Preview
  • The 22 Murders of Madison May

  • By: Max Barry
  • Narrated by: Helen Laser
  • Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (497 ratings)

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The 22 Murders of Madison May

By: Max Barry
Narrated by: Helen Laser
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Publisher's summary

From the critically acclaimed author of Jennifer Government and Lexicon comes mind-bending speculative psychological suspense about a serial killer pursuing his victim across time and space, and the woman who is determined to stop him, even if it upends her own reality.

"I love you. In every world."

Young real estate agent Madison May is shocked when a client at an open house says these words to her. The man, a stranger, seems to know far too much about her and professes his love - shortly before he murders her.

Felicity Staples hates reporting on murders. As a journalist for a midsize New York City paper, she knows she must take on the assignment to research Madison May's shocking murder, but the crime seems random, and the suspect is in the wind. That is, until Felicity spots the killer on the subway, right before he vanishes.

Soon, Felicity senses her entire universe has shifted. No one remembers Madison May, or Felicity's encounter with the mysterious man. And her cat is missing. Felicity realizes that in her pursuit of Madison's killer, she followed him into a different dimension - one where everything about her existence is slightly altered. At first, she is determined to return to the reality she knows, but when Madison May - in this world, a struggling actress - is murdered again, Felicity decides she must find the killer - and learns that she is not the only one hunting him.

Traveling through different realities, Felicity uncovers the opportunity - and danger - of living more than one life.

©2021 Max Barry (P)2021 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

“Mind-bending.... A page-turner that also holds up in terms of its metaphysical conceit.” (The Chicago Tribune)

“Barry strives to paint equally compelling portraits of the two women and comes pretty darn close. Each character assumes a fully rounded and weighty resonance.... Dynamic, suspenseful action with a light frosting of metaphysics." (The Washington Post)

"Mr. Barry avoids the obvious sci-fi option of thinking up lots of exciting worlds, and takes the grittier route of imagining intrusions into the underbelly of this one.... Unnerving. He navigates the multiverse and the concepts of string theory and chaos theory with frightening conviction. Let’s hope he just made it all up.” (The Wall Street Journal)

What listeners say about The 22 Murders of Madison May

Average customer ratings
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    5 out of 5 stars

Exceeded my expectations: smart, unique!

Happy I finally bought this title, despite some pretty discouraging reviews. The character development is *great*. I found it really interesting the way each character's self-awareness evolved (or, in one notable case, remained static) as they 'moved'. At no point did I find this book boring. I listened to it in one day, rarely pausing, attentively. This is intelligent, imaginative writing. Not my first Max Barry. I consider this an excellent book. (And yeah, I got a bit emotional when Joey reappeared. 😸) 5 star narration by Helen Laser.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Murders in the multiverse

A well done story with great narration about chasing a criminal across dimensions. There are lots of interesting twists and turns.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting

I found this to be a strong story. The characters were very well developed.
Story stayed interesting throughout.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Max is becoming one of my favorites

I really enjoyed the story. Really interesting concept and great execution. I hope max builds on this world and uses it again. Im excited to see how the big screen adapts it considering how badly they did wwz.

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

Great premise

The narrator was ok at best. Started very promising, but story got muffled, slow and weak.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved It

A SciFi race through time and worlds to stop a serial killer, with a dash of “Scream” thrown in. It lagged just a little in the middle, but all in all I found it a great listen. Also perfect narrator for this audiobook.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Max Barry does it again

Another intriguing premise, impeccably executed with humor and just the right amount of heart.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Compelling!

I am a big fan of Barry’s books and I swear he is just getting better and better. I was really intrigued to see how he was going to keep the characters straight and still show them moving from world to world and meeting different versions of the people they knew. I think he did a really good job at this aspect of the story. His books always surprise me in some way, which is why I think I like him so much. This was no exception.

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

Enjoyable Overall

Enjoyable but I found myself wanting something extra from the plot. Separately, the voice actor did great.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Didn't really even want to finish

The story had potential to be more than what it was. Not enough sci-fi to be a sci-fi, not enough romance to be a romance, and not enough suspense to be a thriller. It fell flat while trying to find it's voice. The characters are poorly developed and I didn't care for any of them particularly. The antagonist has no redeeming features or any nuance whatsoever.

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7 people found this helpful