Audiobook Sample
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- Title: I Follow You
- Author: Peter James
- Narrator: Justin Avoth
- Length: 10:58:33
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 09/03/2021
- Publisher: Tantor Media
- Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Horror, Suspense, Horror
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
The first time I heard Justin Avoth’s voice slither through my headphones, I was navigating the winding roads of Santorini at dusk – that magical hour when the whitewashed buildings turn golden and shadows stretch long across the caldera. There was something unsettlingly perfect about listening to Peter James’ psychological thriller while driving those cliffside roads, where one wrong turn could send you plunging into the Aegean. Much like Marcus Valentine’s life in “I Follow You”, everything appeared picture-perfect on the surface, but danger lurked just beyond the guardrails.
Peter James has crafted a masterclass in slow-burning obsession with this standalone thriller. The premise – a successful doctor who becomes dangerously fixated on a woman who resembles his teenage love – unfolds with the inevitability of a Greek tragedy. What begins as a seemingly chance encounter escalates into a chilling exploration of how easily the human psyche can unravel. James’ medical background (something I deeply appreciate as someone who’s written about doctors in remote Amazon clinics) lends terrifying authenticity to Marcus Valentine’s professional world, making his descent into madness all the more jarring.
Justin Avoth’s narration is nothing short of revelatory. He captures Marcus’s charming public persona with smooth, cultured tones that gradually give way to something darker and more unhinged. There’s a particular scene where Marcus is stalking his obsession – Avoth’s breathing becomes slightly quicker, his delivery more clipped, and suddenly I was back in that Oaxacan grandmother’s storytelling circle, feeling the same visceral tension as when she’d describe the nahuales (shape-shifters) prowling the village at night. The audio production enhances this effect beautifully – subtle echoes during Marcus’s internal monologues make you feel trapped inside his deteriorating mind.
What makes this audiobook particularly effective is how James and Avoth collaborate to exploit our natural human tendency to empathize. Like that time I found myself sympathizing with a corrupt border official in Bolivia because he’d shared his childhood stories, I caught myself almost understanding Marcus’s warped logic at times. The narration makes you complicit in his obsession, which is far more terrifying than any overt horror.
The novel’s Mediterranean setting (primarily Jersey) becomes a character itself under Avoth’s treatment. His crisp pronunciation of French phrases and the way he lingers on descriptions of coastal landscapes reminded me of listening to “The Talented Mr. Ripley” while sailing the Amalfi Coast – that unsettling contrast between breathtaking beauty and human darkness. James’ descriptions of medical procedures gain extra grit through Avoth’s clinical delivery, making scenes like an emergency C-section as tense as any chase sequence.
Where the audiobook truly shines is in its handling of perspective. Unlike my experience with “Gone Girl” (where the narrators’ starkly different voices signaled perspective shifts), Avoth makes these transitions more insidious. His slight vocal adjustments for female characters aren’t impersonations so much as subtle tonal shifts, forcing you to stay alert about whose viewpoint you’re inhabiting. It’s a brilliant choice that mirrors the book’s themes of blurred identities and unreliable perceptions.
For travelers who enjoy atmospheric thrillers, “I Follow You” offers that perfect blend of armchair tourism and psychological tension. There’s a scene where Marcus follows his obsession through a hospital corridor that had me gripping my steering wheel on that Santorini road, the audio’s spatial effects making me feel like I was right behind him. James’ medical thriller expertise (honed through his Roy Grace series) combines with Avoth’s performance to create scenes so vivid you’ll find yourself holding your breath during routine doctor’s appointments afterward.
The audiobook isn’t without minor flaws – some secondary characters verge on cliché, and a few plot twists require suspension of disbelief. But these are easily forgiven when the central performance is this compelling. It’s the audio equivalent of watching a skilled bullfighter – you know where it’s headed, but the artistry makes the journey irresistible.
For fans of “The Silent Patient” or “The Doctor’s Wife”, this audiobook offers a fresh take on medical noir. Avoth’s narration elevates material that might feel familiar on the page, finding new layers in James’ prose. There’s a particular genius in how he delivers the final act – I won’t spoil it, but the way his voice fractures during the climax left me parked at a Santorini overlook long after the chapter ended, needing to process what I’d heard before continuing my drive.
Until our next literary journey through the shadows, keep one eye on the road and both ears open for danger.
Marcus Rivera
