Kill the Messenger

By: Tami Hoag

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

At the end of a long day battling street traffic, bike messenger Jace Damon has one last drop to make. But en route to delivering a package for one of L.A.'s sleaziest defense attorneys, he's nearly run down by a car, chased through back alleys, and shot at. Only the instincts acquired while growing up on the streets of L.A. allow him to escape with his life, and with the package someone wants badly enough to kill for.

Jace returns to Lenny Lowell's office only to find the cops there, the lawyer dead, and Jace himself considered the prime suspect in the savage murder. Suddenly he's on the run from both the cops and a killer, and the key to saving himself and his 10-year-old brother is the envelope he still has, which holds a message no one wants delivered: the truth.

In a city fueled by money, celebrity, and sensationalism, the murder of a bottom-feeding mouthpiece like Lenny Lowell won't make the headlines. So when detectives from the LAPD's elite robbery/homicide division show up, homicide detective Kev Parker wants to know why.

Robbery/Homicide has no reason to be looking at a dead small-time scumbag lawyer or chasing a bike messenger...unless there's something in it for them. Maybe Lenny Lowell had a connection to something big enough to be killed for. Parker begins a search for answers that will lead him to a killer, or the end of his career. Because if there's one lesson he's learned over the years, it's that in a town built on fantasy and fame, delivering the truth can be deadly.

©2004 Indelible Ink, Inc. (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hoag's success, evidenced once again in this engaging new thriller, is the triumph of substance over style. In a genre overrun with self-conscious jargon, brooding descriptions and fragments masquerading as sentences, her clean, measured prose - full, balanced sentences delivered at a steady pace - doesn't so much create an ominous mood as draw the reader into the worlds of her characters." (Publishers Weekly)

Kill the Messenger

Good story. I liked the plot line a lot. The Messenger is a character you root for the entire time as he weaves and dodges both the good guys and the bad guys. Wonderful narration, and terrif pacing. I was left feeling very satisfied at the end.

top notch, highly entertaining

Very well written thriller which moves at a fast clip. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

My favorite Tami Hoag

This is my 9th audible book from Hoag and my favorite! The narrator was perfect and the story kept me glued to the point I listened in one day. I hope thar Tami does a sequel to these characters.

A real favorite listen

This was the second book I bought on audible, and I have gone back and listened to it 3 times now!
A story of courage and love of two young brothers thrown into danger without warning and protected by a great cast of unlikely characters.
I highly recommend this book!

surprise ending

loved it, kept me interested till the very end. the narrator with his smooth voice was great to listen to.

It was a bike ride!

I like her books, but I felt this one was a bit too drawn out. You knew the ending right from the beginning. I was a little disappointed.

enjoyed the book very much

My first Tami Hoag book; won't be my last as I really enjoyed her writing and sense of humor. Scott Brick was fabulous as usual.

Good book and story. Narration was really good!

I really liked this book. The story was good too. The narration was really good too. I loved how he was able to do all the character parts very well. Especially the Chinese character parts

I really enjoyed it.

An entertaining book, with an unexpected finish. The narrator was easy to listen to, and the story was easy to follow.

An entertaining read

Before I begin, I must admit that I have an "audio crush" on Scott Brick. I just love his narrations!!! That being said, the plot has its twists and turns, but when you, like I, may listen to as many as 3 audio books in a 10 day period, a lot of them mysteries, many times you can figure out where the author is going. If you like that, Tami leaves a bunch of clues along the way. (I personally like to groan with delight when the author has bamboozled me all the way thru, e.g Harlan Coben.)But the plot is intriguing, and her graphic descriptions of injuries will have you "aching" for the characters involved. I gave it four stars because aside from the narration, the story will not disappoint the reader. Although I did manage to figure out the basic outcome from Tami's clues, the details are always a surprise.