The Teller

By: Jonathan Stone

Narrated by: Karen Peakes

Twenty-three-year-old Elaine Kelly doesn't earn much as a bank teller, and most of her salary goes toward caring for her terminally ill mother. When a lonely old man who deposits money at her bank every week gets hit and killed by a delivery truck, Elaine - a good Irish girl from Queens - thinks she's found the answer to her problems. She'll just transfer $1 million from the dead man's account into hers.

Except that the lonely old man may not have been who he seemed. And when you take $1 million that isn't yours, it can cost you…way more.

Acclaimed author Jonathan Stone's pulse-pounding thriller takes listeners from the darkest corners of New York's financial empire into a shadowy hierarchy of wealth and power. The Teller follows the money - and takes listeners along for the wild ride.

©2015 Jonathan Stone (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

A LOT of moral ambiguity - but in a good way.

I listened to my first Jonathan Stone because it was narrated by the very wonderful R.C. Bray. Sometimes you just luck into a new author by the side door.

There's a darkness to this book, but it's not overpowering, thanks, in part, to Karen Peake's outstanding narration. She's crisp, in touch with the story, and just a joy to listen to.

At first glace, Elaine Kelly's life seems fairly humdrum. She's a teller at a branch of a huge banking conglomerate. She likes her work and her co-workers well enough, she's good at her job and engages with her customers. When she gets home, though, she is revealed to be the sole caretaker of her dying mother. So - life is a good bit worse than humdrum.

One day at the bank, an inconceivable opportunity presents itself, pushing a chain of death and danger, already in progress, to the next level. BOOM!

I love that the protagonist is female and isn't always morally on the straight and narrow. It's also remarkable that this book must surely have been written before the #MeToo movement, but comes at a perfect time for much of the plot to be poignant.

Highly recommend this one.

Lots of twists and turns

The story keeps going in directions that I would never have anticipated. I love plots that I can't predict.

Really good

Nice juxtaposition between Catholic guilt and professional international criminals. "Good Girl" commits an impulsive financial crime and is drawn into sordid criminal band. I enjoyed the "counterpoint" in the story. The first half of the book, though, was better and better written. Fast paced. I recommend.

Wow...what a story

Loved this...this was one of those books people say you could not put down. I couldn't. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read, a fast moving , exciting read. You will not be disappointed!

Unbelievable but very entertaining

Yes, yes, things happen that are totally unrealistic. And yet, I found the book to be quite entertaining. Like with "Moving Day," I couldn't wait to hear what happened next. Can't wait for more from this author.

I Liked This a Lot

I don’t do reviews, just opinions as an avid reader. I listened to this book in 2 days. A twisty story, not entirely believable, but held my interest. It was a nice escape. Good for a long plane ride or rainy day. Narrator was good, although men’s voices were a bit odd. That’s ok, as the story kept me sucked in. I’ve listened to “Moving Day” by this same author and loved that too. I’ll be listening to his other books.

First half great; second half sucked.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Listening to the first half was terrific. Our heroine, the virginal, Irish Catholic bank teller Elaine Kelly is a wonderful young woman, kinda shy, who in a moment of horrendous temptation, steals $1.3 million in a couple of key strokes. The first half of the book is the product of a great writer and a great reader. It is really hard to believe that the second half of the book has been written by the same guy. The second half deteriorates, as other reviewers have noted, into a bloody awful mess. The theft wreaks utter havoc on Elaine, and takes her through a nightmare of tortures populated by Euro-thug gangsters, a bank CEO who is the bottom in a maelstrom of sadomasochistic perversion, and adventures that belong in a comic book aimed at impressionable thirteen-year-old boys.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I think I will give Jonathan Stone a rest. I bought "two for the show," but the plot seems to be quite literally lifted from that of another, eerily similar book, in which the researcher for a Las Vegas style "mentalist" spends his time investigating every person in the audience, so that the showman can astonish them with his supernatural knowledge of their lives. Hooey.

What three words best describe Karen Peakes’s voice?

I like her a lot. She has breadth, vivid excitement and both genders down in excellent fashion. She is completely believable as Elaine, and also completely believable as Detective Nusbaum of the 114th. Quite a range.

Do you think The Teller needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Heavens no. It's time, as the Monty Pythons used to say, for something completely different.

Any additional comments?

No.

Well, I was entertained...

Its a fun and fast read. Its not believable and on the verge of trashy, but I was drawn into the story and couldnt quit listening. If you ever saw the Goldie Hawn movie, Foul Play, this reminds me of that fun farce of a story. Its not meant to be funny, but it is the same sort of adventure.

Complicated book

Rather wordy and analitical, but if you like kind of story you will enjoy this book. It's got a lot of angles and changes often.

Ok

Moving day by the same author was much better. This requires more suspension of belief than I was willing to give it. Also, more introspection than story.