Face Value

Former intelligence operatives Kara Wright and Tien Tran have traded classified missions for the more ordinary world of private investigation, but their latest case refuses to stay routine. When two adult siblings report that their parents have vanished, what begins as a missing persons inquiry quickly deepens: their father, a retired intelligence analyst, appears entangled with a shadowy Russian criminal. As Wright and Tran draw on old contacts and unconventional methods, the investigation darkens, while Kara quietly contends with a separate threat, someone hunting her for a past act of lethal self-defense.

Gemma Whelan brings considerable range to the performance, lending Kara a guarded intensity that feels earned rather than performed. Her ability to shift between procedural scenes and emotionally charged moments keeps the nine-hour runtime moving with purpose. Andrew's debut is well-suited to audio: the dialogue is crisp, the tension builds incrementally, and Whelan's voice gives the dual-narrative structure a cohesion that rewards close listening. The 2017 BookLife Prize reflects the quality of craft beneath what initially reads as a straightforward thriller premise.