Sudden Impact

By: William P. Wood

Narrated by: Anthony Haden Salerno

Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Bestselling author William P. Wood spins this dark, riveting tale of a beloved Sacramento cop killed in a bizarre accident, and the hunt to track down his killer - a fast-paced thriller of murder, deceit, haunting pasts, and one man's dangerous scheme to fight for those he loves.

Ensor is no ordinary cop. He's a hero, winner of the Medal of Valor, devoted family man and coach, helping at-risk kids. But the driver who struck him down and didn't stop isn't ordinary either. He's Judge Frank Stevenson, up-and-coming member of the bench, also devoted to his wife and daughter, involved in charities and good works. In a split second he did something completely uncharacteristic that changes his life and the lives of everyone close to him.

Terry Nye is a couple of weeks from retirement as a detective, head of Major Crimes. He's trying to pack thirty years of bloody experiences and hard lessons into those two weeks for his new partner, Rose Tafoya. Rose is a young detective, smart, more than a little ambitious, but also insecure. Together she and Nye are a powerhouse team. He's determined to find Ensor's assailant, and he's going to make sure Rose doesn't make the same mistakes he did, especially the unforgivable one that has come back to darkly haunt him after Ensor's accident.

With the city in turmoil after Ensor's death, the hunt for the cop killer rushes ahead relentlessly. The guilty and innocent are sucked into the intense investigation - and everyone will realize that their lives can change in the blink of an eye.

©2014 William P. Wood (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"No one writes a better police procedural than Bill Wood, and Sudden Impact is his best one to date - lucid prose, meticulous legal detail, and unforgettable characters struggling in various moral quandaries. Terrific, unputdownable stuff." (John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Juror and The Hunt Club)

best book in awhile

kept my in attention. the narrator was good you could hear every word and different tones for different people

A little drawn out, but. a good listen!

Loved the storyline. It was intense and interesting. Really great for a free book. I'd recommend it.

Great Story

I thought the story was great and believable to the end. I was not a fan of the reader. His voice was irritating to me in too many of the characters

I kinda hate Nye right now

its a good story. Intense told from Nye & The Judges point of vue. well done. here's where it gets sticky for me. the ending.
there's joint liability in this story cop no cop. it was an accident. I dont condone hit & runs but its an accident. the price paid was too high.
If I had paid for the book I would've returned it.
I'm going to listen to 1 more Nye & Lafoya book to hopefully rinse out the bad taste. I guess we shall see.

so so

the story would have been a lot better without some of the trite dialogue and police stereotypes. I think part of that was because of the way the narrator presented the different characters. the plot twist at the end was weak and anti-climactic. the father-in-law was presented as a bumbling idiot who wielded a lot of power in the city and that really caused a problem with the plot as did this vague character who came out of nowhere and suddenly had power over the situation.

I will say that I stuck with it till the end though I really did consider abandoning it for many of those reasons.

Disappointing finale

Not a great ending. It presents what amounts to a stupid trade-off. Nothing morally justifiable about it.

All they had to do was check the VIN No.

All they had to do was check the VIN No. but that spoils the story! We liked the story BUT FROM THE HALFWAY POINT FORWARD both my husband and myself were practically shouting at the car radio; " Why don't you check the VIN No.?"

Gripping

The story just keeps you guessing even when you know "who done it" and still you won't believe the ending with realistic performances.

the ending though... horrible

I just hated the ending so much. some serious bs if the author thinks that's justice. 🙄

Decently executed

somewhat disappointing in the end but overall a pretty good complex thriller. if you like the detective genre and long intricate story lines this one's for you not the worst not the best but I listen to the whole thing so I would give that a thumbs up