THE SEQUEL The Book Series, Volume 2

Fans of THE PLOT, and they were legion, will rejoice at this sequel, performed with mesmerizing skill by the wonderful Julia Whelan. It's no small feat to make a lethally dislikable character irresistible on the page, let alone in the ear, but Korelitz and Whelan have done it. Anna is a monster of ego, incapable of sympathy for anyone but herself. She is also brilliant, fearless, and like most psychopaths, contemptuous of others. This causes her to underestimate them, which leads to potentially fatal mistakes. Amazingly, you find yourself rooting for Anna to extricate herself, not because she isn't horrifying, but for the thrill of seeing how she does it. Whelan's achievement here seems like a little miracle, relentlessly compelling and wonderfully satisfying. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2024]