The Extortionist

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at the protagonist’s name—Steve *Jobz*—but within 20 minutes, I was too gripped by the story to care. Zandri’s writing has this sleazy, hypnotic pull, like a late-night whiskey confession from a guy who’s seen too much. The plot kicks off with a classic setup (a politician’s dirty secret, a blackmailer with a body count), but the execution is anything but formulaic. Jobz isn’t solving a puzzle so much as untangling a nest of vipers, and the way Zandri weaves in Albany’s political underbelly gives the story a lived-in, almost documentary-like grit. Wehrlen’s narration is a masterclass in restraint. He doesn’t *perform* so much as *inhabit*—his Jobz sounds like a guy who’s smoked one too many cigarettes and lied to one too many clients, but there’s a weariness beneath the bravado that sells the character’s depth. My only critique? The female characters occasionally feel like they’re written through a 1970s noir lens (all femme fatales or damsels), which clashes with the otherwise modern edge. And while the ending lands with a punch, the final act’s pacing stumbles slightly, as if Zandri rushed to tie up loose ends. Still, the audiobook’s production is flawless—no distracting edits or volume spikes—just pure, unfiltered tension. If you like your thrillers with a side of moral nausea and a narrator who sounds like he’s seen the abyss (and maybe had a drink with it), this is your next listen.