Dead of Night

The past 11 adventures featuring Marion "Doc" Ford have found the marine biologist/ex–black ops specialist placed in more than his fair share of dangerous situations, and this entry is no exception. When old friend Frieda Matthews asks Ford to visit her eccentric brother, he reluctantly agrees—and soon finds himself wrapped up in an insidious real estate scam with bioterrorism at its core. Having narrated two previous Doc Ford audiobooks, Hill possesses an excellent grasp of White's prose and his diverse cast of characters. He supplies Doc with an appropriately earnest, world-weary voice and nicely captures the heavy Russian accent of the sadistic assassin, Dasha. His pièce de résistance, however, is his portrayal of Ford's burned-out hipster sidekick, Tomlinson. A quintessential non-materialistic/antiestablishment throwback to the '60s who finds himself incredibly wealthy, Tomlinson is the one source of levity in this dark thriller, and Hill delivers his confused musings with the finesse of a professional comedian. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 28). (Apr.)