The Good Samaritan

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first. *Another* thriller about a woman who answers phones and stumbles into danger? But *The Good Samaritan* disarmed me within chapters. The narration is a huge part of why—Elizabeth Knowelden’s Laura sounds like your most empathetic friend, the kind who’d remember your coffee order and the name of your cat. That’s what makes her gradual unraveling so chilling. When she starts bending her own rules, Knowelden’s voice tightens just enough to signal the shift, like a smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes. Meanwhile, Tim Campbell’s performance as the enigmatic *Ben* is all controlled menace, his calm delivery making his few outbursts hit like a slap. The story’s structure—alternating between callers, Laura’s personal life, and the lurking threat—should feel disjointed, but the editing is razor-sharp. A lesser production might let the transitions clunk, but here, the shifts in narrators (and their distinct styles) actually *heighten* the unease. My only gripe? The midsection sags slightly under the weight of Laura’s internal guilt; we *get* she’s conflicted, and a few of her monologues could’ve been trimmed. And while the ending delivers, it leans a touch too hard on coincidence for my taste—though I’ll concede the final line, delivered by Cole with trembling precision, left me staring at my phone screen long after the audio stopped. If you love thrillers that weaponize kindness, this one’s a slow-burn knife twist.