Russell Atkinson

My original Cached Out audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Cached Out is the story of a retired FBI agent named Cliff.

Cliff is really into a hobby called Geocaching. Geocaching is where one person will create a puzzle that leads to a hidden cache using co-ordinance on a GPRS,and then other people solve the puzzle to get the co-ordinance , then go out using their own GPRS’s and find the cache. When people find the cache, they get to log their initials on it and then they have bragging rights in their online community. A cache sounds like its basically a bunch of random stuff, and knowing what was in the box helps one prove they found it.

For those of you who don’t know (I sure didn’t), the difference between a GPS and a GPRS is that a GPS will give you directions to a place, but nothing else, while a GPRS will do that and also a bunch of other nifty stuff including showing you the latitude M and longitude of your location on earth. While engaging in his hobby, Cliff stumbles into a dead body and becomes a murder suspect.

Due to the abundance of info and enthusiasm about geocaching in this book, I strongly suspect the author has a geocaching hobby. I have to say, it does sound like a lot of fun.

The first half of the book is good but is a little redundant because it lays the groundwork about how the FBI eliminates suspects, and information about how geocaching works. This element was good, but I felt there was a bit too much of it, dragging the story out.

The second half of the book was fantastic, things picked up and all that plot building from the first half payed off. All that talk turned into action, action, action!

The narrator, Joe Hempel, did a good job. He has a good reading voice, clear and engaging, and he had one voice pitched a bit higher for women and another for men.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who thinks they would find a combination of how the FBI goes through the processes of suspect elimination, geocaching, and/or action interesting.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.… (meer)

CLIFF KNOWLES IS BACK, BUT WILL HE SURVIVE?

Like the author's first book, I thought this one starts in a deliberate fashion, as the scenario develops, facts are discovered, and all the players are introduced. In this sense, it seems a lot like a police procedural--just like the author's first novel. In Cached Out, however, the storyline is completely different, the cast is far fewer, and the reader doesn't need a "look-up" table to see who is who. Cliff has retired from the FBI, but that doesn't mean his investigatory skills are retired--they are as sharp as ever.

The story unfolds in a logical fashion, as Cliff Knowles, main character (but also main suspect) gathers evidence to help the investigating team (and get them off his back!) Along the way, we meet with some bunglers, but also some capable agents and rangers. This book seems to have fewer bunglers.

Readers who are geocachers will especially like the various caching puzzles that are introduced, as well as the hiking locales on the San Francisco peninsula. This was especially interesting for me, since I am a regular hiker/geocacher in the Open Space Preserves, near where the crimes take place. On several occasions, I opened up a satellite view of the area to spot the various trails and roads mentioned in the book. (What the heck is "Saratoga Toll Road Trail?" Do they charge hikers a toll?)

The last 100 pages are really excellent. I deliberately slowed down my reading, so as to fully appreciate the story.

As with the first novel, the writing style is excellent. The author has obviously spent a large amount of time perfecting the writing craft--especially the dialogue, which is no mean feat. f you've ever read an early novel, where the author struggles with dialogue, you will know what I mean. There's none of this, "He said," then "She said," then "Bob replied," etc. The author smoothly blends the conversation so that you know who is talking. I suspect readers don't realize how difficult a task that is for a writer. This cannot possibly be only the author's second book. I am willing to bet there are a ton of short stories out there, in which he perfected the writer's craft. (Or some outstanding editor.)

On a minor note, I appreciate the wide-margin formatting, so that the reader doesn't have to yank the book wide open to see the words near the inside margins.

Atkinson's descriptions are often very witty. Here's my favorite line in the book: "She took a leap of faith--and a corporeal one also." (Is this the lawyer in Atkinson coming out?)

A really excellent read. I look forward to reading Cliff's next adventure. Back with the FBI, or maybe a P.I.? The author isn't saying, but I have my suspicions.
… (meer)