The Syncopated Heart

De: Douglas J. Keeling

Narrado por: Allen Grunerud

Michael McCann didn't plan to be riding around in the back of a French police inspector's car searching for terrorists in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. He didn't expect to fall in love with a German detective's wife who would, by chance, be in exactly the wrong spot during the subsequent terrorist attacks on Paris in November of 2015. It was not on his agenda to suffer congestive heart failure and end up in a French hospital undergoing life-saving surgery. It certainly wasn't his intention to remain in France indefinitely, leaving behind his Portland, Oregon, law practice, family, and life.

In fact, he hadn't planned to visit Paris at all during his European sabbatical from his stressful career, but it is there that he finds himself wrestling with personal, romantic, family, health, and professional issues as he confronts life-and-death circumstances, completely at odds with his original tourist agenda in the City of Light.

©2020 Douglas J. Keeling (P)2021 Douglas J. Keeling

Wow - something real different. Great

Wow. This was awesome. It’s not every day you have a main charater suffering from heart failure while ending up in some French hospital awaiting critical surgery. So original and the story just got better. More!

Enjoyable - a good listen

Enjoyed it. The story ran along well and the plot was just about right without getting me too lost. Good characters, especially Michael McCann. A part of me would have liked the story to have been longer, but throughly enjoyable

Good story - I'm a McCann fan

Stuck at home during lockdown, so I listened to a number of audiobooks, this among the better ones.
Has elements of both romance, danger, and suspense. Dialog and writing style is good and narration not bad at all.
Really lived the main protagonist McCann.

An engaging and captivating experience!

Truly a beautiful, and masterfully written, piece! The vivid depictions portrayed are as striking as if we were to witness these scenes in person. The performance is engaging and pulls you within the pages, honestly, it was over too soon.

Intrigue galore

Intrigue with abundance, with good players in the story. McCann should be developed into a series character.

Action packed

This book is set during and after the terror attacks in Paris. They are described in detail from a first hand accounting.

There is action snd confusion and mystery. There is a very American take on Paris snd Parisien attitudes.

And it’s all going great. Until it takes a turn for the weird. I won’t spoil it... but the last third of the book is very different from the thriller style of the earlier part. It isn’t bad... just a big jarring to switch gears. And somehow the switch is never really explained or discussed either.

Overall though. A chilling account of terror that ends... not entirely unhappily. (No spoilers in reviews!)

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for a review

Entertaining

Solid good story. Enjoyed listening to it a lot. I'm a big fan of Phillip Kerr and other thriller writers who set their books outside the USA. If you are the same, you should enjoy this book.