Suspect

By: Michael Robotham

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Acclaimed author Michael Robotham conquered international best-seller lists with this electrifying thriller.

After a woman is brutally slain, investigators bring psychiatrist Joe O'Loughlin in for expert consultation. Joe is shocked to discover the dead woman is a former patient of his who cried rape when he rebuffed her sexual advances. Citing doctor/patient confidentiality, Joe hides this information. But the truth emerges, and suddenly he is the prime suspect.

©2007 Michael Robotham (P)2007 Recorded Books

reviewers love it or hate it -- i loved it

I read a handful of reviews and found them to be of little help because they were so up and down. But the book was on sale and the publisher's description was intriguing so I took the risk. I am glad that I did because I liked the story very much.

Is the plot far-fetched as other reviewers have claimed? Of course, but it wasn't hard to take the leap. If you watch the nightly news you will see that people are actually crazy and the most preposterous stories are not fiction. I found the tale believable enough. And, to be honest, when I read mystery novels I want to go for a ride. I want to question the story a bit. I don't want it to be jarring so as to take me out of the story, but I do want it to be a story I have imagined myself.

Is the lead character imperfect? Yes. And I love that. I don't enjoy characters who are too glamorous, too pure, too smart, too talented, too accomplished. I want the characters to be likable and detestable at the same time. I want to cheer for the characters and yet hate some of their actions. I want to have pity at times and respect at other moments. I want characters who feel real.

I will read more books by Mr Robotham very soon -- I am buying the second book in the series as soon as I finish this review. And I hope very much that Simon Prebble is the narrator. He was fantastic!

I almost returned it, I didn't get the hype...

...and then it got its grips in me. If you are a fan of Robert Goddard (many of whose books have mysteriously gone missing from the Audible web site), Charles Todd, Jeffrey Archer, or any of the other, mainly British, writers who feature somewhat flawed and frequently clueless-at-times protagonists; suspension-of-disbelieve-requiring coincidences; and great descriptive writing, give Suspect a chance. A good mystery has you looking over your shoulder.... a great one has you looking over your life.

A remarkable start to a sterling series...

This is my second try with this book. I do not recall why I returned it unfinished the first time. However, it occured to me since I loved so many of Robotham's novels I probably did not give Suspect a fair shake. My instincts were right, this a fantastic book.

The main character if Joe O'Laughlin, a psychologist and family man who has just been diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease. As you may expect from one in his profession, he is deeply introspective. Robotham does an incredible job building remarkably believable characters. With engaging characters, often the story becomes secondary. That is not the case here.

You can read the description, but you should know it is truly a great mystery. It is fast paced and intoxicating.

Last but not least it narrated as well as it is written.

Do yourself a favor and purchase this book!

Great story full of surprises

Where does Suspect rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

So many plot twists with an underlying urgency to find the killer. I do not usually care for first person stories but I enjoyed this book very much.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like the main character, Joe. He was fighting several personal battles at one time but he forged ahead trusting his instincts. Hold onto your seat, there are many twists and turns.

What does Simon Prebble bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I liked the reader's voice but there was an intermittent clicking in the recording that I put down to reader sucking on a lifesaver or machine clicking. It was a bit distracting but by then I was hooked and hanging on to see where the story went.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Who can you trust?

Any additional comments?

I will be downloading Michael Robotham's next novel, Lost.

It's different...but it didn't quite work

Suspect had an interesting premise and it buzzed along nicely for a while, but fizzled for me in the mucky third act.

Robotham's prose is effective and keeps the action moving nicely at first - all the players are introduced, the central problem is addressed, and I was thoroughly engrossed in the story.

The second act got a little uneven, but kept me engaged with some zippy plot twists and compelling questions. After some major revelations at the end of act two, the story gets lost in a quagmire. Act 3 staggers to its conclusion but I had more or less stopped caring - even the final revelation, which ought to have been VERY exciting, accompanied as it was by explosions and whatnot, barely held my attention. I stopped listening midway through the epilogue, no longer caring what happened to anyone in the story.

This is my first Robotham novel, and while it didn’t really work for me, there was enough to like here that I’ll probably try him again at some point. It wasn't perfect, but it was promising.

Found

Writer and Reader and brilliant.
Short, simple and to the point. Want some great moments listening to the writing of one artist, spoken by another?
Can't beat this.

Very Good Mystery, Excellent Narrator

The plot is long and rambling - a very complex mystery with elements I did not suspect until they were revealed at the end. It certainly kept me interested. A nice twist having a psychologist solving the mystery instead of a detective. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.

Wrong Order

I managed to read Lost before I read Suspect but luckily that did not detract anything from this book, Michael Robothams main characters are so real, no Hollywood veneer used. I think the richness of detail in the flaws and mannerisms of his characters combined with his plots which like a long carpet that keeps unrolling reveal more detail and story intrigue with every passing page/minute and that makes both Suspect and Lost books that are hard to put down. I want to read more...

Great Book!

It's been awhile since I've been moved to write a review. Several listens lately have been rather dull. A couple I just couldn't finish. Perhaps I'll give them another shot later. This book, however, keep my attention. The writing was crisp and entertaining. The narrator, a bit overzealous at times, but very easy to listen to. Some would probably say the story was predictable, but it was still a good story.

Enjoy!

How much stress can one man endure?

This novel is very well done. The characters and conflict slowly unfold, reach a crisis point where I thought that the poor man couldn’t take any more stress, and then the situation is resolved at the criminal level. Joseph O’Loughlin is left with the job of putting his personal life back in order.

I plan to move on to the next book: Lost.

Simon Prebble is an excellent narrator.