The List

by Steve Berry Narrated by Scott Brick

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A seemingly innocuous move to care for an ailing mother comes with a dangerous secret. This taut and tense thriller gives readers so much to uncover, with delicious questions popping off the page.

In the vein of David Baldacci, John Grisham, and Harlan Coben-this is Steve Berry like you've never read him before.

After a ten-year self-imposed exile, Brent Walker is returning home to Concord, a quaint town in central Georgia nestled close to the Savannah River. Two years ago, his father died, and now Brent, hired by Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company as its assistant general counsel, is returning to care for his ailing mother.

For decades, Southern Republic has invested heavily in Concord, creating a thriving community where its employees live, work, and retire. But the genteel sheen of this quiet town is deceiving, and when a list of cryptic code surfaces, Brent starts to see the cracks.

Southern Republic's success is based largely on a highly unorthodox and deadly system to control costs, known only to the three owners of the company. Now, one of them, Christopher Bozin, has had a change of heart. Brent's return to Concord, a move Bozin personally orchestrated, provides his conscience with a chance at redemption. So a plan is set into motion, one that will not only criminally implicate Bozin's two partners, but also place Brent Walker square in the crosshairs of men who want him dead-with only one course left available.

Find and reveal the shocking secret of the list.

Find and reveal the shocking secret of the list.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Someone given the pages without knowing the author’s identity would never identify Berry as this book’s writer, and his going outside his comfort zone to resurrect one of his early, desk-drawer novels is beneficial to him, his fans, and thriller readers alike. The List would be a perfect story to be turned into an Alfred Hitchcock film, and this should only add to Berry’s fanbase.”—firstCLUE

“The List reads like a cross between Greg Isles’ Penn Gage legal thrillers and both John Grisham and Scott Turow at their level best, as well as Jonathan Harr’s stellar nonfiction effort “A Civil Action.” This beautifully constructed Southern noir features Berry at his level best, a terrific and timeless tale leaves us hoping the next tale featuring Brent Walker never ends up in a drawer at all.”—BookTrib

firstCLUE

The List would be a perfect story to be turned into an Alfred Hitchcock film, and this should only add to Berry’s fanbase.”

Kirkus Reviews

2025-05-24
A paper mill in Georgia uses murder to buoy its bottom line.

Killers hunt down and kill a retiree while he’s peacefully fishing. No one suspects foul play, as the poor man apparently hit his head on a low branch and drowned. Attorney Brent Walker is hired to be assistant general counsel for the Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company, where his longtime friend Hank Reed is a union official. They are not privy to the company’s biggest secret, and this story is about what they learn and what they do about it. A small cabal at the top of the company has a creative approach to cost-saving: They’ve created something called the Priority program, which identifies and eliminates expensive employees and retirees. Critically for the plot, the company is self-insured. So how can it stay profitable if it must pay out big claims for, say, cancer or Alzheimer’s patients? Maybe an employee stays healthy but has a child with a lifelong debilitating illness. The solution for this company lies in the untimely deaths of these troublesome claimants. “Terminal care was particularly expensive. An almost bottomless pit.” Top management has a long-standing arrangement with a group of professionals who expertly make deaths look natural. There is a mysterious list of nine-digit numbers, unaccompanied by any explanation. The obvious guess is that they are Social Security numbers, which may or may not be what they are. Walker and Reed intend to learn their significance, and their sleuthing could end up with—well, people dying. In fact, the killings become much less subtle as the action reaches a crescendo. Meanwhile, the bad guys are acutely aware of their culpability—if anyone finds a certain set of secret folders, there may be “enough evidence to indict us all for mass murder.” One of their hired killers is dying from cancer and wishes to partially repent, though he knows “his soul was beyond saving, his eternal fate sealed.” But maybe he can keep Priorities off future lists. The author is an attorney familiar with Georgia’s paper industry, so he’s clearly well suited to the topic, and readers will recognize the similarities to John Grisham.

Plenty of intrigue and action for crime fans.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940193713166
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	07/22/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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