's bookshelf." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Koryta writes with maturity and grace, delivering clipped, crisp prose and crackling suspense." ( Booklist)

Great book!

Another spectacular M Koryta mystery adventure! All of his books are super winners, and this one is no exception!! Thank you Mr. Koryta!!!

the silent hour

Author lacks creativity and imagination. story is lame and drags longtime. the only good thing about it was Narration of Scott Brick.

No more Scott Brick!!

Would you try another book from Michael Koryta and/or Scott Brick?

Would try another Michael Koryta if it had another reader

What was most disappointing about Michael Koryta’s story?

The reader

How could the performance have been better?

The drawn out drama of Scott Brick's reading interrupted the flow of the story.

Meh . . .

I have listened to a number of the other books by Michael Koryta and enjoyed them all ... until this one. It had an interesting premise and could have made a good story but the excessive dialog throughout made it hard to stay engaged. Long stretches of superfluous mental meandering pushed me out of the story and made it a chore to separate the important parts from the unimportant. Would I listen to another book from Michael Koryta? Yes - yes I would. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole basket.

Interesting story - Awful narrator

Story line was good. Narrator was so unbelievably bad it was a chore to start listening each time I turned it on.

Couldn't have been more disappointed!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Scott Brick's narration was absolutely awful! To differentiate people, he just used a soft voice for everyone except Lincoln. And every conversation was SO intense and dramatic. Very unrealistic. I couldn't wait for him to stop. I have really enjoyed a lot of other Michael Koryta books, but between the really stupid plot and horrible narration, I feel duped.

Would you be willing to try another one of Scott Brick’s performances?

I'll possibly listen to an earlier performance, but for now, as another reviewer said he goes on the Dick Hill list of narrators to avoid.

Any additional comments?

My first Audible review, and I have listened to hundreds of books, but I couldn't help but relate my absolute disappoint in the story and narration. Sorry.

Angry

Would you try another book from Michael Koryta and/or Scott Brick?

Yes. Based on another book I read by Koryta, I would give it a try. Brick is still one of my favorite readers.

What was most disappointing about Michael Koryta’s story?

The beginning, the middle and the end.

What didn’t you like about Scott Brick’s performance?

The tone was angry. But, I feel Koryta had to approve the way Brick presented the book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger, irritation at Perry's inability to move past someone's history and focus on the present. I got tired of hearing him complain.

I'm Out of This!

That seemed to be a constant statement of Lincoln Perry in this novel. Not too far into the book I wanted to be out of it too! Perry is hired by an ex-con to find the con's previous employer. This client told Perry a story about his close, meaningful, platonic friendship with the wife, and how much she had helped him. Then, one day, she and her husband just disappeared off of the face of the earth. He wanted to know, once and for all, what happened to her.

Perry doesn't want to take the case, but reluctantly agrees to make a few quick inquiries because this convicted murderer seems to have been rehabilitated, and seems sincere. One thing leads to another, and every time Perry thinks he has washed his hands of this case, something else comes along and he reluctantly agrees to stay involved in solving the mystery of the disappearance of this couple. The annoying part of this story is that Perry complains about his involvement all the way through the book. I'm not talking about once or twice. I'm talking about what seemed to be about every 30 minutes in the story! It drove me nuts! If Koryta wanted Perry to be effective in his role as a detective, let the man be a detective, and stop complaining about it! I think Koryta made a huge error in his development of the story and Perry's lack of interest in this case. It brought me to the point that I lost interest in the mystery, and just wanted it to be over with, right along with Perry.

Aside from that, I chose this book because it was Koryta's most recent book, and I erroneously presumed that after four books, this fledgling novelist would have been able to grow and develop his writing skills. I was extremely disappointed in the writing in this book, and I found Koryta to be one of the worst authors I have discovered on Audible. I really only finished the book because I hate to waste credits, and I kept hoping it would get better. It didn't.

Save your credit on this one, and use it for a really good book!

Started out well but mid way I lost interest

And really didn't care about the ending but continued to the end. Very disappointing. Scott Brick emoted way too much for me. I have listened to him before and he was great, but in this book he sounded like the GEICO pitchman.