cover image Worst Case

Worst Case

James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, read by Bobby Cannavale, Orlagh Cassidy, and John Glover, Hachette Audio, unabridged, six CDs, 7 hrs., $39.98 ISBN 978-1-60024-784-2

New York detective Michael Bennett is an ace profiler who enjoys working alone, and when a beautiful young FBI abduction specialist named Emily Parker is assigned to his high-profile kidnapping case, he struggles to cede authority. Bobby Cannavale returns as Detective Bennett, slipping into his best Brooklyn accent and giving a hard edge to the character. As the kidnapper, John Glover employs a nasal whining tone perfectly suited to the character, and the phone conversations between cop and criminal are rich with tension. Orlagh Cassidy gives Emily an appealing gentleness, but her other female characters sound slightly clichéd. A Little, Brown hardcover. (Feb.)