Downstate

A Novella (Special Agent Constant Marlowe)

De: Jeffery Deaver

Narrado por: Christina Traister

Special Agent Constant Marlowe pursues a lead to rural Illinois and finds a hornet’s nest of conspiracy in a pulse-pounding novella by New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver, where nothing is what it seems.

Special Agent Constant Marlowe is in pursuit of “Mr. X,” a key player in organized crime. Her mission is to collar him and flip him into a cooperating witness. The only problem? Marlowe doesn’t know who he is or even what he looks like. It doesn’t help that the trail has led her to a farming community in the nether land of Downstate, those stretches of Illinois where endless fields of late-season corn block the truth…and any sign of coming threat. When Marlowe stumbles on a teenage boy’s convenience store robbery, she suddenly finds herself in the crosshairs of a conspiracy that shatters the illusion of a sleepy small town.

©2025 by Gunner Publications, LLC. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

A Novella that Still Has It All

I’m not one to read short stories bc they often seem rushed and every sentence seems to hold so much. This novella was not like that. I thought the pace was great, the character development very good and I didn’t feel I needed more. I love Jeffery Deaver!

Expect the Unexpected.

This is a quick story but a good one. Special Agent Constant Marlowe is on the job, out to pick up a witness when a chain of events has her going in all directions. She is a smart and capable woman who thinks fast to stay ahead of the situation. The last chapter was sweet and I’m glad she is connecting more with Evan Quill. I hope there are more books to come with Marlowe, she’s a classic.

Characters

I need more Constant Marlowe in full novel format! She’s a great character. Please don’t disappoint me!

Seaver does not disappoint

Kinda fun to start at the middle and figure it out. Much less time but ok

Pleasantly surprised.

The story line was really good and believable. The plot twists were great. I really enjoyed listening.

Review

The characters were well written. The story flows along nicely with several surprises . It was fun.

Tight, fast paced thriller

Jeffrey Deaver seldom fails to keep me engrossed. This is a fast paced, seat of the pants police procedural type of thriller. He has a strong female lead in Constant Marlowe. My only criticism is that if any other law enforcement played as loose and free with procedures, they might not have a long career. This novella is tightly written with "constant" action. The narration is 5 star, the story is a solid 4 star. Had the actual "police procedure been a little bit more realistic, it would have been a high 4 in my standings.

Constant Marlowe is just plain fun to listen to.

Jeffery Deaver remains one of my favorite mystery/thriller writers and this character fits right in. A nice, self contained story. The narrator of this audio book is not equal to those who usually read his recorded books. Still, an enjoyable listen, overall.

So good

Twist after twist keeps you on your seat and eager to hear more. Great story line and an ending that was more than a surprise.

Huge end twist

Captivated til the end - so love the plot twist and excellent narration. I love Constant!