Since going live in 1997, Audible.com has become the leading provider of spoken entertainment and information on the Internet, allowing users to download digital audio editions of books, newspapers, magazines, original programming, and TV and radio subscriptions. Audible customers have several choices: they can download on a per-program basis, or join one of a variety of “AudibleListener” plans, allowing them a predetermined number of credits for Audible content. Audible offers more than 30,000 different programs, totaling nearly 100,000 hours of audio content.

Working with the International Thriller Writers Organization, Audible is currently releasing The Chopin Manuscript, a collaborative, audio-only thriller written by 15 well-known novelists, including Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, Lisa Scottoline, and P.J. Parrish. (Deaver wrote the first and the final two chapters, while his fellow authors contributed one chapter apiece.) The Chopin Manuscript is being released serially—since September 25th, readers have received 2-3 chapters each Tuesday, with the final installment scheduled for November 13th.

The Chopin Manuscript kicks off with a bang: former war crimes investigator and musicology expert Harold Middleton is currently in possession of a previously undiscovered manuscript by Frederic Chopin. Determined to uncover the manuscript’s secrets, Middleton is plunged hip-deep in intrigue, and finds himself accused of murder, targeted by assassins, and hunted by a mysterious, terrifying figure from his past.

While one suspects that a story as well set-up as The Chopin Manuscript would work as a conventional novel, too, it’s ideally suited to both the audio-only format and the round-robin-style execution. Actor Alfred Molina narrates the story, infusing each chapter with a sense of tension and dread, and the authors outdo themselves in an effort to ensure that their contribution is worthy of its predecessors. The final product is fun, fast-paced, and beautifully produced—the perfect choice for any Wordcandy readers out there with a boring job and a discreet mp3 player.

Labels: Audio, Book Reviews, Thrillers