Envy by Sandra Brown

Envy

Narrated by Victor Slezak

Envy came to my attention over a year ago, but I kept putting it off because I feared it wouldn’t have enough relationship development. For decades I’d read straight mystery and suspense, and while I still love suspense, I now want books with a strong romantic element. Surely, I thought, Sandra Brown is too mainstream for my current tastes. How wrong I was, and how glad I am that I finally gave into the curiosity and bought the audiobook.  If I’d read Envy in print I still would give it an A. But, if you will excuse me for being effusive for a moment, Victor Slezak’s narration is so perfect it makes me want to stop strangers on the street and force them to listen.

Envy is an amazingly well-crafted suspense story with a multilayer plot and perfect pacing. Sandra Brown immerses the listener in her story. Whether it’s a big city, a college frat house, Key West, or an obscure Georgia island, the settings feel as important as any character in the book. This amazing ability to evoke a sense of place for her readers is one of the things I enjoy most about Brown’s writing. But the shining star in Envy is Brown’s incredibly well written suspense. The book consists of two story arcs that eventually intersect. One story arc starts when Maris, a publisher, receives the first chapter of a book in the mail. That manuscript peaks her interest, and sends Maris to an isolated island off the coast of Georgia in search of the reclusive author. Parker Evans is the author who submits the unsolicited manuscript to Maris’s publishing house. The second arc is the book Parker is writing, titled “Envy.” The two story arcs are interwoven seamlessly, with Brown doling out the backstory contained in the manuscript in tantalizing installments.

In addition to the mystery in Parker’s book, there is intrigue and betrayal going on in the present day story of Parker, Maris, Maris’s husband (Noah), and her father. Brown alternates the present day story of Parker, Maris, Noah and the rest with chapters from Parker’s manuscript,” Envy.” I can’t emphasize enough how masterfully she builds the suspense story throughout this book. Both story arcs are full of enough detail to stand on their own, but when brought together, the result feels like much more than a sum of the parts.

While there are many important and well-developed characters in Envy, the relationship between Parker and Maris stands at the center of the book. Their uneasy, yet magnetic, partnership is the spark that sets off the present day chain of events, but it’s also what allows for healing in the end. Parker Evans is not a likeable man for much of the book, and it’s obvious he’s playing some deeper game than simply trying to get a book published. Maris tries to convince herself it’s only the book she’s interested in, but she’s soon questioning Parker’s motives as well as her own. Is she continuing to pursue the matter because of the manuscript or does the recalcitrant author have something to do with her continued visits to the island?

Victor Slezak voices all the characters well, but he has a special knack for the southern accents of Parker and his assistant, Mike. Slezak’s voice for the often cantankerous Parker is deep, rough, and perfect. Slezek doesn’t use a high voice for the female characters, but instead he softens his voice. All the characters are easy to differentiate and keeping track of who is speaking in a conversation is never a problem, even though there are many characters in this book. I honestly cannot think of any way to improve on the narration for this book.

Carrie


Narration:  A+

Book Content:  A+

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my ear buds in

Violence:  Fighting

Genre:  Romantic Suspense (Suspense with Romance)

Publisher:  Simon and Schuster

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