The Alliance by Matt Brolly @MattBrollyUK @hillaryoutloud @BrilliancePub

the setup…
Icarus (Ike) Glass, a British expatriate, walks into a San Antonio bar, takes a seat at the counter, prepared for rounds that will lead to inebriation. He’s joined by a stranger, an obese man with a Southern accent who calls himself Lyle Accrington. The next thing Ike remembers is waking up in a dark room tied to a chair with Lyle facing him with a gun. As he prepares to be killed, he realizes he’s survived after the gun is fired. Lyle’s gone but when he manages to free himself, he sees another person in the room…dead from a gunshot wound. This begins the strangest journey that goes national when three other murders occur in exactly the same way and at the exact same time, all in different cities. FBI Special Agent Shannon Wallace takes the lead on the investigation as law enforcement agencies combine to figure out what and who they are dealing with.

the heart of the story…
While the story starts with Ike’s point of view, we also get narratives from Shannon and Lieutenant Michael Boyd, the detective investigating Ike’s case. It becomes a keenly intriguing psychological exploration of the four people involved in the first murders, the people behind it and those tasked with figuring out what’s going on and why. The men pulling the strings are also media savvy, involving the entire country in the intrigue. Someone labels them as The Alliance and it sticks.

the narration…
Hillary Huber was the perfect choice for this story, with her sultry tone and killer storytelling skills. I could listen to her narrate anything.

the bottom line…
This is a sophisticated psychological thriller that will have you shifting your perspective throughout as more insights are provided. I often paused to assemble what I was learning, trying to find some semblance of logic to what was going on. Be prepared for lots of curve balls and don’t get firmly wedded to a solution. It’s unique and thought provoking, drawing me in quickly and never letting go.

Book Info

• Release Date: April 23, 2024
• Narrator: Hillary Huber
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 5 minutes
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio

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(Thanks to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)