Providence

The three leads in Kepnes’s dark romantic thriller—Jon, the shy middle-schooler kidnapped and unwittingly transformed into a toxic superman; Chloe, the unattainable love of his life; and “Eggs” DeBenedictus, the seriously ill but relentless police detective investigating a series of suspicious deaths in Providence, R.I.—are brought to vivid life by a trio of talented performers. Reader Andrews voices Jon as a soft-spoken, bullied teenager infatuated with his only friend, Chloe. Years later, Jon returns, mysteriously changed into a powerful man whose emotions can have fatal results, and his self-disgust and frustration are obvious in every word he speaks. Actor Rankin’s performance as Chloe, Jon’s childhood friend, tracks the character’s evolution from a giddy teen to a woman in love. As Eggs, actor Michael smartly conveys the relentless sleuth’s determination to find the truth behind the series of deaths despite a debilitating illness. Kepnes’s plot may be built around Jon’s supernatural transformation, but the audiobook’s success is based on the novel’s more human elements: obsession, longing, love, and the possibility of a better tomorrow, all brilliantly conveyed by its three narrators. [em]A Lenny hardcover. (June) [/em]