This was to be her last day alive. The renowned criminal psychologist Ira Samin prepared her suicide thoroughly. The death of her eldest daughter had weighed too heavily on her conscience for her to carry on and she yearned for one last drink to raise a toast to oblivion. Her morbid plans are interrupted and she is called in to negotiate a gruesome hostage situation at a radio station where a psychopath is playing a morbid game.
While the show is on air, he calls people from the phonebook at random. If they pick up the phone with a certain slogan, a hostage is set free. If they don't, then the hostage is unceremoniously shot. The man threatens to continue playing this game until his fiancée arrives at the studio. The only problem is that his fiancée died several months ago.
***
(Audible Studios, 7 May 2015, audiobook, 8 hours 7 minutes, bought from @audibleuk, various narrators)
***
***
Oh boy, this this crazy ride give me a run for my money. I'd never heard of the author before and I bought this from Audible on a whim ages ago and had actually forgotten all about it when I stumbled across it in my Audible library. I clearly missed out by not listening to it sooner. I knew I was going to love it when I listened to the intense opening chapter and was left with dozens of questions. Is Yann a psychopath or are the seemingly insane reasons for his actions in fact genuine? Amok is packed with twists and turns and misdirection, the sort of stuff I love. Each time a question was answered the events left me with half a dozen more. I love books that befuddle me and keep me guessing. I thought the ending was perfect when Ira learns the truth about her daughter's death. I was in tears. Amok is a full cast drama with sound effects and a high quality listen as well.
