Intrigue and Sass Justify Thriller’s 25 Hours

Twenty-five hours is a long time to spend with one author, but Nelson DeMille’s latest thriller, “The Lion’s Game,” relates a sassy and intelligent tale of terrorism, political intrigue and romance that makes it worthwhile. (Time Warner AudioBooks; unabridged fiction; 20 cassettes; 25 hours; $69.98; read by Scott Brick.)

Asad Khalil, fundamentalist Muslim and international terrorist, is making his presence known in America. He enters our country handcuffed to two federal agents, but soon disappears, leaving a planeload of bodies in his wake. A killing machine known as “The Lion,” Khalil systematically begins his revenge for the American bombing of Libya in 1986.

On the other side of the fence is street-smart John Corey. A former New York cop turned federal agent, he wears his sardonic sense of humor like a badge. He takes more chances than most Feds and meets his enemy with a combination of reckless abandon and bravery that is, well, thrilling.

The author creates two separate narrative strands and deftly weaves them together. Occasionally the pacing lags, but for the most part one cannot wait to pop the next cassette into the stereo. The only real letdown is the unsatisfying ending, which sets up a sequel. After spending such a long time with one story, listeners deserve a more conclusive ending.

Unlike most thrillers, “Lion’s Game” is rife with humor. As Khalil embarks on a murderous cross-country trek, he encounters idioms and idiots, chatty pilots and gregarious women who befuddle his brain and force us to see America from a foreign perspective. DeMille is brazenly politically incorrect. Through John Corey, he offers unvarnished opinions on women, the Feds and foreigners. His humor and attitude are brashly American and his observations are quite witty, assuming one is not too thin-skinned.

Narrator Scott Brick is a joy to hear. His manner is easy and his attitude cheeky. When portraying Corey, he sounds slightly urban, conveying not a hardness, but a cynicism that befits a former cop. He picks up slight Southern accents for some minor characters, but his performance is really about attitude, not dramatics. Brick changes his mood, tone and, most importantly, his pacing for key characters. His dynamism consistently emphasizes the novel’s aggressiveness and energy. If one is to spend a considerable amount of time with a voice, this is the voice.

The production concludes with an interview between DeMille and an unnamed questioner. It allows some insight into the writer’s mind, though the overall level of the questions and the production values are merely average.

*

Jody Shields’ debut effort, “The Fig Eater,” is a lushly told historical portrait of Vienna in 1910. As a mystery, however, it is rather slow going. (Time Warner AudioBooks; unabridged fiction; eight cassettes; 12 hours; $39.98; read by Patricia Kilgarriff.)

The audio opens with the murder of Dora, an 18-year-old woman. Her body is discovered in a public park and we are soon caught up in the surprisingly detailed investigative techniques of a man known only as the Inspector. It is with this careful attention to detail that Shields immediately captivates us. Later, it is where she loses us. There is just something about hearing too much detail that dulls a story even more than reading it. It is probably because one cannot skim ahead to a spot in which the action moves along a bit more quickly.

Though gaslight and pastries and horse-drawn carriages are a part of this story, it very much concerns the intriguing Inspector. He is married to Erszebet, a Hungarian woman who matches him intellectually but has no job to diffuse her curiosity. Channeling her energy into his work, she surreptitiously begins a simultaneous investigation of the murder. Whereas he is all rational thought, Erszebet relies on intuition, superstition and emotion. Knowing that Dora had eaten figs just before her death, both conclude that she knew the murderer well enough to eat the fruit he offered. And both husband and wife use that information in different, but equally resourceful ways.

There is much to like about Shields’ method of storytelling, but it is ultimately a noble failure on audio. Actress Patricia Kilgarriff does a commendable job, though she is a bit formal in that stagy manner of formally trained British actors. However, her diction and her pronunciation of European words is superb. Her timing is also impeccable, though a reader with a bit more energy may have been a boon to the sluggish story line.

Technically, there are a couple of minor flaws. There is a surprising amount of ambient noise and some of the cassettes end rather abruptly.

*

Rochelle O’Gorman reviews audio books every other week. Next week: Dick Lochte on mystery books.