Contract to Kill by Andrew Peterson, read by Dick Hill
Andrew Peterson is one of the writers that I have discovered through Dick Hill, it was in one late Summer afternoon just a couple of years ago while I was browsing the Audible catalog, by narrator and I saw that Mr. Hill recorded something called Force to Kill by an author I never heard about before. I asked Dick about the book and he said that I should definitely try it. Why all this introduction? Well, because that’s exactly what I did and from that day since, I read all Mr. Peterson’s books and loved them all.
The Nathan McBride series has reached now number five and I’m really thrilled that I’m able to write a review for the audiobook version.
In case you are new to Andrew Peterson’s work, as I once were, allow me to fill you in on the characters and I’m sure after you’ll read some of his novels, you will never miss one again and you will grow to care for Nathan and his friends.
All the Nathan McBride books follow an ex CIA Marine Sniper with the same name and his friend Harvey Fontana. I’m not willing to tell you anything more about the first four books because you should just grab them and discover the adventures without any spoilers from me.
In Contract to Kill, a friend of Nathan, by the name of Toby Haynes, witnesses a double murder and fearing for his life he asks for Nathan’s help. Without me giving up too much of the plot I need to tell you that the person whom Toby had seen committing the terrible crime, is actually his boss, Tanner Mason, the Security Chief for one of the largest Private Military Contractors in the United States. Nathan McBride, Harvey Fontana and McBride’s girlfriend who works for the FBI, start an investigation into Tanner Mason and by doing so they light the fuse to a very big hornets nest. From this point on, Andrew Peterson takes us through a chain of events full of heart pounding action and Dick Hill’s performance is stellar, as always.
From my point of view, Contract to Kill is the best book in this series yet, because all the characters are much better defined and they feel alive and real. Nathan is really confused about some aspects of his life, Harvey is always the voice of reason that keeps Nathan from acting rush and McBride’s girlfriend, FBI Agent Holly is torn between her job and the love for Nathan. One other aspect that I enjoyed was the relationship between Nathan and his father that gets more attention from Mr. Peterson then it did in previous novels.
Contract to Kill is very well paced, with deeply emotional moments and on the edge of your seat action sequences. You may even call it a page turner if you want, but I listened to the audio version and I couldn’t push the pause button and stop Dick from his awesome performance. Now, let me tell you about that experience.
I have spent a large amount of my last 10 years listening to audiobooks and as any audiobook fan I have a few favorite narrators. For me, it all started with Michael Prichard, Dick Hill and Scott Brick, but with time I’ve discovered many others that I love today.
I said this and I know I’ll say it, again and again, Dick Hill is one of the best voice-over artists in the Audiobook Industry. He has a talent for keeping you entertained for hours at a time and sometimes I joke that I could listen to him read the Phone book or the Yellow Pages. I identify Mr. Hill with Jack Reacher, a younger Harry Bosch, Dr. Allan Gregory, Inspector Wallander, with Nathan McBride and many others.
In Contract to Kill, Dick Hill gives life to Nathan, to his friends and foes. When it comes to audiobooks, the narrator can destroy a book or he can make it better. He can just read it or he can act it, and Dick Hill acts from the beginning to the end. I love how he chooses different voices, accents and inflections for every character and makes it feel real. Nathan is unstable at times, Harvey is calm and rational, Holly is unsure and tense, Tanner Mason is without remorse and the elder Senator McBride, Nathan’s father, is well spoken and respectable. Yes, this is the way Mr. Peterson envisioned them, but if you are not listening to an audiobook, the only one who can bring them to life and paint them in these colors is the narrator and Mr. Hill does exactly that.
If you choose to go with the audiobook version of Contract to Kill all I can say is that you will be entertained the entire 12 hours of it by one of the best narrators out there.
Mr. Peterson knows how to tell a great story. He is always accurate, never loses focus, creates lifelike characters and thinks of convoluted and very interesting scenarios. I can’t wait for the 6th Nathan McBride novel!
Book Description
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- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
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Victor Dima
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