The Second Life of Nick Mason Audiobook By Steve Hamilton cover art

The Second Life of Nick Mason

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The Second Life of Nick Mason

By: Steve Hamilton
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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About this listen

From New York Times best-selling, two-time Edgar Award-winning author Steve Hamilton comes an unforgettable new hero - a man who will walk out of prison and into a harrowing double life that is anything but free.

Nick Mason has already spent five years inside a maximum security prison when an offer comes that will grant his release 20 years early. He accepts - but the deal comes with a terrible price.

Now, back on the streets, Nick Mason has a new house, a new car, money to burn, and a beautiful roommate. He's returned to society, but he's still a prisoner. Whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, Nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given. It's the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double life term who runs an empire from his prison cell.

Forced to commit increasingly more dangerous crimes, hunted by the relentless detective who put him behind bars, and desperate to go straight and rebuild his life with his daughter and ex-wife, Nick will ultimately have to risk everything - his family, his sanity, and even his life - to finally break free.

©2016 Steve Hamilton (P)2016 Penguin Audio
Crime Thrillers Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting
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Critic reviews

"What a fascinating, complex audiobook.... [Narrator Ray Porter's] portrayal of a criminal who is fiercely loyal to his friends and family is outstanding. He conveys the constant pressure and tension felt by Mason with his speech patterns and a tone of raw emotion always held in check." (AudioFile)

“[The Second Life of Nick Mason] is so good, it legitimately stands shoulder to padded paranoid shoulder with the classics of the crime noir genre.... There are so many terrific elements in this novel - Nick’s haunted character, a plot that never darts in the direction you expect it to, and a truly ingenious climax - that I could be here till Labor Day singing its praises.” (Maureen Corrigan, NPR Fresh Air)

“[A] heart-pounding thriller with cinematic appeal...Hamilton cleverly imbues the narrative with myriad of twists and turns, allowing the intricate plot to unfold with stunning and extraordinary skill and suspense. From the honor amongst thieves, to the honor amongst those sworn to protect us, to the loyalty among childhood friends and beloved family, multiple worlds collide as Hamilton catapults us into Nick Mason's complex psyche.” (Esquire.com)

Compelling Storyline • Unique Premise • Great Narration • Complex Hero • Fast-paced Plot • Engaging Performance
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The story isn't really groundbreaking, but it's well told. It's hard to identify exactly what it was about the book that left me wanting more, especially without giving away too many details, but it feels somewhat linear. I would have liked a little better build up and a little more resolution. Still, it's better than a lot of stuff out there today.

Well written and a good performance, but ultimately not the experience I was hoping for.

Unsettling and a little unfulfilling

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I’m not usually up for crime novels but this one’s pretty great.
RECOMMEND! Great characters and voice performance by Ray Porter.

Great book!

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Not your typical suspense plot line. Worth every minute. Great writing, still thinking about Nick Mason!

Great summer reading...

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I found the first half of this book to be slow and I could not identify with or care about the protagonist. Then, around the middle of the story, the characters got more real and the storyline more carefully crafted. If you like Chicago you will enjoy the locations for the action.

Second half is better...

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Don't miss this new novel by one of the best mystery writers in the business. Loved every second of it. And Ray Porter's narration is spot on. Just terrific all the way around.

What a great book!

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Partially. It started out well enough, but hard to embrace a protagonist who is a career criminal and brutal murderer. His only saving grace is his love for his daughter. Why would anyone like him? Plus, he goes from a non-violent criminal to a superb assasin,possessing knowledge of all guns and able to shoot like a sharp shooter--in a week. His background (high school drop-out) cannot explain his vocabulary, general knowledge, social skills or the attraction to him by the opposite sex. I like rational fiction, if not believable fiction.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The plot is a new twist on an old tale. Least interesting are the stereotypes (cops, all people who live in certain neighborhoods of Chicago or suburbs, etc).

Which scene was your favorite?

Meeting his little girl.

Did The Second Life of Nick Mason inspire you to do anything?

No.

Hard to Relate

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

Nick Mason seemed too shock about what he would be asked to do. For a criminal who knows the streets and has been in prison for 5 years, I just couldn't buy in to his not understanding why he was being freed from prison 20 years earlier.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

This story would have been great if there was more character development and character payoff. For example, I think there should have been a point in this book (seems like we're being set up for a series) in which Nick accepts his fate and resolves to be the best at what he does as he strives to get out of this arrangement.

What does Ray Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ray Porter performed well as an entertaining reader.

Do you think The Second Life of Nick Mason needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

By the end of this book, I wasn't much interested in Nick Mason. Seemed to brood and whine too much.

Any additional comments?

I don't feel like the book was a waste of time. It's an okay book for a long drive. The author tried too hard to protect this character, and that is unfortunate. I mean, if someone is telling you to be his samurai, he's not just talking about a code of closely-followed rules. Nick, with his background, should have known what was going to be expected of him. But he was in shock and rebellious. Came off as a whiner.

Meh.

Some potential but Meh

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Started out great, gets a little sideways. Ray Porter is one of the best, this is one of his early works, he makes every book he reads

Not bad

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Story starts out strong and ends somewhat lame. Had a chance to really dive into life in Chicago but took the easy rout instead and delivered a run of the mill story.

Porter is a masterful reader. Story falls off

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Set in Urban Chicago and not the desolate Michigan U.P. like most of his other books.
Many are probably not familiar with Steve Hamilton, since in the past he was considered to be a "Michigan" writer (according to the NYTiimes), Steve writes fast paced action books. Is this book the main character makes a bargain with an evil character, who can get him released from jail, but in return he has to do whatever he request for the next twenty years.
Great narration, good character development. You can tell this is being developed to be another series like McKnight. In the McKnight series the main character was a reluctant private detective, in this series the main character is a reluctant hit man.
Hopefully Hamilton will continue to write McKnight books and I look forward to seeing how this Nick Mason character deals with his situation in the next book.

Great- different than the McKnight Books

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