Frenzy

I’ll admit, I approached *Frenzy* with skepticism—serial killer thrillers can so easily devolve into tired tropes. But Lutz sidesteps the clichés by making the *investigation* as compelling as the kills. The detective, Fred Carroll, isn’t a brooding lone wolf; he’s a guy with a bad back, a failing marriage, and a history with the killer that’s revealed in gut-punch increments. The cat-and-mouse game here isn’t about outsmarting a genius; it’s about Carroll’s obsession clashing with the NYPD’s red tape, and Brick’s narration sells every frustrated sigh and late-night whiskey gulp. That said, the audiobook isn’t flawless. The female characters, while well-voiced by Brick, often feel like plot devices—especially the victims, whose backstories are sketched in broad strokes. And the killer’s POV chapters, while effectively creepy, occasionally tip into melodrama (Brick’s hushed, *almost* whispering delivery in these sections works *most* of the time, but a few lines veer into villain-monologuing territory). Still, the pacing is relentless, the twists earn their shocks, and the final act’s brutality sticks with you. If you love your thrillers with a side of existential NYPD exhaustion—and a narrator who makes every line feel like a threat—this is your next binge. Just maybe not before bed.