All Cry Chaos

The Henri Poincaré Series, Book 1

By: Leonard Rosen

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

All Cry Chaos, a debut thriller by the immensely gifted Leonard Rosen, is a masterful and gripping tale that literally reaches for the heavens.

The action begins when mathematician James Fenster is assassinated on the eve of a long-scheduled speech at a World Trade Organization meeting. The hit is as elegant as it is bizarre. Fenster’s Amsterdam hotel room is incinerated, yet the rest of the building remains intact. The murder trail leads veteran Interpol agent Henri Poincaré on a high-stakes, world-crossing quest for answers.

Together with his chain-smoking, bon vivant colleague, Serge Laurent, Poincaré pursues a long list of suspects: the Peruvian leader of the Indigenous Liberation Front, Rapture-crazed militants, a hedge-fund director, Fenster’s elusive ex-fiancée, and a graduate student in mathematics. Poincaré begins to make progress in America, but there is a prodigious hatred trained on him—some unfinished business from a terrifying former genocide case—and he is called back to Europe to face the unfathomable. Stripped down and in despair, tested like Job, he realizes the two cases might be connected—and he might be the link.

This first installment in the Henri Poincaré series marries sharp, smart mystery to deep religious themes that will keep both agnostics and believers turning pages until the shattering, revelatory end. Anyone who enjoys the work of John le Carré, Scott Turow, Dan Brown, and Stieg Larsson will relish Rosen’s storytelling and his resourceful, haunted protagonist. Others will appreciate his dazzling prose. Still others, the way he bends the thriller form in unconventional ways toward a higher cause, in the vein of Henning Mankell in The Man from Beijing. In short, All Cry Chaos promises to become a critical success that garners a broad readership throughout the nation and across the globe.

©2011 Leonard Rosen (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Only the very best of writers can weave a compelling story from a maze of complicated ideas, and with this deftly crafted novel, Len Rosen has proven himself to be one of them.” (Arthur Golden, New York Times best-selling author of Memoirs of a Geisha)

Enjoyably complex story!

Enjoyed this from the start to 99.5%. All the realism and complexity was spoiled I thought by the ending. After almost 12 hours of an interesting and realistic yarn - I blurted out "ohh come on!!" I leave it up to others to decide if it suits them.

A well written book, complex lead character

Would you consider the audio edition of All Cry Chaos to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed listening to the book as the reader used well intentioned expression in his voice. He had excellent pronunciation of the French names and he understood the meaning of the book well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of All Cry Chaos?

The explosion in the hospital and the lead character's inability to change the outcome. It was both touching and well developed. The lead character was a complex, intelligent man who was both conventional and unconventional in his approach to sorting out this very personal situation.

Entertaining!

This is my first Poincaré story. I don’t usually read detective novels, but thought this would be enjoyable, and it was that and more. I get invested in narratives through character, and Poincaré’s is revealed in the course of events and his response to them. The plot is exciting and plausible; it is tied to current (at the time of publication) events. Family relationships and the abiding bonds between loved ones are the fulcrum of the plot. This unfolds at an exciting pace, and for the last three hours I was entirely captivated! For total escapism, this book is a worthy listen. The narrator is perfection.

I wish there were more

This is a good book, if not a great one. Narration is excellent. I won't hold my breath, but I will look forward to the next Poincare mystery (hopefully narrated by Grover).

Loved it!

Unfortunately, I suspect the appeal of this book will not be as broad based as it should be. The skillful weaving of science and theology into a tale of mystery and suspense that Rosen pulls off here may not be appreciated as fully by those looking for a plain vanilla mystery. I don’t know if the printed book came with illustrations as these would be helpful to those not previously exposed to chaos theory or fractals. Nevertheless, Rosen, I thought, was clear enough to have these concepts come through by listening to the reader alone. The ending, as some reviewers have mentioned, is a little on the deus ex machina side but regardless, with all that came before, Rosen has me looking forward to more from Henri Poincaré – particularly if some more science is included.

Possibly good story, but not with this narrator

Half hour in and had to stop listening as the narrator I found to be quite awful. The voice is very harsh and grating and as this dominated the experience the story was lost.

So interesting we missed our turn more than once!

What made the experience of listening to All Cry Chaos the most enjoyable?

It was compelling and engaging.

What did you like best about this story?

Suspense

Which scene was your favorite?

The computer password

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

The conclusion

Any additional comments?

Narrator was terrific. I would listen to any of his readings.

a story worth your listen...

expertly written, artfully performed; a story within a story that stirs thought long after it ends..

Mixed feelings

An excellent start,well paced and controlling the listeners (readers') interest and attention.
Less well developed,but a good listen overall

Well written, but move pretty slow.

The story is fine, but just so much detail seems to slow it down to much for me.
The reader does a nice job - I’ve enjoyed other books by him.
My 3 star rating is based on how I liked the book, but for some, I’m sure it’s a 4 or 5.