Audio Book Review: Void Moon, by Michael Connelly

After serving four years in a Nevada prison, Cassie Black has been paroled and is selling luxury sports cars in LA. When she decides that she needs “one more big score” she gets in touch with Leo, her former contact in Las Vegas. Leo tells her there is a high rollerwho has shown up with a briefcase filled with money handcuffed to his wrist. The man has already won big on his first night and will be in Vegas for two more nights. Leo tells Cassie that her part of the take can be around 100 to 150 grand. The story really explodes after Cassie successfully steals the money the man won as well as the briefcase he keeps on his wrist while he sleeps. After the robbery Vince, who runs the casino, calls in his friend Jack, a ruthless private investigator, and tells him there is big trouble. The briefcase did not hold the high roller’s money but was sent by the Cuban mafia in Miami to someone who was to arrange a buyout of the casino. The case held two and a half million dollars and Jack will stop at nothing to find and kill Cassie so that he can get the money back to Vince. Since it was Vince who was to make the money transfer for the Cubans, he know s that his life in jeopardy, too, unless Jack can get the money back. Except for the costume changes and fancy martial arts moves, Cassie is like the Jennifer Garner character in Alias. Oh, and there’s also the difference that Cassie is an ex-con, not an ex-CIA operative. What is the same, though, is the way she uses high-tech gear to commit her crime. It is fascinating to see all the expensive equipment Cassie has to purchase and how she uses it to enter a room that has a chained and deadbolt secured door. Michael Connelly doesn’t disappoint with this crime thriller. Most readers associate Connelly with the Harry Bosch series where the main character is a flawed, but admirable cop dealing with bad guys. This book is a departure from that series, but the main character is admirable, too, even though she’s a convicted felon who’s just committed another crime. Connelly is a master storyteller who combines sound crime research with well-defined characters and ingenious plots to set the standard in police procedural novels. The cat and mouse game played by Jack and Cassie leads to a surprising conclusion that will leave the listener cheering. This is a book that is well worth adding to your must read list.

Void Moon by Michael Connelly
Read by L.J. Ganser Hachette Audio, unabridged: 11 hours on 9 CDs
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