Trackers

By: Dan Purkey

Narrated by: Michael Bowen

In the course of an otherwise routine missing person case, private detective Jack Dugan stumbles onto a covert operation that effectively controls everyone on the planet. Through cellular-sized implants, The Council tracks and records where anyone is at any given time without their knowledge. Humankind’s freedom hangs on the ability of a cynical, bicycle-riding PI to operate at a level of intrigue he’s never experienced, battling powers determined to destroy him and the knowledge he gains in the course of his investigation.

Trackers, in the mold of a classic detective thriller, takes you on an entertaining, action-packed, disturbing journey of what could be.

Trackers: We know where you are.

©2012 Books In Motion (P)2012 Books In Motion

Hard boiled sci-fi detective story

Purkey has crafted a semi-classic missing person / private detective tale that slowly unfolds into a massive conspiracy with potential global domination as the endgame. Our hero is Jack Dugan, a private eye with all the usual street-wise cop sense. In keeping with the genre, Jack finds his latest case when he finds a beautiful women waiting in his office. As Jack dives deeper into his search he encounters multiple other players, all engaged in either perpetuating or ending a dirty little secret that has enveloped the entire planet, all the while attempting to decipher what his missing person's involvement means.

The story is set in the mid 22nd century. The sci-fi elements are light, "limnitrons" as a source of cheap energy for example. Mostly however, the people and society in general are very familiar with typical daily routines, bars & taverns, biking, even Boeing is still around. In fact, cheap energy and advanced electronic technology has largely brought about reliable (and free) public transportation, artificial intelligence (people have AIs instead of personal computers), a fancy weapon, and not much else.

The narration is adequate, but unremarkable. Most of the voices are reasonable, but several are portrayed in a manner that results in visceral reactions even before the characters do enough to justify the response.

Solid listen, could be better....

What made the experience of listening to Trackers the most enjoyable?

I was intrigued by the plot summary

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I found the main character bothered me at times. He spends too much time thinking of ways to romance his client instead of solving crime. The romance was cliche too, and honestly rather boring as the heroine was generic and beautiful, but didn't have much else going for her.

There is actually very little mystery, so having him be a PI didn't add anything. The reader is shown what is happening from the protagonist and antagonists's perspective so the main character really doesn't solve anything as he and the listener are told what is happening most of the time. The big bad guy and their plot were resolved too quickly so the suspense and impending peril were kind of anti-climatic.

Overall, this was ok. It could've been better.

Did Michael Bowen do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The voices were decent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really. This is a beach read. Easy enough to listen to, but nothing I felt I HAD to listen to.