Oblivion

By: Peter Abrahams

Narrated by: Ken Marks

A woman retains the services of private investigator Nick Petrov, who achieved celebrity status after apprehending serial killer Gerald Reasoner. She wants him to track down her missing daughter, but Nick senses all is not as it seems. Then he suffers a severe head trauma, and large gaps appear in his memory. Bizarre clues lead him to believe that he must revisit the Reasoner case to solve the mystery he's been plunged into, even as a mounting sense of dread indicates he might not make it through this investigation in one piece.

Abrahams orchestrates a deftly plotted tale that will keep listeners enthralled from start to finish. Stephen King calls this national best-selling author his "favorite American suspense novelist".

©2005 Peter Abrahams (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"Abrahams creates palpable empathy for the bruised Nick, and his pitch-perfect prose is a joy." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Unforgetable...Oblivion is composed in spare yet often poetic prose...a new thriller from an unheralded master of suspense." (The New Yorker)

Good Character Empathy

I've read more than one novel in which the hero suffers from amnesia, in one form or another, but this is the first to have severe brain damage become such a gripping third character, as Nick is actually quite different in the early parts of the book than he is in the rest of the story. I applaud the author for this concept and on the follow-through. It wasn't difficult to see who the real murderer was, although Nick took a long time. Brain damage will do that, sometimes.

Sadly, the narrator seemed to have some problems with pronunciations. In all fairness, I did not see the words, so Nick's former partner may have actually have been named Joo-an, but I suspect it was just a mangled pronunciation of Juan.

I know that the written word gets proofed. Maybe Audiobooks need proofreading, too.

Memory

This is an intriguing tale from Peter Abrahms which delves into the question of both character and memory. This first trek into a novel that entwines medical trauma and mystery takes us on a journey of discovery.

good, not great

This audio book was very well narrated. I thought the story was interesting, and the author did a very good job describing the main character's condition.

Puzzling Mystery

A good listen with a sympathetic character. Best listened to in long segments to keep track of all the characters and plot twists. trying to listen in short spurts just resulted in my backtracking. give this one a try.

Great story

This is just a world all its own. I almost became Nick. It was scary and disturbing and it'll make you thank God you don't have this problem...