Audiobook Thursday - DELIRIOUS

First Line: "Eddie rode the 28-19th Avenue bus to the bridge."

Charlie is on the way up in his career. He's young, single, a prestigious senior director at SoluCent. Charlie's electronics start-up was acquired by SoluCent and Charlie was hired to run the project team developing his integrated navigation system, InVision. But Charlie's perfect world starts to crumble when he experiences memory losses. He is beginning to commit strange, out-of-character acts and has no memory of them. Could Charlie be falling victim to his father and brother's fate? Could Charlie be experiencing the onset of schizophrenia? When Charlie discovers a hit list that he wrote, he knows he has to figure something out fast before he actually hurts someone.

DELIRIOUS is Daniel Palmer's debut thriller, and he pulled out all the stops on this one. The plot is fast-paced and full of unsuspecting twists. The use of technology is an added element of suspense as Palmer plays on many of the fears of today's society. It may be interesting to look back on this book in 25 years and see how people's reaction to the technology differs.

Palmer introduces Charlie and his dog Monte in Chapter One. Monte may seem like a superfluous character in the book if the reader is not paying attention for it. Palmer subtly builds Charlie's character through his relationship with Monte and the contrast of that relationship to Charlie's other relationships. Without showing any seams, Palmer creates a character the reader will find capable of heartless actions, yet a character the reader can still empathize with and cheer for.

Probably one of the most admirable qualities of DELIRIOUS is Palmer's treatment of mental illness. There's compassion and understanding on Palmer's part, but he doesn't sugar coat the way the society views mental illness. It is enlightening and realistic.

While I figured out the conclusion early, it did not effect my excitement at racing to the end to see just how Palmer would get to that conclusion. This is an extremely well-crafted story all the way around. And it's fun.

Courtesy of Brilliance Audio, I listened to DELIRIOUS on audiobook, narrated by Peter Berkrot. The pairing of Berkrot with DELIRIOUS was an excellent choice. Berkrot has an excellent sense of the tension and build-up then doesn't over-dramatize. The only voice that didn't sit exactly right with me was that of Rachel, the psychologist. She came across as unsure and insecure. That isn't an uncommon reaction for me with men voicing women, though, and it wasn't any kind of deterrent from me enjoying the audio. DELIRIOUS made a great audio for the gym. The intensity of the plot often increased the intensity of my workouts. The DELIRIOUS audiobook is approximately 12 hours.

DELIRIOUS is available in print from Kensington Books (ISBN: 978-0-7582-4664-6) and on audio from Brilliance Audio (ISBN: 978-1-61106-343-1).