Man of the Year

By: Caroline Louise Walker

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Michael Crouch, George Newbern, Gabra Zackman

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

A sinister, sophisticated debut thriller by “a remarkable new voice to watch” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times best-selling author), Man of the Year has been lauded by Shelf Awareness as “an impressive slow burn that builds suspense and cracks the whip at the end...redolent with menace and ego".

Dr. Robert Hart, Sag Harbor’s just-named man of the year, is the envy of his friends and neighbors. His medical practice is thriving. He has a beautiful old house, a beautiful new wife, and a beautiful boat docked in the village marina. Even his wayward son, Jonah, is back on track, doing well at school, and finally worthy of his father’s attentions. So when Jonah’s troubled college roommate needs a place to stay for the summer, Hart and his wife generously offer him their guesthouse. A win-win: Jonah will have someone to hang with, and his father can bask in the warm glow of his own generosity.

But when Robert suspects his new houseguest of getting a little too close to his wife, the good doctor’s veneer begins to crack, and all the little lies he tells start to mount. Before long, Robert is embroiled in a desperate downward spiral, threatening to destroy anyone who stands in his way. It’s only the women in his life - his devoted office manager, his friends and neighbors, his wife - who can reveal the truth...if he’s willing to look. 

Biting and timely, Man of the Year races along at an electric pace, building to a wicked twist you won’t see coming. 

©2019 Caroline Louise Walker (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Nothing Like The Book Description

NO SPOILERS! I was excited to get this book after reading the publishers description but it is extremely misleading and nothing like what was promised.

This book is nothing more than a family drama. You will be disappointed if you are looking for a dark story or suspense.


The only thing good are the narrators but even then it was confusing as to which character was talking.

Man of the year plus the peanut gallery

The other reviewers are correct that the book summary is somewhat misleading. In the book we get nearly every character’s perspective, even minor characters, at some point but I wouldn't say it was helpful or relevant at all. In fact, there were some viewpoints where extensive background info and even entire poems were recited that had zero overall impact on the storyline, not even to add to character development. The dad was quite abhorrent and it took me a little thinking after listening to it to understand why things ultimately unfolded the way they did, not that I thought it was logical but I just kind of got it more. The one redeeming aspect about the story was that it did not unravel how I thought it would, the order of events was surprising and kept me interested. Instead of having everyone's point of view it might have been more effective to further develop the primary characters to understand them better and make their actions more reasonable and impactful. I was somewhat entertained by the book but I wouldn't suggest it outright, especially due to the discrepancy of the summary and the actual story.

Boring, strung out novel about nothing

Narcissistic, self-centred husband, thin plot to say the best, utterly boring and a waste of time

Possible Misprint of Book Description?

The narrator of this book was superb - crisp, natural and confident. In fact, the narration was so good, it was why I attempted to stick with it.

As other reviewers mentioned, the book description and story are totally off. The summary. was nothing like what I heard. After giving this three fair tries, it seems the description provided was meant for a different book.

Intriguing premise, boring execution

I love an Anne Tyler family drama style novel. This book tries to be that, but FAILS.
The story has a lot of interesting bones, but the outcome is unremarkable.
I will make one attempt at a “non spoiler” spoiler.
In the end everyone lies to one another, for absolutely no reason. The lies are confusing and unnecessary and just leaves the story w a 2 star rating.

Twist is not enough

I think I was listening carefully and even returning to some parts that I thought I was missing, but I think this book lacks some development. I don't mind books with open ending that lead reader to think and develop story themselves, however this book left me with more questions rather than answers.

I wish I could talk to other readers and see what they think about certain parts of the Book. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting and engaging but more development of the characters and some more ending would made this book much better.

A good book

I really enjoyed the details and character development through the story and the unexpected turns at the end.

A mind-twisting thriller by a breakout author!

Caroline Louise Walker's use of language is fabulous - from dark and brooding to laugh out loud funny, this psychological thriller is a fascinating read that will keep you on your toes until the final pages.

Full of surprises & well written!!!

As I began to listen to this book and heard the main character, Robert, dig himself into many different holes, I could feel the tension in my body and anticipation of something bad coming from the crazy thoughts and stories this man was telling himself! And I could totally relate to his monkey mind, because I have one too, which is humiliating to see, but I could understand the mess he was beginning to create!
This is a really good story, the writing is beautiful, and so many times I wish I could see the words, so I bought a hard copy. The ending was totally unexpected! I can see this book becoming a movie! Great beach read!
I always like to hear whatever Cassandra Campbell is reading, because I know it will be good! I look forward to more books from Caroline Louise Walker!