Living Proof

By: Peter J. Thompson

Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann

Government secrets. Biological weapons. Human subjects.

In a top-secret complex surrounded by miles of Texas scrubland, the United States military is working on a new form of germ warfare. Taken from homeless shelters and prisons, the subjects, discarded men and women of America, serve their country as unwilling lab rats.

Ramon Willis didn’t commit the murder that put him on death row. But he’s guilty of something worse - surviving the virus and escaping his captors. Knowing he can’t take on the corrupt system alone, there’s only one person he can turn to - Lena Dryer, the reporter who covered his case and watched him die.

With assassins dogging their trail and all their options for survival closed off, they must risk everything to bring this conspiracy to light. But time is short. When an extreme faction in the government pushes forward with the next phase of their plan, the fate of the nation hangs in the balance.

©2018 Peter Thompson (P)2018 Peter Thompson

A premiere thriller that stands with the others

If you are a fan of TV shows in the like “24” or if you are a person who enjoys suspense thrillers, I suggest you give “Living Proof” by Peter J. Thompson a listen. The book is energetic, well-paced, and fast-moving. It is what one might expect from a thriller story. The audiobook’s narration is performed by Gary Tiedemann; who I have enjoyed listening too through many other audiobooks over the years. His voice seems to fit whatever the book he is voicing like a glove. One of the things I enjoyed about this audiobook is that it is a stand-alone story, not a serial like many others available today. I am not saying that the book does not leaves a few open ends making way for a future sequel. What could go wrong when you have corrupted penal personal, clandestine military bases, covert experiments and conspiracies around every corner? This sums up what you will find in this book. The United States military begins an experiment with deadly viruses to control more than just an enemy. If this sounds like something that you would enjoy, I recommend you pick up the book and give it a listen. For the author’s premiere work, I think he accomplishes his task quite well. Are there a few bumps and bruises along the way? Yes, but many can be forgiven if you are looking for an enjoyable story.

As the book’s summary says, there is a secret government agency and a few rogue agents who are developing a custom virus that will infect and kill large numbers of people once they are infected. Not only a virus is required, but an antidote as well. This secret agency needs human subjects to perform their testing on, and where better than to get them from people on death row who are going to die anyways. To supplement their needs, they also take to the streets offering food and shelter to the homeless. Prisoners are brought nearly to death from the normal concoction of drugs during the process of terminating the life of a sentenced criminal. Once these people are pronounced dead by the prison doctor, who is in on the game, they are whisked away to this facility to be used as test subjects; or rabbits as some call them. Things begin to unravel when one of the test subjects escapes and the hunt to return him to the facility or kill him to keep their activity a secret begins. There are a few well-known stereotypes one finds in books of this genre such as the nosey reporter, hardline military, and scared scientists just doing their jobs. However, the book adds life, purpose, and direction to its characters making the story quite enjoyable overall.

The author weaves a believable tale that could be taking place right now without our knowledge. There are a few places where one needs to suspend belief, but much of the book felt like I was watching a TV show or movie. I can recall the process where someone breaks a strong government encryption cypher in a matter of hours where in reality it would have taken hundreds or thousands of years to truly accomplish the task. I understand this is a piece of fiction and like with TV and movies much of the slow boring stuff has to either be removed or sped up for the general population. For me, I would have liked to have had a bit more action and things being smashed during the story line than what the author included. But, as thriller are not my strongest genre, I can say there was a good amount of suspense and mystery keeping me engaged the whole way though. In some ways, the story felt more like Psycho where it was less about the action and visual stimulus as it was engaging one’s brain working out all the various elements as they come together.

The book’s narration by Mr. Tiedemann was what I have come to expect. It was professionally produced, had no audio artifacts (only a few compression noises during times of silence), and his ability to voice different characters was spot on. Volumes were consistent and I do not recall any other background noises such as page turns or swallows. The narrator did a good job of voicing both male and female characters along with giving them distinct personalities. With over one-hundred and twenty-five book already narrated by Mr. Tiedemann, this is one more that I can say was done with high standards.

For parents and younger readers, the book contains a fair amount of vulgar language, references to mature subject matter such as rape, sex, and other material I would think inappropriate for younger readers. The book also contains some quite graphic violence. There is one scene where two people engage in sexual activity which is quite descriptive. If you find this type of content offensive, I would recommend you find a different book to enjoy.

In summary, for the authors first work, I found it compelling and likable. The main characters felt real and that they each had a purpose. There was a fair amount of tension not only around the hunt but also if there would be some romantic attraction between two of the characters. The narration enhanced the story and was on par with other works by Mr. Tiedemann. If you enjoy mental thrillers where you are always trying to figure out how our main character is going to escape, I recommend you give “Living Proof” a listen.

Excellent!

This is an excellent story well written with so many twists and turns it will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Gary Tiedemann has done a wonderful job in his narration he has added to the story bringing mystery and thrills throughout his entire narration

I was provided a copy of this audible free at my request and I'm thrilled to be able to leave my review

Worthwhile debut stand alone...

I thought Living Proof was a pretty good debut novel. The book gets very intense at times when an "executed " man turned science project realizes what it going on and who is behind it. This is a plot driven story with a very likable protagonist.
This is fast paced and very suspenseful. I must admit while in a covert government facility where they were doing bio testing on human beings it reminded me of the facility in Stephen King's "The Stand". However, once the protagonist escapes, he does not infect everyone he comes in contact with. On the contrary, the government wants to dissect him because he is the only person their vaccine has worked on.
Gary Tiedemann does an outstanding job narrating.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Excellent thriller.

Fast paced action, likable characters, and a clever storyline all make Living Proof an excellent thriller. I seriously couldn't stop listening, kept telling myself just a little bit more, just a little bit more. I listened to the entire book in less than 2 days. As far as I can tell this is Peter J Thompson's first book … and all I can say to that is WOW. I can't wait to see what he comes out with next. As always Gary Tiedemann does a fantastic job with the narration.

I received a copy of this audio title in exchange for an unbiased review.

Now that's a story...2 thumbs up

I absolutely enjoyed this novel. Thompson writes a great realistic story that keeps you engaged and wanting more. Gary Tiedemann narration fits the story and he does an excellent job.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Got us through the journey

OK, performance was solid, and the characters and plot arc were solid. That said...it just seemed to drag, esp the last few hours. I enjoyed the underlying concept, as well as the majority of the presentation, but it just seemed to diffuse out at then and have a non resolution resolution. It's a solid thriller/mystery, with solid storytelling, just needs to be tweaked.

Recommended with reservations.

Absolutely thrilling

Thanks to shelly from Raleigh, NC for recommending this book as well as Kindle unlimited. This was an amazing suspenseful experience, I realized I was literally at the edge of my seat during listening to the book. I even went and bought the "Hit Me" by the same author before finishing this one. The narrator was superb in performing. My only complaint is the sound. It was very low during narration but too high during dialogs. I had to keep changing the volume. When it was low, I had the volume too high and still had hard time understanding, and if I got a phone call or text at that time... well, you get the idea. Hopefully, it will be fixed for the next listeners.

Living Proof

Wow!What a story! A female journalist is doing a series on Death Row inmates.Only the last one affects her.Because of him,she uncovers the story of a lifetime.She also almost loses her life in the process. Gary Tiedemann was a terrific narrator. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

Gripping

Living Proof: Gripping, fast paced,and tense from first page to the last paragraph.
Superbly thought out storyline. I loved this book and couldn't put it down.
First I've read/listened too by this author and I'm looking forward to more.
Narration by Gary Tiedemann is good as always. (I've listened to a few of his and never been disappointed).
I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my own request, and voluntarily leave this review.

Gripping story

This is my first novel by Peter J Thompson. The book is a page turner from start to finish. I immersed myself in the thrill of it.
Well written and perfectly narrated. I’ll be checking out his other titles.