THE WAYS OF THE DEAD

Where can you find an audiobook that’s gritty, sometimes witty, with ingenious plotting and crisp, honest-sounding dialogue? Look no further. Neely Tucker’s debut novel, enhanced by the capable performance of Scott Sowers, fills the bill. The daughter of a prominent Washington, D.C., judge is murdered in a black neighborhood. Three young black men are arrested, but Sully Carter, a journalist covering the District’s crime beat, believes there are connections between the girl’s murder, the death of a prostitute, and the disappearance of several other women. Sowers is terrific as Sully, a former war correspondent whose PTSD and alcoholism keep him from being trusted by his editors. Sowers delivers Tucker’s street language as convincingly as he delivers the double entendres rampant in the conversations of the pols. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2014]