cover image When the Thrill Is Gone

When the Thrill Is Gone

Walter Mosley, read by Mirron Willis. Penguin Audio, unabridged, seven CDs, 8.5 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 978-0-14-242895-5

Mosley's most recent series hero, New York City PI Leonid McGill, is perhaps his most complex%E2%80%94intelligent and surprisingly thoughtful and philosophic for a man of action. Mirron Willis conveys McGill's every mood; his timbre, clarity, and precise elocution are of particular importance, where there is a surfeit of story elements to keep straight. The main plot involves a deceitful client and McGill's investigation of a powerful billionaire whose wives have died mysteriously. Not only is it tricky and filled with false leads, there are numerous subplots involving the detective's personal life. His son is running a con game. His stepson is under the spell of a beautiful sociopath. His friend is dying of cancer and a young boy he's helping is on the run from thugs. (And that's not the half of it.) Master storyteller Mosley smoothly gathers all the many threads into a tidy bow at book's end, but it's Willis's crisp delivery that keeps us on track until he does. A Riverhead hardcover. (Apr.)