18 Seconds

By: George Shuman

Narrated by: Lindsay Crouse

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Investigative consultant Sherry Moore is blind and stunningly beautiful, with the extraordinary ability to "see" the deceased's last 18 seconds of memory by touching the corpse. A head injury at age five left her without sight and prevented her from remembering her past. When Sherry discovers she has the sight, she learns to use her gift to help others solve mysteries that only she can tap into.

Serial killer Earl Sykes was never caught for his vicious murders. Instead, a deadly traffic accident landed him in prison. Now almost 30 years later, he returns to the seaside town of Wildwood, New Jersey, and to abducting young female victims for his gruesome games.

Wildwood police lieutenant Kelly O'Shaughnessy is stymied over the disappearance of young women. When an old man's untimely death leads Sherry Moore to Wildwood, O'Shaughnessy's desperation forces her to accept Sherry's help, but not without consequence. As the two women join forces to discover the killer's identity, they unwittingly become the hunted, marching deeper with every step into the monster's lair.

A law enforcement veteran himself, George Shuman packs a realistic style and authentic investigative detail into this taunt tale filled with pulse pounding tension that will send listeners right to the edge.

©2006 George Shuman (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"Excellent!" (Stephen King)
"The vividly drawn central figures and authoritative voice keep the reader grimly committed." (Publishers Weekly)

starter course

I became courious about this book upon reading a glowing review in the Washington Post. I came away from my listen with a couple of impressions - first, that this was probably an elaborate introduction to characters that I was expected to get to know better over the course of many many sequels (B is for Blind, C is for Copy cat, D is for Divorse...... It also seemed as if I was listening to vignettes carefully culled from a portfolios of writing assignment -- the women on her first date, the wild child (do me Bily) who knows she'll settle down eventually, the abused wife making a run for it...... These story poems are vivid and enjoyable but ultimatly feel appended to the story rather than integral to it. On the positive side -- the images are relatively compact and it's possible to be diverted temporarily without losing momentum. I was reminded of some of the riffs in a Travis McGee book. The author doesn't yet have the confidence to dole these out more sparingly. Ultimately, the reviewer did the author a dis=service in setting my expectations too high -- then again I'm looking forward to Mr Shuman's
next book.

I Agree with Steven King

I regularly read/listen to titles recommended by Steven King on his website. He gave this one an Excellant. Yes, the book is obviously an introduction to other tales yet to come. And I will read the series.
The narrator in this reading did a very good job. Listen for yourself.

Compelling

Intelligent yet simplistic story. Very original. Loved it. Would recommend it to anybody with half a brain. Loved the ending. If you like your stories "tight," don't bother. If you can read between the lines and love to use your imagination, go for it. Not anything like my favorite writers: Baldacci, Kellerman, Connely, Parker -- but very refreshing! Ms. Crouse started weak, but pretty soon I was loving her. She's something of an acquired taste -- just as she is in the movies. This writer will go far.

Entertaining and full of Suspense

I enjoyed this book. The author did a great job of weaving the characters together - in fact, you need to pay attention as you'll be suprised. Highly recommend.

Not long enough

I enjoyed everything about this book and performance. My only wish is that it was longer.

This story never gets old.

From the time you pick it up, until the story ends, this story is spellbinding.

boring from the start

had potential from the starting few chapters but did not develop at all. A monontonous drag and the reader was even worse. No voice inflections recognizing different characters or emotions.

Sad Narration

Well, this book looked good from the description, but I couldn't even get through a quarter of it.
The narrator is terrible. Her voice is flat, unresponsive and absolutely boring. It was difficult to tell where one thought ended and another began.

I might try this selection again at another time. But not in the near future. A narrator can make or break a story !!