No One Knows

Schnaubelt’s performance as Aubrey Hamilton, the dicey heroine of Ellison’s standalone thriller, is entirely convincing. Aubrey bemoans the loss of her husband, Josh, who is declared legally dead at the start of the Nashville-set story. Schnaubelt’s portrayal makes us feel the character’s unbearable loss, loneliness, panic, and escalating anger as the story folds and unfolds, the current scenes intertwined with flashbacks to the days of her husband’s disappearance five years earlier. We’re given to understand that no one, including Aubrey, knows Josh’s whereabouts. Voice actor Podehl soon pulls us into Josh’s bouts of fear, jealousy, anguish, and treachery as Josh tries to extricate himself from a dangerous situation of his own making. Though the listener is sometimes bemused by tone changes and awkward plot complications, the story is an entertaining brainteaser with a surprising ending. [em]A S&S/Gallery hardcover. (Mar.) [/em]