The Killing Season

Carter Blake, Book 1

By: Mason Cross

Narrated by: Eric Meyers

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The first thing you should know about me is that my name is not Carter Blake. That name no more belongs to me than the hotel room I was occupying when the call came in.

When Caleb Wardell, the infamous "Chicago Sniper", escapes from death row two weeks before his execution, the FBI calls on the services of Carter Blake, a man with certain specialized talents whose skills lie in finding those who don't want to be found - a man to whom Wardell is no stranger.

Along with Elaine Banner, an ambitious special agent juggling life as a single mother with her increasingly high-flying career, Blake must track Wardell down as he cuts a swathe across America, apparently killing at random.

But Blake and Banner soon find themselves sidelined from the case. And as they try desperately to second-guess a man who kills purely for the thrill of it, they uncover a hornet's nest of lies and corruption. Now Blake must break the rules and go head-to-head with the FBI if he is to stop Wardell and expose a deadly conspiracy that will rock the country.

Slick, fast-paced, and assured, The Killing Season is the first novel in the gripping new Carter Blake series.

©2015 Mason Cross (P)2014 Orion Publishing Group

Solid adventure tale, but falls short of greatness

Plot, characters, immersion. All are present, but none stand out. Cross has a future, but I hope he adds depth to Blake and his world. As it stands, Blake is so mysterious that I don't care much about him. He's not a hot head or an ice man. He just follows a trail without much flair at all.
Having said that, the dialogue is natural, pacing was excellent and I really felt that Cross was consistently verging on Lee Child territory. Hopefully in his next few offerings, we will see further growth.

Think I have found my new series!

I was a bit reticent to start this series, but I am totally glad that I did. It was a great listen and the narrator was superb. I gave the story only 4* because I did not like the ending. The rest of the story kept me on the edge of my seat.
I am looking forward to the next in the series.
The fact that it is in Plus is an added bonus!!!!!

Enjoyable action field To read

Hi enjoyed this novel I hope you keep writing It was definitely worth reading Thank you

Enjoyable, but not as good as it could be.

This is a color-by-numbers crime novel. If you let an AI digest stuff like Gray Man and Jack Ryan, this is what the AI would produce. Still, that being said, I enjoyed it!

Great listen

Good story. Wasn’t nuts over the voices the narrator gave some of the characters but that’s nit picking.

Narration a plus

The story of a man who is “good at finding people who don’t want to be found.” Despite production flubs twice somewhere between chapter 27 and 37, the narration is quite good. Voicing of the main characters is on target with the written clues to their personalities. Very much a worthwhile listen.

Escaped Psychotic Sniper

Browsing through the Audible Plus Catalogue, The Killing Season appeared to be an interesting option to listen. The story revolves around an escaped prisoner who kills at will without remorse. The FBI enlists the efforts of our lead, Carter Blake, a free lance operator to assist in the hunt.

I found the majority of the listen very entertaining as Blake assisted in the trackdown and Eric Meyers did a solid job with the narration. What turned me off was the ending of the saga as more is revealed than appeared on the surface. Not to spoil it for anyone who cares to listen, I will say there is a left wing big government paranoid conspiracy waiting for you. Otherwise, this was a fun listen. Just wish our modern day writers could stick to straight up murder mystery without miring the plot with political points of view.

good read (listen)

I enjoy books written this way, multiple points of view and action. I recommend giving it a go.

Outstanding First Novel

I enjoyed every minute of this thriller. The characters were well developed and I actually cared about what happened to each of them ... even the dastardly villain. Very good narration as well. I look forward to the next installment of this series and more from Mason Cross.
If you found this review to be helpful, please let me know. Cheers!

WOW - hope this is a start to a long series

Interesting premise around the lead character of a guy people hire to find hard to find people -it works well. The story is well paced, well written, interesting, has enough action, and contains surprises. The lead is like-able and mysterious. The narrator does a fine job. I am looking forward to more in this series (well I sure hope it is a series, it is set up well to become one).