Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

Beat the Reaper is a fast-paced, irreverent, amazingly fun novel about a former hit man who is trying to redeem his life as a doctor. The chapters are interspersed—one in the present where the doctor’s Witness Protection Program alias has just been blown and the other’s in the past explaining how he got in this position. It’s squeamishly violent, but still manages to keep a mostly light-hearted tone. The key to this seeming contradiction is in the great first person narrative voice of the doctor, brilliantly brought to life in the audio by Robert Petkoff. He’s irreverent, witty, and disturbingly honest, and it just makes him totally lovable no matter what he's actually doing in the narrative. I bought this novel on a whim and I’m very glad I did.