Johnny Careless

A Novel

De: Kevin Wade

Narrado por: John Pirhalla

“Pirhalla, an experienced architect of suspense, gives this audiobook considerable zing.”—AudioFile

“A fast-moving classic crime novel” (John Sandford) crafted by the veteran screenwriter and showrunner for the acclaimed police procedural series Blue Bloods, Johnny Careless is Kevin Wade’s razor-sharp debut novel.

Police Chief Jeep Mullane has been bounced back home to Long Island’s North Shore by a heartbreaking case that both earned him his NYPD detective’s shield and burned him out of the Job. Now heading up a small local police department, he finds himself navigating the same geography he did growing up there as the son of an NYPD cop. Jeep is a “have-not” among the glittering “haves,” a sharp-witted, down-to-earth man in a territory defined and ruled by multigenerational wealth and power and the daunting tribal codes and customs that come with it.

When the corpse of Jeep’s childhood friend Johnny Chambliss—born into privilege and known as “Johnny Careless” for his reckless, golden-boy antics—surfaces in the Bayville waters, past collides with present, and Jeep is pulled into a treacherous web. He is challenged by Johnny’s wealthy and secretive family and his beautiful, enigmatic ex-wife as he untangles a knotted mystery fraught with theft, corrupt local moguls, and decades-old secrets, all while grappling with his own deep-seated grief for his lost pal.

A fast-paced story, Johnny Careless “combines grit and wit in a way that conjures Donald Westlake or Robert Parker in full stride” (Carl Hiassen).

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2025 Kevin Wade (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Wade’s gift for suspense is as well honed as one would expect from his film and TV credits—the real surprise is his character work, which goes deep enough that readers will find themselves thinking about Jeep and Johnny long after they’ve turned the final page. Haunting and heartbreaking, this is a winner."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"A haunting debut novel that works through misunderstandings and violence to something that feels like redemption."—Kirkus

"From page one, Kevin Wade stomps on the accelerator -- smart, cool writing abetted by (mostly) smart, secret-bearing characters. Johnny Careless combines grit and wit in a way that conjures Donald Westlake or Robert Parker in full stride."—Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author

I really enjoyed this book

I don’t read much fiction but this book is so good. I recommend it highly. Such an excellent writer.

Exceptional Writing & Great Listen

Listening to the first few pages was all it took to realize Kevin Wade is a beautiful writer. When you match exceptional story telling and movie worthy dialogue with a talented voice actor/narrator you can just close your eyes and the book simply comes to life. I felt like I was watching a movie in my mind.
The book is a police procedural with a small town, big money flair. Jeep, chief of police in a small North Shore Long Island district, grew up a cop's son but straddled the the private world of the uber-wealthly Long Island elite due to his best friend. Without saying too much, Jeep feels obligated to solve a crime that's not in his jurisdiction, and he has to play all the class levels of his little society to get answers. More than one mystery unveils itself as Jeep deftly plays class politics as he delves into the rabbit hole.
Highly recommend this audiobook. After decades as a screenwriter for movies(Meet Joe Black) and TV(Blue Bloods), I can't believe this is Wade's first novel. John Pirhalla was a perfect choice to bring this to audio.

Good book, worth the listen!

I really enjoyed the characters and detective book! Hope there are more in the series!

Very Very enjoyable

The narration was very well done. The story was interesting especially with weaving the tale as it did between Johnny and Jeeps past and present. You will be pleased if you select this worthy effort.

A different spin on a cop story

Started out a little slow, too much backstory. I see now that you really needed all that to understand everything. Gradually it all came together and it was really a satisfying ending. Great narrator!
I enjoyed how it all turned out.

Engaging cop tale

In my grief over the end of Blue Bloods, I got lost in the author’s almost poetic rendering of a very human murder mystery. He portrays policemen as people, just as he did in my all time favorite tv series.

Local Color

I chose the book because it is set on the North Shore of Long Island. The combination of real and made up locations, landmarks and institutions made it very enjoyable for this local. And the story was great.