The Driver

A Novel

By: Hart Hanson

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

From the creator of the TV show Bones comes a smart and funny debut thriller.

“Everything a great thriller should be - always smart, often funny, and relentlessly exciting. I loved every page.” (Scott Turow)

Michael Skellig is a limo driver waiting for his client in the alley behind an upscale hotel. He’s spent the past 28 hours ferrying around Bismarck Avila, a celebrity skateboard mogul who isn’t going home any time soon. Suddenly the wind begins to speak to Skellig in the guttural accent of the Chechen torturer he shot through the eye in Yemen a decade ago: Troubletroubletrouble. Skellig has heard these warnings before - he’s an Army Special Forces sergeant whose limo company is staffed by a ragtag band of wounded veterans, including his Afghan interpreter - and he knows to listen carefully.

Skellig runs inside just in time to save Avila from two gunmen but too late for one of Avila’s bodyguards - and wakes up hours later in the hospital, the only person of interest in custody for the murder. Complicating matters further is the appearance of Detective Delilah Groopman of the LAPD, gorgeous and brash, for whom Skellig has always held a candle. As for Avila? He’s willing to help clear Skellig’s name under one peculiar condition: that Skellig become Avila’s personal chauffeur. A cushy gig for any driver, except for the fact that someone is clearly trying to kill Avila, and Skellig is literally the only person sitting between Avila and a bullet to the head.

©2017 Hart Hanson (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Hanson's storytelling voice is off the charts: blunt, morbid, morally indignant and furiously funny.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“It is so hard to be unique in crime fiction and Hart Hanson has done it big time with The Driver. It’s got all the ingredients: high risks, strong momentum, unseen turns and a set of gripping characters. You can’t ask for more!” (Michael Connelly)

“An outstanding debut thriller. Readers of Scott Turow and Harlan Coben will appreciate the intricate plot and rich character development.” (Library Journal, starred review)

“The Driver is an action-packed, humor-infused novel that doesn’t disappoint. Hart Hanson’s debut is chock full of eccentric characters, from soldiers with a cause to crooked cops to diva wannabes. This is a book that is sure to fly from the shelves to the bedside tables.” (The San Francisco Book Review)

Clever, Fast Paced, and Fun

What made the experience of listening to The Driver the most enjoyable?

Former Army Special Ops Sergeant Michael Skellig owns a limo company, in part to hire wounded veterans. They include a paranoid mechanic, a legless dispatcher, and an Afghan interpretor he smuggled illegally into the States. They each suffer severely from Post Tramatic Stress. Together, much like Baldacci's Camel Club, they make a formidable and endearing team.

If you’ve listened to books by Hart Hanson before, how does this one compare?

This is my first. It is fast and fun, so I intend to listen to more from him.

Which scene was your favorite?

Every scene with Michael and Delilah, the detective. Their banter was funny and smoldering in sexual tension.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did listen in one day!

Any additional comments?

Ari Fliakos' narration was outstanding.

Great story. Great Narration.

This is my new favorite writer and new favorite narrator. I hope there are more.

Fantastic!

I absolutely loved this! It is well written, fast paced, and filled with wry humor. The best part is the narrator. He did much more than simply narrate, he delivered a stellar performance. His voices for each character were perfect and really enhanced the story. I enjoyed it tremendously! Highly recommended.

Immensely entertaining

Hart Hanson's writing is smooth and polished. (No surprise there since he's a screen writer for many popular television shows.) His story is populated by interesting, realistic three dimensional characters, many of whom are extremely likable. It's set in Los Angeles and the location is as much a character as the others are. Hart captures the rhythm of city, its upsides, downsides, quirkiness and idiosyncrasies as well as going further afield into the surrounding countryside. The juxtaposition of affluent residences, urban sprawl, rural locales and the desert makes for interesting travels.

The main character is a veteran. Mike Skellig, formerly an Army Special Ops Sergeant, now owns a start up limo service that he's staffed with other war vets (that suffer from many post war issues making employment difficult for them) and also the Afghan interpreter assigned to his unit, when he was stationed overseas. He smuggled him stateside when US troops left the country. Rescued actually. From certain torture and death if he remained behind. So, Mike Skellig's intelligent, loyal, brave, compassionate, street savvy, an accomplished fighter and a smart ass. His dialog (as well as everyone else's) is a pleasure to listen to throughout the adventure. It's utterly believable, completely immersing you in the story.

Which brings me to the narration. It's fantastic. How have I not heard of Ari Fliakos before this? The accents, the delivery, the timing, all of it. Wow. So vivid. The characters are stepping off the page from the first word spoken. His wide range is a pleasure to listen to and his emoting is perfect. (I searched out anything else he's narrated, regardless of genre, and put it on my TBR list.)

The Driver is in the 'gem' category in my library, to be listened to again and again. I'm fervently hoping there'll be more Skellig & Co adventures in the future.

Well worth the credit.

overwritten

The opening chapters are so overwritten the narrator fumbled to find how to read the amped-up language and find the thread of a tale. Eventually, though, things settled down, and it's a pretty good story with some interesting (if overdrawn) characters and a plot that rambles into some interesting territory while eventually arriving someplace. It's good enough to keep reading . . .

Pleasantly Surprised

Hart Hanson's book was a a pleasant surprise. Interesting characters and a story that moves at a good pace.

Looking forward to a sequel.

What a find!

I can't say enough good things about this book! A real surprise for sure. It had been on my wish list for a while when I decided to go ahead and use a credit on it.
The story, the writing and the characters were great, really original and well developed. The story was tightly woven together but wait! Was that a tear in my eye close to the end? Why yes, my black heart let one slip out. Fortunately it was followed by some more stellar storytelling peppered with the very necessary sarcasm to keep my interest.
I did a little reading about the author and found he'd done some writing for tv which explains the ease with which he told the story through a variety of rich characters. Take a listen!

Outstanding Performance of an Excellent Book

I truly loved this book. The story, although quite good, paled in comparison to the manner in which Ari Fliakos brought the diverse characters to life. The writing style blends humor and edge-of-your-seat tension in order to develop a tremendously entertaining read.

Loved it

I want a sequel NOW. I loved the main character and his friends and can't wait for more.

What an incredible story!

I was a little leery because of some of the negative reviews. This book may not be for everyone but if you enjoy clever dialogue bordering on out right humor, mystery, and the complex nature of people trying to work out unfixable issues through indirect tangible means then you’ll love this book. The characters are rich, the backstory is intriguing, and the premise is sound. Great first book by the author. I really hope that he does many more. I disclaimer that I am a therapist who works with veterans through some of the same issues. I don’t think that biased my opinion, but I’ll acknowledge that it might.
Of course, the whole is greatly enhanced by the narrator. By far my favorite narrator. He is able to embody the characters and to really nail the clever timing of the dialogue! The truth is I came to this book by looking up other books that he had narrated. This is well worth the credit.