Head Wounds

A Sam Acquillo Hamptons Mystery

By: Chris Knopf

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Peel back the glamour of the fabled Hamptons and you'll find a beautiful place filled with ugly secrets. This is Sam Acquillo's world. Moving effortlessly across the social divide with wry pal Jackie Swaitkowski and rich guy Burton Lewis, the ex-boxer, ex-corporate infighter seems doomed to straddle the thin red line between envy and love, hate and forgiveness, goodness and greed - and sometimes, life and death.

Part-time carpenter, full-time drinker and co-conspirator with an existential mutt named Eddie Van Halen, Sam tries to lead the simple life. But as always, fate intervenes, this time in the form of Robbie Milhouser, a local builder and blundering bully who shares with Sam an irresistible attraction to the beautiful Amanda. When Robbie is murdered, Sam finds himself in the crosshairs of a very determined chief of police.

©2008 Chris Knopf (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It's the endearing and deeply flawed Acquillo that's the heart and soul of this exceptional series." (Publishers Weekly (starred review))
"The intelligent writing...entertained me on every page. Chris Knopf deserves a wide audience." (Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine)
"Sam makes the perfect antihero for our guided tour of the wrong side of the tracks. Another satisfying entry in an endearing series." (Booklist)

Terrific story developement

Don’t know jack about the Hamptons; I live on top of a mountain where god hangs out—sw North Carolina, but I love the detailed descrptions of a place I have little desire to ever see since it would be full of what we Southerners call damnyankees.

Great series - not the best book in it

Don’t write off the series if you aren’t hooked by this book. This isn’t the first (or second) but the author spends an inordinate amount of space establishing background that he’s alluded to in less detail in the previous books. However that does make it a bit draggy in spots.

The mystery and resolution are good, as in the others, so it’s worth reading as a mystery, and if you plan to read the others in the series it’s also fine. Just a bit of criticism. I think the characters, who make up an outstanding collaboration, are as good as any in detective fiction. A treat to look forward to if you’re just starting out.

On the whole, it’s one of my favorite series, and the 3 books featuring Sam’s lawyer, Jacquie, are if anything even better.

I always grab the latest book

Narrator and story click

I've listened to the first 3 books in this series and I approve the narrator switch from Stefan Rudnicki to Richard Ferrone. I thought the voice sounded familiar, but it wasn't until the narrator said the word "Bernie" that I remembered where I'd heard the voice before (Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series). I like Mr. Ferrone's narration because there's just the little touch of humor and irony to go with the protagonist's point of view.

The setting of the novel and the character's background are also interesting (I also USED to be an engineer). I do find the violence of the main character a bit disturbing but the plots are generally satisfyingly complex and resolve well.

Huh??

Difficult to follow story line. I found myself having to back up and listen again. Are they flashbacks or just random progression?

Only So So thanks to the narrator

The narrator / reader is not as good in my opinion as Stefan Rudnicki and left me getting bored with the story. Richard Ferrone has trouble with accents (especially the Jamaican doctor) and women's voices. The story became harder to listen to especially after associating Sam to Stefan Rudnicki, who read with a more convincing, better modulation and pitch in his voice in my opinion.