When did we collectively decide that popcorn entertainment doesn't deserve great narration?
I ask because I've been guilty of this myself - shelving lighter thriller series as "background noise" material, something to half-listen to while shelving returns at the library. And then Scott Brick goes and narrates a book about Nazi gold and a shadowy Vatican-descended Brotherhood, and suddenly I'm standing frozen in the mystery section with an armful of James Patterson novels, completely locked in.
Scott Brick Could Narrate a Parking Ticket and I'd Be Riveted
Look, I need to be upfront: this is not a horror review. This isn't even close to my usual territory. But someone on my Discord recommended the Fox and O'Hare series as "what happens when you take a heist movie and make it an audiobook," and they weren't wrong. The narrator commits. That's rare - especially in a series seven books deep where fatigue would be totally understandable.
Brick's approach here is interesting because he's not doing voice gymnastics. He's doing something harder: he's creating tonal geography. Kate O'Hare gets this clipped, no-nonsense delivery that tightens whenever Nick Fox is being charming (which is constantly). Nick himself gets a lighter, almost amused quality - like he's narrating his own con in real time and enjoying every second. The two dads - Quentin and Jake - are where Brick really earns it. Quentin sounds like a man who's seen too much and enjoyed most of it. Jake sounds like he'd fight a bear for his daughter and then complain about his back afterward. These aren't just "different voices." They're different energies.
At under eight hours, Brick never drags. The pacing is brisk and clean, which fits because the plot itself never stops moving. Swiss Alps monastery. Western Sahara desert. Eastern European mountains. This book treats geography like a montage in a Bond film, and Brick adjusts his register for each setting without being showy about it.
$30 Billion in Nazi Gold and Exactly Zero Minutes of Boredom
Here's where I have to be honest with you: the plot is ridiculous. Gloriously, unapologetically ridiculous. A secret Brotherhood descended from Vatican Bank priests who served Hitler? A lost train loaded with $30 billion in gold? Two father-son/father-daughter duos crisscrossing continents? It's basically National Treasure if Nicolas Cage had a criminal partner and better dialogue.
And that's... fine? Evanovich and Hamilton know exactly what they're making. This isn't trying to be le Carré. The humor lands - there's a breezy, bickering chemistry between Kate and Nick that carries the whole thing - and the set pieces are constructed with the kind of clockwork precision you'd expect from two bestselling authors who've been doing this forever.
But - and this is the "but" - if you're coming to this expecting character depth or moral complexity, you'll be disappointed. The villains are straight out of central casting. The Brotherhood is ominous in concept but pretty thin in execution. That thin-villain problem shows up in Fatal Obsession too, though that one leans harder into it as a feature rather than a bug. You can feel the gears of the plot turning, and there's never a real moment of doubt about whether our heroes will pull it off. It's predetermined fun. The literary equivalent of a theme park ride where the track is visible but you're going fast enough not to care.
I noticed some longtime series fans pointing out that Steve Hamilton's co-authorship shifted the tone - a little more action-heavy, a little less of the screwball comedy energy that Evanovich brought to the earlier books. I haven't listened to the full series, so I can't confirm, but I can say the humor here feels secondary to the adventure. Make of that what you will.
Who Gets on This Train (Pun Very Much Intended)
If you want a fast, fun listen that doesn't ask you to sit in existential dread - basically the opposite of everything I usually recommend on my podcast - this is your book. It's perfect for road trips, commutes, any situation where you need entertainment that doesn't punish you for missing thirty seconds because you were merging onto the highway.
If you scare easily, skip. Wait. Wrong review. If you need substance - real stakes, real consequences, characters who change - skip this one. It's candy. Well-made candy narrated by someone who understands that even candy deserves craft.
Shirley (my cat) was unimpressed. But she's unimpressed by everything that isn't Shirley Jackson, so her critical opinion is noted and dismissed.
The Closing Shelf
I listened to this on a Saturday while deep-cleaning my apartment - scrubbing tile grout while Scott Brick described a chase through the Sahara - and it was exactly the right energy for that. Not everything needs to haunt you. Some books just need to be a good time, and Bounty delivers that with professional-grade narration and zero pretense. My podcast listeners are going to roast me for reviewing this, but I regret nothing.
