Chimes at Midnight

A Contemporary Thriller

By: Michael A. Black

Narrated by: Jonathan Beville

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

For fans of Lee Child, Elmore Leonard, and James Patrick Hunt.

Years ago, police detective Kevin McClain was captured and tortured when he was an airborne ranger in Somalia. Now, years later, the mutilation murder of a homeless man brings back a flood of unpleasant memories. At the same time, FBI agent Felicia Knight is busy tracking down a terrorist cell purportedly set to strike in our nation’s capital on the eve of the presidential election.

What neither McClain nor Knight realizes is the two cases are secretly connected by a sinister plot more diabolical and far-reaching than either of them can imagine. As their investigations coalesce, they find themselves in a desperate race against the clock to try and prevent our nation’s capital from being engulfed in a cloud of death and destruction.

“A fine crime novel, thanks to Black’s sharply drawn characters and unexpected plot twists.” (Booklist)

©2021 Wolfpack Publishing (P)2021 Wolfpack Publishing

Okay thriller, nice to listen to

I rate this two stars overall, following Audible's rating system, so two stars actually means 'Okay'. It means I find it good enough to finish the book, and without any hiatus in listening between chapters (that would have led to a 1 star review).
The story wasn't good enough to warrant three stars ('pretty good') however, mainly because of the two main characters. Good storytelling, to me personally, has to have actual heroes and heroines, who have a backbone, show character growth, and, if they have a job, are good at it and act professionally. I don't like my hero to constantly forget, drop or loose his gun, to get his a** kicked all the time, acts unprofessionally in several situations with several different people, and then out of nowhere makes a connection in his brain as to who the villain is which requires too much suspense of disbelief, given his overall mediocrity (again, my personal opinion, n=1). The female lead is even worse, the only thing she does is b*** & moan & being right in her own head, but letting people walk all over her in practice. She's supposed to be this talented field agent but I wouldn't promote her either.
Her boss was like a cardboard puppet, very shallowly written and therefore not believable. Even antagonists need three dimensions. A missed opportunity.

Frankly it was the narration that made the book bareable and promoted it to even a two star rating overall. This narrator has a very nice voice, great timbre, is easy to listen to, and does a great African accent (although I think these villains were actually middle eastern, so I guess he's got to practice that some more. I'm sure he'll get the hang of it if he tries). The narrator captures the right tone, lending the story the kind of thriller atmosphere it needs. This is a huge improvement compared to an earlier novel he narrated that I listened to; if he keeps this up I'll be keeping an eye out for his narrations!

So, although I would not like to read this as an ebook, as an audiobook it's fine, thanks to the narration.