BOOK REVIEW: Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi

 

This is the follow up to the audiobook The Dispatcher. Taking place two years after the events in the last book, we find Tony Valdez in somewhat of a financial conundrum. Budget cuts have caused him to be dropped as a consultant for the police force, and the resulting downswing in his income has forced him to take jobs that legally questionable. After completing a morally ambiguous assignment for a local lawyer, he finds himself an innocent bystander in the middle of a bank robbery. However, as the investigation into the robbery progresses, one after the other of the people involved begin committing suicide, and all the clues seem to lead back to Tony. With only his police detective friend to defend him with the law, Tony must solve this mystery, or face the same fate as the others.

Narrated by Zachary Quinto, this is an excellent installment to this series. A little longer than the first, it might take a couple of days to get through, but it is definitely worth the time. Scalzi’s writing combined with Quinto’s narration makes this a mystery and thriller that will have the listener hanging on every word.