Let me cut to the chase - I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did.
I'd been on a Preston & Child kick after burning through most of the Pendergast series on long drives between client sites. So when I saw they'd launched a new character, Gideon Crew, I figured it was a safe bet for my Tuesday night insomnia session. Ranger was already snoring on the floor. Linda was asleep. Just me, the dark, and John Glover's voice coming through the bedside speaker. And look, Glover almost - almost - carried this thing across the finish line.
The Setup That Overstays Its Welcome
The premise is genuinely strong. Kid watches his father - a brilliant mathematician - get framed for treason and killed. Mother drops the truth on her deathbed years later. Son goes full vengeance mode. That's a solid foundation for a thriller. And the opening act where Gideon executes his revenge scheme is well-constructed. Preston and Child know how to build a plan-within-a-plan, and I appreciated the mechanical detail of Gideon's operation.
But here's where it lost me - that first act takes its sweet time. I'm talking a good chunk of the first third is setup that could've been tighter by at least an hour. And once the revenge mission wraps up and a shadowy organization recruits Gideon for a new job, the book shifts gears into something that never quite finds its footing. It's like they wrote two different books and stapled them together.
When Your Protagonist Makes You Wince
I've seen a lot of debate about Gideon Crew online. Some people love the guy - trickster, genius, rogue operator. Fine. I get the appeal on paper. But in practice? I found myself grinding my teeth at how inept he is at critical moments. He's supposed to be this brilliant operator, but he stumbles into situations that a second lieutenant on his first deployment would've seen coming. The author clearly did their homework on some of the technical elements - the math background, certain tradecraft details - but then Gideon does something so tactically stupid it breaks the spell.
The supporting cast doesn't help much. They're thin. Functional placeholders moving through scenes rather than people you'd remember a week later. Compare that to Pendergast's world, where even minor characters have texture and weird little quirks that stick with you. Thin supporting casts have a way of sinking otherwise competent thrillers — I ran into the same problem with Dance of Cloaks, where the world-building did the heavy lifting but the people moving through it left no impression. Here, I couldn't tell you a single memorable trait about anyone other than Gideon himself.
Glover Earns His Paycheck
Now, credit where it's due - John Glover is doing real work here. He's got this way of shifting his pacing and volume that builds tension even when the plot isn't earning it. His voice drops to near-whisper during the tense infiltration sequences, then ramps up for the action beats. It's effective. He creates distinct enough vocal signatures for different characters that you're never lost in dialogue scenes.
There is some music and sound effects layered under the narration, and I'll be honest - it bugged me. Not constantly, but enough that I noticed it pulling me out of the story during a couple of quieter moments. When you're listening in a dark room at midnight, unexpected background music feels like someone sneaking up behind you. Not in a good way.
The Ending That Fizzles Like a Dud Round
I won't spoil it, but the ending is anti-climactic in a way that feels deliberate - this is clearly a series launcher, and they're holding back for future books. I understand the strategy. Doesn't mean I have to like it. You spend ten hours with a character, you want some kind of payoff that doesn't feel like a recruitment brochure for book two.
The killing and violence throughout is present but oddly weightless. Nothing lands with real consequence. I've read (and lived through) enough to know that violence should cost something in a story. Here it just... happens. Moves the plot forward. Next scene.
Who Should Gear Up For This
If you're a Preston & Child completist, you'll want to check this box, but temper your expectations against the Pendergast standard. If you're new to these authors, start with Relic or The Cabinet of Curiosities instead - you'll get a much better first impression. Glover's narration makes this a decent enough listen for long drives or airport waits, but it's not something I'd burn a credit on when there are stronger options in the catalog.
Ranger slept through the whole thing, which is either a commentary on the pacing or the fact that it was 2 AM. I'll let you decide.
Mission Assessment: Acceptable But Not Decorated
Worth your time? Here's the debrief - it's a 6-out-of-10 thriller propped up by a 7-out-of-10 narrator. The bones of Gideon Crew as a character have potential, and I might give book two a shot if I'm out of better options on a long road trip. But this one's a borrow, not a buy. The gap between what Preston and Child are capable of and what they delivered here is noticeable, and no amount of good narration can fully bridge it.
