Audio Book- Hell's Corner by David Baldacci

Hell's Corner by David Baldacci, read by Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy

In the last year I've read a lot of literature and short stories. I love them but I think because they're typically dialog driven I've been in the mood lately for good of fashion action stories. Something fast passed with lots of twists, bullets, bombs and miraculous escapes by lots of catch phrasey kind of heroes. This book completely hit the spot. The story starts with an old retired spy/government assassin Oliver Stone, who apparently has been in a lot of Baldacci books, almost get blown up in Lafayette Park right across from the White House by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. From there the twists and turns were the right amount of incredulous and often with an explosion or a fist/boot/knee/bullet to the face/throat/gut/side of the knee. He partners up with a MI-6 agent Mary Chapman and goes after the bad guys. He has a group of friends called the Camel Club that he is constantly pushing away so they won't get into danger then involving them when they immediately get into danger. Everyone gets hurt at one point or another but the bad guy gets it in the end, well mostly and there are 2 really kick ass female characters. Seems like pop fiction has finally figured out a lot of readers love tough women rather than old fashion broads that faint on command only to be saved by someone with a chin dimple you could drive a truck through. Oh and did I mention that there's a traitor all up in the government keeping one step a head of Stone and Chapman the entire time? No? Well, there is and if you listen to the awesomeness that is this book you'll hear about it every 3 minutes or so.

To sum up, fun book which made my commute almost fun, which says a lot.



The narrators, Ron McLarty & Orlagh Cassidy

I'm becoming more and more interested in voice actors. A good voice actor can make an audio book or animated movie that much better but a bad voice actor can completely derail the story. Both of these actors were great. McLarty had great range going from super tough guy to intellectual nerdy guy with easy. Orlagh was also great playing all the female parts which required her to rock out an English and southern accent.


Ron McLarty



Who stands in their publicity shot in front of a wall-o-gold? Ron #$%&'in McLarty that's who! Guys killing it! When former president Bush decided he's only reading the short abridged version of his book who'd they bring in for the unabridged version? You guessed it! Don't hate the player...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_McLarty



Orlagh Cassidy



It would be really cool to know how to pronounce Orlagh. I sound like a pirate whenever I try to say it out loud. According to Wikipedia and other websites she's best known for her long standing role as Doris Wolfe on The Guiding Light. Apparently her 2004 role in The Pornographer: A Love Story was less memorable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlagh_Cassidy