The Expats

A Novel

By: Chris Pavone

Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò

The international thriller that Patricia Cornwell says is “bristling with suspense” about an American abroad who finds herself in complex web of intrigue.

Can We Ever Escape Our Secrets?

Kate Moore is a working mother, struggling to make ends meet, to raise children, to keep a spark in her marriage . . . and to maintain an increasingly unbearable life-defining secret. So when her husband is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg, she jumps at the chance to leave behind her double-life, to start anew.
She begins to reinvent herself as an expat, finding her way in a language she doesn’t speak, doing the housewifely things she’s never before done—playdates and coffee mornings, daily cooking and never-ending laundry. Meanwhile, her husband works incessantly, at a job Kate has never understood, for a banking client she’s not allowed to know. He’s becoming distant and evasive; she’s getting lonely and bored.
Then another American couple arrives. Kate soon becomes suspicious that these people are not who they say they are, and she’s terrified that her own past is catching up to her. So Kate begins to dig, to peel back the layers of deception that surround her. She discovers fake offices and shell corporations and a hidden gun, a mysterious farmhouse and numbered accounts with bewildering sums of money, and finally unravels the mind-boggling long-play con that threatens her family, her marriage, and her life.
Stylish and sophisticated, fiercely intelligent and expertly crafted, The Expats proves Chris Pavone to be a writer of tremendous talent.

Volume for this audio book is flawed

This seems like it would have been a good book, but I couldn't hear it. I listen to audio books all the time and only need the volume about half-way up. FOr this book, I had the volume maxed out and still had to strain to hear it. I ended up returning it. Too bad.

Good story

What made the experience of listening to The Expats the most enjoyable?

Intrigue and wondering if the main character was 'involved' in everything that was taking place around her.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No........I listened to it over a few days time. Not a page-burner.

Any additional comments?

Good story, good plot, interesting ending.

Thoroughly Enjoyed It!

Where does The Expats rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among all the audiobooks I have listened to so far, I would put Expats in my top 10.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes it did. I found myself wondering what was going to happen next quite a bit.

Which character – as performed by Mozhan Marno – was your favorite?

Kate was my favorite character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a few times.

Would be better as a movie

I have to say I enjoyed it -- and would recommend it -- but there is something definitely missing (aside from plausibility, which is not a "must" for me if the story is well done). Perhaps there are a tad too many plot twists (except that this also happens to be one of the things that keeps you hooked). Perhaps the main character is a tad too cold (except that is what makes her "life" remotely believable). Still, the performance is excellent and I couldn't stop listening. Just when you think you have figured out what happens next, something else does.

I enjoyed it.

Overall this is a good story. The bouncing back and forth from scene to scene without noticed can be a bit confusing at times. I'm sure that in the novel itself it's obvious based on type choices but audibly can be a bit challenging. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it.