Wow, I can say that I was not ready for the level of action and excitement that was delivered in the third installment of the Adrian Hell series. “The Last Bullet” was an audiobook that kept my attention from start to finish, and everywhere between. This tale had more twists than the past ones in the series, and I can say that I really could sense the rage that revenge causes and the mistakes that happen when you are so narrowly focused. This series is the premiere work of James P. Sumner and I can say that I have enjoyed them quite a bit. What makes the story even better is that it is narrated by Gary Bennett, a rather prolific and veteran of audiobook narration. He has voiced some of my favorite characters, yes, each time I hear his voice it never sounds routine or the same. This audiobook, and the entire series, provides a well-rounded story that is loaded with action and thrills. If you like your listens to be on the gritty noir side of the spectrum, you will not go wrong with this latest installment in the series. Well worth the listen.
The story opens with a requested personal hit as our main character is an assassin for hire. This request turns into more a tedious project that leads our character on quite a different path. What appears to be a simple request to off a known wife beater, quickly devolves into something that could completely turn the luck of Adrian and potentially even be life threating. What was a bit different in this story from the previous in the series is that Josh is in the field with our main character. I have always seen him more of an agent Q, from the James Bond series, sitting in his lair helping from behind the scenes. However, here we have him front and center to the action. I liked that. The story pivots and we see just how revenge can cause a logical person to begin making mistakes. Our character often felt as if he was invulnerable, but now we begin to see he is vulnerable and has growing chinks in his armor. This is because of the personal nature of his new task and his mind is clouded by the anger and revenge.
I found the writing in this third audiobook in the series to be more detailed and provided more background information from the previous ones. Here we are given some flashbacks to allow the listener to better know the main character and feel his pain. I also enjoyed the many references to music of the time and that every mission needed to have music as well. Although it is often vintage songs, they brought memories back to me. The level of gun knowledge and technology also was evident in this audiobook. Either the author has this from previous work experience or has performed some in depth research into this subject matter for his writing. The previous stories had some moral decision making by our main character choose which was often easy, but this one felt like such choices were heaver and weightier on Adrian. For some reason the consequences seemed like they would be harder to accept and swallow, even for a trained killer. Will this be the last of our character’s adventures, you will have to listen to find out.
The audiobook’s narration is done by one of my favorite narrators, Gary Bennett. As I said earlier, he has voiced some of my favorite characters, and this series is no exception. The audio is crisp and clear. I do not recall any pops, clicks, background noise, etc. while listening. The signs of an expert in his field. Even his ability to properly voice female characters so that they do not sound like a chipmunk or baritone is often welcomed. This is a skill that takes much time and practice to perfect. I recommend picking up any of his works as his voice is easy to listen to and he provide a means of bringing all the characters in a tale to life.
For parents and younger listeners, I have to say up front that this story is not written for younger audiences. It contains a fair amount of foul language and adult themes such as drugs, sexual topics, and quite graphic violence. I would recommend it be listened to by more mature individuals.
In summary, for the third tale in the series, I can see that the author and characters have matured over time. This story seemed to have more background information and moral decisions with meaning than I recall from the previous ones. No question that the narration is solid and pleasant to listen to. If you enjoy that noir genre and action-packed adventure, I suggest you pick up the stories and give them a listen.