The Odessa Concessions

By: Gordon Deverowe

Narrated by: Rich Miller

Chris O'Grady writing as Gordon Deverowe. The murder of old Arthur Lockwood was handled so carefully that the police weren't sure it was a murder, but his granddaughter Leah Lockwood was suspicious from the start. She began digging. Slowly the Russian mob in Brooklyn began to become a presence trying to ease into the old man's Lockwood Petroleum empire. And they weren't the only ones. Legitimate oil companies were involved, overseas distributors, they began coming out of the woodworks. And then there was Weaver.

©2003 Christopher O'Grady (P)2014 Christopher O'Grady

quite an interesting premise

Arthur Lockwood, head of a large petroleum company, dies under mysterious circumstances. Was it accidental or was he murdered? His granddaughter Leah and his personal security man don’t believe in the accidental version established by the police and supported by Leah’s father. But why have some of Arthur’s computer disks disappeared and how can the one single suspicious pill that does not match his other medication and that was found in the old man’s bathroom be explained? And what interest does the Russian mafia have in the Lockwoods and their company?

The Odessa Concessions was based on quite an interesting premise, and some parts were quite exciting and good thriller material. But there was such a large cast of characters and so many different points of view that kept alternating that it was a difficult story to follow. I would have preferred to have a printed copy to enable me to go back and check how various people were connected with each other. There wasn’t one single character that really stood out. I do not really need any likable characters, but it’s nice to have at least one person to focus on, either because they make you feel something or because they are in some way intriguing. I just didn’t find anybody like that here and that made it a bit difficult for me to become really absorbed in the story. There were also a couple of scenes that deserved a big eye roll for the manner in which females where portrayed. The writing was ok for the most part, but some of the humor felt forced, the dialogue stilted and some points were over explained. Overall, it wasn’t a bad story, but it wasn’t thrilling either.

The narration was well done. Rich Miller did a very good job with the various accents and his pace was great. He used a variety of voices, but because of my issue with the amount of different characters I would have appreciated more differentiation. But I would certainly listen to other books narrated by him. There were no issues with the production.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

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