The Crimes of Jordan Wise, Bill Pronzini
The Crimes of Jordan Wise, Bill Pronzini
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The Crimes of Jordan Wise

Author: Bill Pronzini

Narrator: Richard Ferrone

Unabridged: 7 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/01/2010

Synopsis

Jordan Wise is a mild-mannered accountant with a large San Francisco engineering firm in the late 1970s. By his own admission, the first thirty-four years of his life were dull, empty. But that all changes when he meets and falls in love with Annalise Bonner, an ambitious young woman who craves excitement and a life on the edge. With her as the catalyst, Wise concocts and executes a meticulous plan to steal more than half a million dollars from his firm. They escape to the Virgin Islands, but their plans to live a life of quiet luxury are beset by unexpected pitfalls—and Wise is forced to carry out two more ingenious schemes as a result. All three of his crimes are perfect—or are they?The Crimes of Jordan Wise is a classic tale of love, greed, betrayal, and violence told with Bill Pronzini's characteristic twists and turns and his special brand of suspense. It is also a powerful psychological examination of a man, a woman, and the wages of sin.

About Bill Pronzini

Bill Pronzini has won numerous awards, including the 2008 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the Hammer Award from the Private Eye Writers of America.

About Richard Ferrone

Read by Richard Ferrone, Stephen Bel Davies, Prentice Onayemi, Scott Aiello, Michael David Axtell, Jessica B. Harris, and Amanda Leigh Cobb

Reviews

Goodreads review by Glenn on November 29, 2024

This Bill Pronzini novel is a compelling page-turner and will stick with you long after you have read the last page. Why? Because the story not only makes for good crime fiction but is a penetrating meditation on several key philosophical questions: what is the nature of love; what means should we t......more

Goodreads review by John on April 02, 2017

A beautifully executed tale of a man who takes pride in the three "perfect" crimes he's pulled off. A writer approaches an elderly white soak in a bar on a Caribbean island and extracts from him the tale of his life, and in particular of the three crimes that enabled him to live here in a subtropical......more

Goodreads review by Cathy on November 11, 2015

Getting to my review...where I write it, here, I glanced and saw a five star review for this book. Good for him! Or her! But no five stars from me, that's for sure. I didn't stop to read the review which I seldom do anyhow but wondered, "what's this dude read besides Pronzini?" In all fairness, the o......more

Goodreads review by Jim on July 28, 2019

This isn't really a page-turner. I don't know that I would have made it through if I hadn't been listening in audio & yet I wound up liking it very much. Jordan is telling his story of 3 perfect crimes to an author in a bar. The crimes themselves, especially the first, are described in detail. The b......more

Goodreads review by Andy on March 23, 2018

This is my first Pronzini and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s not so much a whodunnit, or whydunnit, but a howdunnit, and will Jordan Wise get his comeuppance. It is therefore a very different sort of crime novel yet reads as a compelling page-turner. Now in his later years at 62, Jordan Wise sits in a wat......more

Quotes

“This efficient rum-soaked noir is at its best when walking us through the details of Wise’s dark misdeeds.” Entertainment Weekly

“Like an expert fisherman, Pronzini spins out his yarn to its inevitable conclusion; there’s only one way to end the old story of a lovesick sap and a dame whose appetites can never be satisfied. The Crimes of Jordan Wise is a neat piece of writing: James M. Cain by way of Jimmy Buffett.” Washington Post

“The confessions of Jordan Wise, who maintains that he’s committed three perfect crimes…A dark and twisted tale that begins with a woman a man could well do dangerous things for…After all these years, has guilt triggered this amazing confession? Hardly, comes the answer. It’s pride too long restrained, the justifiable pride one takes in perfectly wrought things. After sixty-six novels, including the distinguished Nameless Detective series, Pronzini’s energy seems undiminished and his cool intelligence as appealing as ever. But this is quintessential noir. Gentler readers proceed accordingly.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Pronzini is one of the best contemporary mystery writers, and he knows his way around a sentence...Pronzini weaves a tale that would lend itself perfectly to a movie, and it’s one of the best Caribbean island stories you’ll ever hear. Seldom has a book been better served on audio than this one; Richard Ferrone has the perfect pitch of weary resignation and suppressed anger that makes Jordan Wise a satisfying novel. The author's fans will be waiting to snap up his latest work.” Library Journal (starred audio review)

“A dark take on the wages of sin, [The Crimes of Jordan Wise ]…is reminiscent of mysteries by Stuart Woods and Thomas Perry.” Library Journal

“Richard Ferrone’s gritty voice is a big plus in this story of a man who hides in the Caribbean after committing the perfect embezzlement for the love of a woman. That’s because Ferrone is called upon to portray not only the American ex-patriot but also a host of local characters, including a mysterious islander. The story of Jordan Wise doesn’t end with the theft. He’s forced to commit multiple crimes, including murder, to remain free. Ferrone is near perfect as Wise; further, his virtuosity really shows as he switches from one character to another without missing a beat. Ferrone is one of the best at handling irony, and there’s plenty in this story. An Audies Award finalist.” AudioFile

Awards

  • Audie Award Finalist
  • Hammett Prize
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