The Hunt Club: A Novel

By: John Lescroart

Narrated by: Guerin Barry

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

A federal judge is murdered, found shot to death in his home - together with the body of his mistress. The crime grips San Francisco. To homicide inspector Devin Juhle, it first looks like a simple case of a wife's jealousy and rage. But Juhle's investigation reveals that the judge had powerful enemies...some of whom may have been willing to kill to prevent him from meddling in their affairs.

Meanwhile, private investigator Wyatt Hunt, Juhle's best friend, finds himself smitten with the beautiful and enigmatic Andrea Parisi. A lawyer who recently has become a celebrity as a commentator on Trial TV, Andrea has star power in spades, and seems bound for a national anchor job in New York City. Until Juhle discovers that Andrea, too, had a connection to the judge, along with a client that had everything to gain from the judge's death.

And then she suddenly disappears...

Andrea becomes Juhle's prime suspect. Wyatt Hunt thinks she may be a kidnap victim, or worse...another murder victim. And far more than that, she's someone with whom he believes he may have a future.

As the search for Andrea intensifies, Hunt gathers a loose band of friends and associates willing to bend and even break the rules, leading to a chilling confrontation from which none of them might escape.

©2006 John Lescroart (P)2006 Brilliance Audio

Not up to his usual excellence

I found this selection from one of my favorite authors to be a bit of a stretch. Still engaging but not at all up to the standard which I have come to look forward to in John Lescroart's excellent crime and legal thrillers. I also must admit I am partial to David Colacci's narrations.

The narrator sounds like a moron

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A narrator that didn't sound moronic. I love John lescoart & I've read & then listened to nearly all his books but this set my teeth on edge. The narrator maybe. Thinks its amusing but it's moronic - I just couldn't stand it. I persevered for 2 hours but that was it. Sorry

Cartoon voice

The narrator should work for Hannah-Barberra...all the characters sounded like cartoons...especially the women and children...the men were only slightly better.

Hunting for a new Sandford series?

I liked Wyatt Hunt and the group he's gathered and calls The Hunt Club. They are clever and dedicated, and from a variety of law and order related professions. Wyatt Hunt is the heart of this group and I thought the book was at it's best when Wyatt was front and center.

Not as good as the usual Lescroart

I love this author's book, but this one wasn't quite up to snuff. The narrator was terrible, especially with women's voices.

not good

The narration is the worst ever and I've heard of 20 of his books to date. The parts where he's just reading are fine but the characters voices are terrible.

Not the best narrator

Loved the book. But this narrator is weak on women’s voices and not very distinguishable in the male voices. Forget his attempts at children.

This narrator is the worst I've ever encountered.

Wow. The narrator absolutely killed the story. The women and children all had the same high-pitched, infantalized voice. Male characters other than the protagonist were given a dopey voice that made them sound mentally-challenged. Awkward pauses, terrible accents, and staccato dialogue--this narrator had it all.

Normally I'm a fan of Lescroart's books, but the narrator really made this one unbearable. How does someone so terrible at it actually make narration their career?? I'll never listen to another book he reads again.

Riveting story. Love Lescroart. Terrible reader.

Would you listen to The Hunt Club: A Novel again? Why?

No. I only occasionally reread any book, but I would not reread this book because of the reader. I have been listening to books since I was getting cassettes from the library. Many years. Other than William Windom, this is the worst reader I have ever listened to. Usually the transitions between characters is smooth and you forget it is only one person. This guy squeaks when children are speaking and doesn't sound like a woman. It is really annoying. I'm hoping someone else reads the remaining books in the series.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. It is so well written just as all Lescroart novels. I have lost sleep over this book.

How could the performance have been better?

Hire someone else. See above. There are so many wonderful readers out there. As I said earlier, this guy is awful. If I didn't want to read this series so badly, I would have quit within the first ten minutes.

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

No opinion.

Good story. Narrator, not so much.

Where does The Hunt Club rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It would be one of the good ones, but the narrator doesn't pull off the various characters very well. I've listed to most or all of the Dismas Hardy stories, and this reading just doesn't come close to those.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot was well done, keeping me guessing the whole book long. Right on par with all of the other Lescroart stories.

Would you be willing to try another one of Guerin Barry’s performances?

No. I will actively avoid this narrator.

Not a patch on John Lescroart's previous works

Such a disappointment after the excellent Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky series and the other 'stand alone' novels written by this author. I lost interest about half way through but stuck with it to the end. The narrator was far too dead-pan in his delivery and maybe I would have enjoyed this more if Jeff Harding had read it. Won't read any more with Hunt as the main character