Audiobooks

Gone – by Lisa Gardner

Reviewed by Johni Morgan
Leased-operator,
O&S Trucking

Listening Time: 6 hours
Publisher: Random House Audio
Retail: $29.95
Genre: Mystery/suspense

Plot: Pierce Quincy, a former FBI profiler, must use all his skills to save the lives of his wife and an innocent child from the savagery of a madman. Gone is his wife from her vehicle, abandoned on the side of a rain-swept road. Gone is a young boy from his home and foster parents. Pierce must battle against time, local law enforcement and his own self-doubts to save the woman he loves and the boy she has promised to protect. Secrets abound as Pierce begins his journey in search of a kidnapper, who tells the press he wants fame, fortune and very little money in exchange for the two lives he has stolen.

What was your favorite moment? When Rainie Quincy, brutalized to the point of numbness, summons every ounce of her remaining strength to fight against her tormentor in a last-ditch effort to save her life and that of the young boy she is willing to die for.

Which character was your favorite? Pierce Quincy takes my vote as the favorite character. Against all the obstacles in his path, including his own doubts, he never loses sight of his love for the woman who has hurt him so much. He never wavers in his quest to save his wife, even though he can’t be sure she will still want him in her life if she survives.

Does the book have a message or theme? The thread that runs through this story is that of survival. Each character is put to the test to survive mentally, emotionally or physically.

What did you like or dislike? I could find nothing to dislike about this book. The story was compelling and keeps the listener engrossed from start to finish. The mystery is captivating and the suspense is absolute in entertainment.

Would you recommend? I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. I would suggest they listen to it with six hours to drive. This is a book you will not want to turn off until the last secret is revealed.

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Narrator’s style: The narrator Kirsten Kairos is a joy to listen to. She is able to pull us into the story and keep us captivated from the first sentence to the last.

How would you grade the book? This is one of the few books I would rate as an A. The author writes a story that is easy to follow, even though she throws us a surprise each time we think we have the ending figured out. And the narrator, with her well-modulated intensity, convinces us that the story she has to tell is well worth our time.


It’s Your Ship – by Capt. Michael Abrashoff

Reviewed by Chip Magner,
Randall-Reilly Publishing

Listening Time: 6 hours
Publisher: Random House Audio
Retail: $29.95
Genre: Mystery

Listening to the CDs brought memories of my days at sea serving aboard my destroyer during the mid-’80s. Having served aboard ship as a junior officer under two commanding officers, I was thoroughly entertained as I listened to Capt. Abrashoff’s leadership challenges and management techniques aboard his ship.

This is a must read/listen, if you are in any position of leading people or if you run your own business as an owner-operator. It’s also full of valuable lessons for company drivers who know that an employee who shows leadership and initiative skills will climb the income ladder.

As a business leader and active reserve naval officer, I highly recommend focusing in on his leadership lessons. Anyone involved in the running of a trucking company would benefit from Capt. A.’s experiences. One example that the book references was to engage the entire crew in owning the success, or worse, the failure, of the ship’s operational readiness and combat readiness exercises. Finding solutions to challenges at all levels of the organization empowered all members to build an “it’s our ship” mentality, and it translated into everything they set their minds to. They were one of the best ships in the U.S.Navy at that time. They were confident and competent, and it was mostly because the commanding officer gave them ownership.

A management tool that Capt. A. used was his “manage by walking around the ship,” MBWA. In all organizations we could do a better job as leaders to walk around and talk to our people. Capt. A’s unique style and his stories about the Gulf War, readiness, being the best darn ship in the Navy are a great lesson for all of us.

Read/listen to this CD, and pass it along to your boss. He/she will enjoy the stories, and better yet, recognize your talents as well.


Notables:Two Little Girls in Blue – by Mary Higgins Clark
Hours after throwing a third birthday party for their twins Kathy and Kelly in their Connecticut home, Margaret and Steve Frawley return home from a dinner in New York to discover the police in the house, their daughters missing, and an $8 million ransom note. The Frawleys meet the kidnapper’s demands, but the abandoned car they’re led to contains only Kelly, the body of the driver and a suicide note, saying he had inadvertently killed Kathy and dumped her body in the ocean.

At the private memorial mass for Kathy, Kelly tugs Margaret’s arm and says her sister “wants to come home right now.” More unexplainable occurrences indicate Kelly is in touch with Kathy, but no one except Margaret believes she is still alive. As Kelly’s warnings become increasingly specific and alarming, however, FBI agents set out on a search for the kidnappers as Kathy’s life hangs by a thread.
Unabridged on 8 CDs
Retail: $39.95
Simon & Schuster Audio


Drivers, here is your chance to review the latest audiobooks. Tell our readers what you like or dislike about the plot and characters, and why you would recommend it to other drivers. At left is one of the audiobooks available in the Truckers News audiobook library. Contact Kristin Walters at (800) 633-5953, ext. 1204, or via e-mail at [email protected] to reserve an audiobook. It will be sent to you free of charge for your review. Audiobooks are available on a first-call, first-served basis.

Audiobook Sources
Audiobooks may be purchased or rented from the following sources:

AUDIO ADVENTURES, (800) 551-6692, for 14-day rental of most major titles.
OASIS AUDIO, www.oasisaudio.com, for purchase.
Simon & Schuster Audio, (800) 223-2336, for purchase.
Audiobooks from these publishers, Random House, Time Warner and Topics Entertainment are available for purchase from www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www.borders.com.