Listen

Title: LISTEN
Author: Rene Gutteridge
Publisher: Tyndale
January 2010
ISBN: 978-1414324333
Genre: Inspirational/suspense

Someone is listening…

Marlo is a small town, which claims to be the perfect place to raise your kids. But someone is recording private conversations and posting them on the web for everyone to read. The effects are devastating, even causing murder.

Damien Underwood is an editorial writer who wants to be an investigative reporter. He is allowed to do some pieces, and enlists his son, Hunter, to help when someone starts posting those private conversations on the web. Frank Meret, Damien’s best friend, is a police office, still in love with his ex-wife, also is enlisted.

Life in Marlo is disrupted. A pastor's cat is killed and he accuses the deacon whose critical words against the pastor were recorded on the website. The deacon becomes angry at his wife because he believes she passed on the information. He throws a remote control in rage, hits his wife in the head almost killing her. And that is just the beginning. It becomes vitally important to Damien and Frank to catch and stop the person posting these private provocative conversations.

I don’t like to write negative reviews. I’ve loved Ms. Gutteridge’s books in the past. They are quirky, funny, and suspenseful. But LISTEN… was disjointed. Greatly so. And unrealistic. And Damien is a journalist who hates the tools of his trade?

Some of the plotlines are not resolved—at least not that I saw. The pace is slow, boring, and confusing. I couldn’t identify with the characters. And, ouch, this hurts, but I’m giving it only two stars. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book. $12.99. 412 pages.