Hooked: A Thriller About Love and Other Addictions
Written by Matt Richtel
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
3/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
From New York Times journalist and syndicated comic strip creator Matt Richtel, Hooked is a visionary thriller for the digital era-and a novel about life, love, and high-tech intrigue on the Left Coast.
When medical journalist Nat Idle narrowly survives an explosion in an Internet café after receiving a mysterious note warning him to leave immediately, he becomes enmeshed in the most dangerous assignment of his life. Nat believes that the handwriting on the lifesaving note belongs to his deceased girlfriend, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist he has been obsessively mourning, and so begins a fevered quest to solve the mystery of his lost love. The journey forces him to confront the underbelly of the digital revolution and question his own sanity.
Matt Richtel's first novel will leave you hooked at the end of every chapter. His thriller about love and other addictions is itself a compulsive reading experience, fueled by adrenaline and suspense and influenced by the pace and attitude of the Internet. It is a tour de force of romance and deception, and a haunting commentary on the impact new addictions are having on our lives.
Matt Richtel
Matt Richtel is a reporter at the New York Times. He received the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for a series of articles about distracted driving that he expanded into his first nonfiction book, A Deadly Wandering, a New York Times bestseller. His second nonfiction book, An Elegant Defense, on the human immune system, was a national bestseller and chosen by Bill Gates for his annual Summer Reading List. Richtel has appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air, CBS This Morning, PBS NewsHour, and other major media outlets. He lives in San Francisco, California.
More audiobooks from Matt Richtel
Inspired: Understanding Creativity: A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Hooked
Related audiobooks
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMystery Writers of America Presents The Rich and the Dead Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebellium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dead Man Volume 4: Freaks Must Die, Slave to Evil, and The Midnight Special Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oranges and Lemons: Bryant & May Book 17 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Painted Veil Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Where the Silence Calls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paper Gods: A Novel of Money, Race, and Politics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Yours In Scandal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blockchain for Everyone: How I Learned the Secrets of the New Millionaire Class (And You Can, Too) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Players Ball: A Genius, a Con Man, and the Secret History of the Internet's Rise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atlanta Noir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Life: Three True Stories of the Digital Age Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Blueberry Truffle Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dead Man Volume 3: The Beast Within, Fire & Ice, Carnival of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Deal with the Devil: The Dark and Twisted True Story of One of the Biggest Cons in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Counterfeit Heart: Secrets & Spies, Book 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVisible Empire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The New Machiavelli Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnthony Trent, Master Criminal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under a Raging Moon Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Simply the Best Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers from the Stone Age to the Present Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once a Bitcoin Miner: Scandal and Turmoil in the Cryptocurrency Wild West Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5
Thrillers For You
Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silent Patient Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perfect Marriage: a completely gripping psychological suspense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Perfect: A Thriller That Will Grab You By Your DNA Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rose Code: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never Lie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wrong Place Wrong Time: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Local Woman Missing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Dangerous Things: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inmate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Guest List: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Teacher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mr. Mercedes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silence of the Lambs: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Housemaid Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hidden Pictures: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dead Zone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Family Upstairs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Billy Summers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The It Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bright Young Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Hooked
41 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Matt Richtel lives in San Francisco, from where he has covered high-tech news and issues for the New York Times for several years while also writing a successful comic strip, Rudy Park, which is set in an internet cafe. Hooked, Richtel's first novel, is a thriller set in a version of that high-tech world where everything is not necessarily what it appears to be.Despite four years of medical school, Nat Idle has chosen to eke out a living as a freelance medical journalist, a decision that his friends and family find hard to understand. But making a living is not what is most on Nat's mind since the sudden death of the girl with whom he was desperately and completely in love. These days he is struggling to accept the idea that he will never see Annie again and to move on with the rest of his life. Little did he know that the rest of his life was about to change in a way that he never expected.Seated in a San Francisco internet cafe, and engrossed in the book he was reading, Nat barely noticed the woman before she placed a folded note on his table and hurried away. He decided that she might be flirting with him and followed her out the door to see what would happen next. It was only when he realized that he would not be able to catch up with her before she left in her car that Nat opened the note and read: "Get out of the cafe - NOW!" A split second later the cafe exploded and he was thrown through the air.When his head finally cleared and he was sure that he was still in one piece Nat realized that he recognized the handwriting on the note to be that of his long-dead girlfriend, Annie. Thus begins Nat's quest to solve the mystery of the note and how the cafe explosion could possibly have anything to do with Annie's tragic death. Along the way, Nat has to deal with being a suspect in the explosion and with the realization that everything that he has assumed about his relationship with the love of his life might have been nothing but a distorted illusion on his part. He meets good cops and bad cops - but can he tell which is which. He needs help if he is going to survive life on the run while still trying to solve the mystery of that note, but whom can he trust?Hooked has a lot going for it. It's written in a style that allows for it to be read at the quick pace that works best for thrillers and its opening chapters do, indeed, hook the reader by introducing the question of whether or not Nat's girlfriend might still be alive. But about two-thirds of the way through the book, when some of the answers started to come, the plot took a twist that was less compelling and which completely changed the nature of the book into one that began to bore me. I looked forward to the end of the book for all the wrong reasons. But as he shows in the first part of Hooked, Matt Richtel is a talented writer and I'm curious to see what is next for him.To be fair, based on the physical appearance of this book, I'm probably not really the target audience for Hooked. First impressions are important when it comes to convincing a customer to lift a particular book from the shelf, and if I had seen Hooked in a bookstore rather than having received a copy from the publisher, I doubt that I would have chosen it for a second look. It has a psychedelic dust jacket that seems to be aiming for some sort of optical illusion and I find the colors of the book itself to be rather strange, yellow boards with baby blue trim and bright red lettering. Now that I've read the book I can see how its appearance relates to its plot but I think that its look probably will scare off as many potential readers as it attracts. (My copy of the book does not appear exactly as the pictured one that accompanies this post, so it may be that I'm describing a review copy that is different from the retail version of the book.)Rated at: 2.5
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I enjoyed the first half of this thriller much more than the last half. I liked the writing but once the plot started being straightened out much of my interest left.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This book started out promising but just got lost along away. It became very convoluted and unrealistic.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5My expectation for this book were high. On the back cover the author talks about it as an exploration of our addiction to computers, cell phones, and electronic devices.
After reading it, I can say this book is just a thriller, not even a brilliant one. Technology and the addiction to Internet and tech gadgets is not analyzed or even part of the plot, it's just a background. It seems a perfect script for a lightweight Hollywood movie.
A perfect companion for a Sunday afternoon on the beach. No much more...
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nat Idle, a freelance journalist who decided after graduating from medical school that he was better suited for a career writing about versus practicing medicine, left the required resendency program and never looked back. The novel opens as Nat sits in a San Francisco Cafe, reading a book when a woman places a folded note on the edge of his table, then, without pause quickly exits the cafe. He picks up the note and attempts to follow the mysterious woman outside, only to catch a brief glimpse of her speeding away in a red Saab. He then reads the note….”Get out of the cafe–Now”! It was much more than the words that grabbed Nat, it was the script - it was Annie’s handwriting. Annie, his deceased girlfriend, for whom his heart still ached. How? His swirling thoughts are interrupted, as at that very moment the cafe explodes, knocking him off his feet.This single terrifying moment changes Nat’s life once again, and launches the story into overdrive. Richtel takes the reader on a fast paced journey, full of relentless action and drama. With the added dimension of Jason Singer narrating, readers can easily visualize the sharply etched, strong characters Richtel created, especially the ruthless, clever and devilously ingenious Kendle family. The exact circumstances surrounding the loss of Annie aren’t explained until later, which adds to the nail biting tension and myriad of questions that urge the reader on. Nat appears to be a hopeless romantic unable to bury the past and move forward. But this too will be revealed as yet another ingredient carefully woven into this meticulously designed high tech web of deceit.Hooked is absolutely the perfect title for this debut novel from Matt Richtel. Undoubtedly after this reading experience, there will be legions of fans hooked on Richtel’s complex plots, endearing characters and strong delivery. Hooked will leave even the most astute suspense thriller fan in awe of Richtel’s ability to weave the unimaginable into the very fabric of reality. You will never again surf the web or check email without a quick thought and then shake off the idea as ludicrous. But is it? Or… are we already, hooked?Happy Reading! RJ xx
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I was "hooked" on this book after the first chapter- Nat, a medical school graduate turned medical journalist receives a warning, a note dropped on his table at a cafe, to get out. When he does leave, the cafe explodes, killing several and wounding even more. Stranger still is the fact that the note dropped on his table is from his former girlfriend- who supposedly died several years before.Now, he's being watched by the police as a possible suspect in the bombing, along with another victim whom he befriends, but he becomes suspicious of her role in the explosion.Each chapter leaves you hanging, forcing you to start the next chapter to get answers, even when it's late at night, you have to work the next day, and the bed is calling.Although a compelling read, near last quarter of the book, the technology becomes somewhat implausible; hard to believe and incorporate into an otherwise good storyline. Perhaps I've read too many mysteries, but at the same point where the book lost its technological believability, I could see the ending as clear as straight shot down a darkened corridor with daylight shining through at the doorway. An "A" for Richtel for the effort, but a good story undone by the ultimate ending.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nat Idle, a freelance journalist who decided after graduating from medical school that he was better suited for a career writing about versus practicing medicine, left the required resendency program and never looked back. The novel opens as Nat sits in a San Francisco Cafe, reading a book when a woman places a folded note on the edge of his table, then, without pause quickly exits the cafe. He picks up the note and attempts to follow the mysterious woman outside, only to catch a brief glimpse of her speeding away in a red Saab. He then reads the note….”Get out of the cafe–Now”! It was much more than the words that grabbed Nat, it was the script - it was Annie’s handwriting. Annie, his deceased girlfriend, for whom his heart still ached. How? His swirling thoughts are interrupted, as at that very moment the cafe explodes, knocking him off his feet.This single terrifying moment changes Nat’s life once again, and launches the story into overdrive. Richtel takes the reader on a fast paced journey, full of relentless action and drama. With the added dimension of Jason Singer narrating, readers can easily visualize the sharply etched, strong characters Richtel created, especially the ruthless, clever and devilously ingenious Kendle family. The exact circumstances surrounding the loss of Annie aren’t explained until later, which adds to the nail biting tension and myriad of questions that urge the reader on. Nat appears to be a hopeless romantic unable to bury the past and move forward. But this too will be revealed as yet another ingredient carefully woven into this meticulously designed high tech web of deceit.Hooked is absolutely the perfect title for this debut novel from Matt Richtel. Undoubtedly after this reading experience, there will be legions of fans hooked on Richtel’s complex plots, endearing characters and strong delivery. Hooked will leave even the most astute suspense thriller fan in awe of Richtel’s ability to weave the unimaginable into the very fabric of reality. You will never again surf the web or check email without a quick thought and then shake off the idea as ludicrous. But is it? Or… are we already, hooked?Happy Reading! RJ xx