The Finalist

By: Joan Long

Narrated by: Petrea Burchard

Five authors, each with their own secrets, are chosen to complete a deceased novelist's unfinished manuscript. For single mom Risa Marr, the competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. At stake is a million dollars and a contract to continue the famous novelist's bestselling thriller series.

Transported to the tropical paradise of Key Island, the finalists are cut off from the world and given seven days to draft their best ending for the book. But when one of them turns up dead, theories and accusations abound. Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? To what lengths will competitors go to win? And who, if anyone, will leave the island alive?

©2022 Joan Long (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Gripping mystery

When I read the print version of Joan Long‘s The Finalist, I immediately felt it would make an excellent movie. She makes you feel you are right there on the island with Risa trying to survive. When I discovered the audio version of The Finalist had become available, I couldn’t wait to listen to it. The narrator Petrea Burchard does an outstanding job performing all of the characters. Add in the visual and you’d have the movie. Excellent in print and audio.

Missed the Boat

The book may have been better with a mature woman narrator. Petrea sounded like a teenager attempting to be a mature woman. The story had promise but a fourth of the way through I knew who the murderer was. It was difficult to care about the ending.