
They also hire another killer as backup, so Mathew Bannon finds himself pursued by two ruthless professional killers. What does he do? What any serious art student would do. He takes his girlfriend Katherine, who also happens to be his professor, and flies to Paris and then to Venice. $13 million dollars in diamonds is too much to ignore, so the assassins, financed by the Russian mob and aided by computer surveillance information, track Matthew and Katherine across Europe and back to the U.S. where the spine-tingling action leads once more to Grand Central Station.
Patterson and Karp have written a first rate thriller with a delightful main character and nary a "beefy cop" among the policemen described. Mathew Bannon comes from a long line of Marines, and he proved himself a hero in Afghanistan. Using his wits, his sense of humor and his Marine training he evades his killers, while causing some collateral damage of his own. His attraction for Katherine and the lengths to which he'll go to keep her safe are endearing. The readers, Jeff Woodman and Jason Culp, people the audio book with recognizable voices, ranging from Russian thugs to effeminate artists to foreign merchants to fearless Marines.
This is a great story with several completely unexpected plot twists, one of which is major! The light-hearted banter between Mathew, his friends and Katherine belies the seriousness of the danger they face and the mayhem they create. The authors' inclusion of levity counteracts their gruesome descriptions of the villains' sadistic acts, making listening to this audio book like the joy of riding a see-saw. Most highly recommended.
Kill Me if You Can by James Patterson and Marshall Karp
Read by Jeff Woodman and Jason Culp
Hachette Audio, unabridged: 8 hours on 7 CDs