Collision [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Jeff Abbott (Author), Phil Gigante (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2008

Already an international sensation, with his books translated into fifteen languages - in the UK alone, Panic has more than 400,000 copies in print - Jeff Abbott is a master of the action-packed thriller. Now, with Collision, he delivers a meaty, twisty, white-knuckle ride designed to propel him onto the bestseller lists in his home country. Collision is the story of two men living very different lives - one, a successful corporate consultant who is mourning the murder of his new bride; the other, a former CIA agent known only as “Pilgrim,” whose current assignment for a fringe espionage agency is so treacherous he doesn’t trust even his own boss. When they are thrown together in a violent, unexpected event, the two men realize that they’ve been framed in an elaborate setup. Unsure who to trust and who may just be trying to draw them into the open, the unlikely partners have no choice but to work together. But with everything at stake, Ben has no idea that Pilgrim is harboring some shocking secrets of his own - secrets that will soon force Ben to confront just how blurred the line has become between best friends and bitter enemies. Praise for Collision “Collision is the best evidence yet that Jeff Abbott is one of the finest thriller writers working today. Electric with action and lightning-paced, I literally could not put it down. Don’t miss it.” - Harlan Coben “Jeff Abbott has been my favorite new thriller writer since Panic, but Collision rockets into the suspense stratosphere alongside the best works of Harlan Coben and Lee Child. Relentless, smart, and heartbreaking, Collision is the thriller to read this year.” - Joseph Finder “Collision is a powerhouse tale of good bad guys, bad good guys, and every shade in between. Jeff Abbott delivers a frenzy of action in this race-against-the-clock thriller about an ordinary guy arrested for murder whose only hope lies in trusting the very man who framed him.” - Lisa Gardner

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A rock-solid if complicated plot distinguishes this stand-alone thriller from Abbott (Panic). In Austin, Tex., a hired assassin fumbles an assignment, leaving several men dead. In the pocket of one of the victims, a Belfast hit man, is the business card of Ben Forsberg, who's been trying to put his life together since his wife was gunned down on their honeymoon two years earlier. After Homeland Security agents pick up the clueless Ben because they think he's the killer, Pilgrim, an agent with yet another secret government agency, the Cellar, rescues Ben from the Homeland Security folk. The appealing Pilgrim and Ben set out to clear Ben's name and rescue Pilgrim's boss, Teach, who's been taken prisoner by the mastermind behind the elaborate plot. Abbott keeps the action zipping along as the body count mounts, and Ben becomes far wiser and far tougher as he learns the harsh realities of kill or be killed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Action junkies be warned: Abbott’s latest iteration of the novel-as-extended-chase-scene empties its whole clip straight into the gut. The players: Ben Forsberg, an everyman caught up in a nightmare world that will barely let him catch his breath; Pilgrim, a shadow warrior with an invisible covert-ops group called the Cellar (he’s Ben’s only hope, or is he?); Sam Hector, Ben’s boss, head of a vast private security firm à la Blackwater (he’s pulling the strings, but for whom?); Jackie, the loose cannon, a sadistic Irish assassin crazed with grief at the loss of his older brother (how far will he go, and can he be stopped?); and Khaled, zealous associate of a group called Blood of Fire (he’s on his way to New Orleans, but for what evil purpose?). The pace: frenetic, nonstop. The dialogue: smart, unobtrusive. The plot: packed, convoluted, head spinning. The everyman angle borrows from Abbott’s hardcover debut, Panic (2005); neither book is memorable, but it hardly matters: if it is unbridled action you crave (or if you’re just killing time till the next Lee Child comes out), Abbott’s your man. --David Wright --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio Unabridged Lib Ed; Library edition (June 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423362152
• ISBN-13: 978-1423362159
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Jeff Abbott is the international-bestselling, award-winning author of ten mystery and suspense novels. Jeff is a native Texan and graduated from Rice University with a degree in History and English, and worked as a creative director at an advertising agency before writing full-time. He lives in Austin with his wife and two sons. You can visit his website at www.jeffabbott.com and follow him on Twitter @JeffAbbott.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining action thriller, July 24, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collision (Hardcover)

In Hawaii on his honeymoon with his beloved Emily, consultant Ben Forsberg goes to take a shower anticipating more sex before they catch the plane back to the mainland. When he finishes his shower, he finds Emily lying dead in a pool of blood. Two years later; Ben still grieves his loss and has not been on a date with another woman since the tragedy that has become a cold case to everyone but him.

In Austin, sniper Nicky Lynch and cleaner Jackie are to take out the big man and the computer geek Adam Reynolds. Nicky fires at both and watches them fall; he assumes they are dead. Instead not long afterward the big man kills the sniper. Former CIA agent "Pilgrim" wonders why he was set up to die by he assumes his handler or his superior as the objective to frame Forsberg for a murder seems to have included eliminating the consultant's only witness to his innocence. Instead Pilgrim decides to team up with a beleaguered Forsberg to uncover the truth and take down who wants them dead. Forsberg does not trust the operative, but has no choice as someone has set him up to take a homicide fall and that someone wants him dead so he has no trial. What the corporate suit also does not know is his historical connection to Pilgrim; what he believes is the agent plans to terminate the partnership once he cleans out those who want him dead.

The keys to this powerful thriller are Ben and Pilgrim seem real in a deadly cat and mouse game against unknown foes though Pilgrim has a good idea who the opposition are. The story line is fast-paced from the opening sequence two years ago in Hawaii and never decelerates until the final twist of several occurs; ironically even when the reader expects a certain spin because Jeff Abbott is known for that, we marvel at the deftly twist the plot takes. This is an entertaining action thriller that fans will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absurd, Outlandish and I STILL loved it!, January 8, 2009

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collision (Hardcover)

Yes, the characters are cartoonish images - the secretly decent killer spy, the fumbling accountant who suddenly acquires survivalist skills, the corrupt former CIA agent turned evil businessman. You've seen them many times before but still they entertain. Needless to say, very few businessmen divide their times between hit squads and the boardroom and few assassins display nascent artisitic abilities.

The plot is complicated and requires a little patience but once you get into the story, it's hard to put down. Two men as different as night and day are thrown together in a double doublecross that's as preposterous as it is exciting. Ben, the accountant and "Pilgrim", the operative become a team and together they thwart the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security and all the private agencies and terrorists who want to do bad things to them. The action is non-stop with lots of rather antiseptic killing. Thank God the author is not another latent sadist describing pages of incredible torture. Instead, he works by omission rather than commission, letting the reader imagine the worst.

In one sense it's like a James Bond movie where 5 millions bullets somehow miss the hero yet each of his shots are brilliant and fatal. But that's what readers want and what they like. By the way, this would make for a great movie. My Grade - A-

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, March 17, 2009

By 

Versel Rush "mystery reading lawyer" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collision (Hardcover)

I have loved Jeff Abbott since the Jordan Poteet books oh so many years ago. He stopped writing those books a while back and has ventured into another series and an occasional stand alone. All are worth reading--and so is this one.

Abbott does an incredible job of accurately weaving Texas (topography, people. culture) seamlessly into intricate plots with exceptional characters. In a lot of ways, Abbott is the Texas version of Harlan Coben. "Collision" is a prime example of this relationship.

The book starts quickly with a death in the first few pages. It progresses on with in depth characterizations (even the bad guys have back stories) and great dialogue. Just when you think you have it all figured out (and, truth be told, you do figure out the big picture early on), Abbott throws in a twist, a new dead body, a flashback.

This is a mystery and a spy novel and a thriller and a story about human tragedy.

Definitely a 5 star read.