Notes on an Execution

After seven years on death row, serial killer Ansel Packer has mere hours to live. He has a plan, a theory, and a rock-solid certainty that his life won’t end as simply as those girls’. Shifting perspectives among the man condemned by his choices and the stories of four women linked, through him, to each other, this audiobook is perfect for fans of psychological suspense and complex female characters. Jim Meskiman’s nonchalance and gravelly conviction put listeners directly into contact with the banality of evil in Ansel’s chapters. Mozhan Marno (who voices Lavender, who made the mother of all choices to save her own life; Saffron, a fellow foster child with a long memory and hunter’s instincts; Hazel, raised in her twin sister’s shadow; and Blue, young and hopeful of finding family) crafts a distinct tone for each woman, reflecting generational and class differences but imbuing all with the sympathetic capacity that Ansel notably lacks. With commentary on the institutions of American justice, this is a thoughtful exploration of crime and punishment.