Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

A Suspension of Mercy

By: Patricia Highsmith
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.03

Buy for $15.03

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A major new reissue of the work of a classic noir novelist. Throughout her career, Patricia Highsmith brought a keen literary eye and a genius for plumbing the psychopathic mind to more than 30 works of fiction, unparalleled in their placid deviousness and sardonic humor. With deadpan accuracy, she delighted in creating true sociopaths in the guise of the everyday man or woman. In A Suspension of Mercy, a masterpiece of noir fantasy, Highsmith revels in eliciting the unsettling psychological forces that lurk beneath the surface of everyday contemporary life.

©2015 Patricia Highsmith (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about A Suspension of Mercy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    328
  • 4 Stars
    203
  • 3 Stars
    84
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    438
  • 4 Stars
    121
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    292
  • 4 Stars
    172
  • 3 Stars
    86
  • 2 Stars
    30
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

It arrested my interest immediately with likeable characters, beautiful word pictures, and mundane delights. The simplicity of the story kept me hooked. I never saw the twists coming. Unpredictable yet ordinary. “Truth is stranger than fiction” premise through and through. I find myself sitting, long after completing, to ponder the people and events, I was made that involved with them. That’s a rare gem of a book. Our narrator could not have been a better choice for this character parade!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wry Hitchcockian

Kept imagining Christian Bale’s American Psycho as Sid. Excellent story and narration. Ok 15 words

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Starts slow but stick with it

very clever mystery and the writing was so good. Good performance with good characters. enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great narrator!

Love this narrator. Story was good. Characters kept me listening. I enjoyed the journey thoroughly

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It's OK...

This was kind of a mess for me. Much too long, cardboard characters and just a mushy plot. I guess the "suspense" was supposed to come from the uncertain mental stability of the main character, but I really just didn't care...he was ...vapid. Some of the reviews were 5s...so maybe I just really missed the boat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story

Full of surprises a very well written and imaginative story. Very entertaining and light reading. Patricia Highsmith can always be relied upon for a good story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

What?!

I was totally board… I have a hard time not finishing books so I stuck through it however for the last five chapters I sped up the read to 1.8 just so I can get it over with. Confusing just to be confusing and odd, it just really made no sense.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

SLOW Burn

I tried this book on a whim. It started very slow and I was hesitant to continue it but I am so glad I did! The character of Sydney felt so real and I couldn’t help but root for him in the end.

As I said, the beginning was quite slow. A lot of exposition and back and forth between Sydney and the other characters. At times you can almost zone out. That being said, the last few chapters had me hooked! I was on the edge of my seat!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great overall!

Kept me nervous about what and how and when and who through the whole story. I loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

delusional and plodding

it was a struggle to finish. It was so many convoluted schemes that you didn't know what was real and what wasn't.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!