Fangs Out

A Cordell Logan Mystery

By: David Freed

Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka

From award-winning author David Freed, Fangs Out is the second installment in the pulse pounding Cordell Logan series.

Moments before he is executed, the man who killed Hub Walker’s daughter makes a troubling allegation: that the real murderer was Walker’s close friend, an important US defense contractor. Walker—famed Vietnam War veteran and hero-pilot—is looking to hire someone willing to hunt down information that will refute the claim and help restore his friend’s good name. Enter Cordell Logan: civilian flight instructor, would-be Buddhist, and retired military assassin.

Logan takes the job, thinking it will be a bit of a breeze, and an opportunity to rub shoulders with a living legend. But after flying down to San Diego in his beloved Cessna—the Ruptured Duck—he is swiftly pulled into a perplexing and dangerous puzzle. The deeper he digs, the murkier the waters become, and the more dangerous it gets. Who really killed Walker’s daughter, and why? Somebody doesn’t want Logan asking questions—and will stop at nothing to silence him.

©2013 David Freed (P)2013 Blackstone Publishing

Enjoyed, however...

Another top notch story by David. I enjoyed this book almost as much as the first. Only disappointment was the changing of the narrator. Keith was okay but nothing like Ray Porter.

Great ending

A little slow after first 10 pages then I couldnt stop listening, great ending to the plot

Interesting story

Liked the flying. As a private pilot I enjoyed the way general aviation was portrayed

Never a dull moment.

Good character with death, destruction and Humor. I am enjoy this series, but don't like changing the reader. Did a good job, just not the same guy with a different voice.

My fave Cordell Logan book so far.

Where does Fangs Out rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the upper middle class. The only thing that holds it down is the performance of Keith S., who is just not the narrator that Ray Porter is.

What did you like best about this story?

I think that David Freed has grown into himself and become more comfortable with his characters as the series progresses. Logan still takes chances that lesser men would avoid. His relationship with the stunningly beautiful Savannah continues to be an up-and-down thing, so to speak. I find myself rooting for them as a couple, and the end of this book, which I will not spoil for you, points to an increasing level of intimacy between the lovers. Both are good and likable people. It's hard to identify with Logan, given his presumably CIA history and his access to law enforcement personnel all over the place, but one can like him as a protagonist without identifying with him. This book reads smoothly, and is not weighted down with Logan's need to document every single high-level quasi-military skill in his arsenal. This is a plot that interests the reader, and the denouement is satisfying, particularly given what I just insinuated about the final statement of the book. (I'm such a tease. You get the pleasure of reading and discovering it on your own.) Enjoy.

What aspect of Keith Szarabajka’s performance would you have changed?

I just don't think that he has the dramatic skills that Ray Porter has. The voices sometimes blend together so that it is occasionally hard to hear who is talking. I do like the whispery/gravelly tone that he often uses. He doesn't do Mrs. Schmulevich with anything like the skill and affection that Ray Porter has. Obviously I don't know anything about the ins and outs of the contracts here, but my vote would be to have Mr. Porter narrate the rest of the series, however long that may be.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Logan's affection for his landlady is particularly intense when she is hospitalized and within days of dying. Both narrators read this relationship with the sensitivity it needs. It is satisfying to hear how Logan notices that he cares a good deal more for her than he thinks he is capable of caring for another person. This relationship is well-written, full of kidding and humor; underlying the witty banter are two people who derive a lot of love from the connection, proving to themselves that they are not the tough loners that they pretend to be. Do NOT kill off Mrs. Schmulevich! I can taste her brisket!