I am not always about story lines with a 100% alpha character and a 100% beta character. People are complex…we are all over the map. When I started listening to this book, I expected a 2-dimensional group of characters. I was immediately proven false.
The saying is…”Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” That pertains to this book but also to the central characters. Joker is a man who wants what all of us want…family, connection….to belong. This, unfortunately is complicated by a touch exterior and a sarcastic, biting humor that drives people away. These coping mechanisms are there for a reason though…he holds enormous grief and has his own shameful secrets. It takes an “art project” and the patience of Brennan to make his walls start to crumble. Even this process wasn’t magically clean and uncomplicated. He ran and came back and hid and pursued. As he started trusting Brennan and then the rest of the crew, he found that family and love heal when nothing else will. I really enjoyed this book.
David Allen Vargo was an unexpected surprise. When I first heard his narration I almost jumped out of the audio version. Initially it sounded like a mix between a backwoods old man and a poorly executed Georgian accent. I hunkered down, thinking maybe he would grow on me. This guy got inside my head. The rawness that he gave Joker was amazing. I’m not necessarily a stoic kind of guy, but haven’t ever choked up in an audio book till now. The vulnerability in his voice in the last quarter of the book as Joker opens up to the man he loves and to his brothers MESSED. ME. UP. If I could give David 6 stars I would. I have my favorite narrators but none of them have knocked me over like Mr. Vargo. Phenomenal.