Narrated by Gary Furlong
Object of Desire is Dal Maclean’s second book and the second part of the mystery/suspense trilogy that also comprises Bitter Legacy and the forthcoming Blue on Blue (out in audio in May). It’s not absolutely necessary to have read or listened to Bitter Legacy in order to fully appreciate Object of Desire; the stories are self-contained, although some of the characters from that book appear in secondary roles here – and Bitter Legacy is fantastic, so you’re missing out if you don’t read or listen to it!
Tom Grey had finished his chemistry degree and was planning on doing a Master’s in forensic science when he was ‘spotted’ by Pez, a booker at Echo, a London modelling agency. Now a successful, highly sought-after model, Tom’s job is, literally, to be an object of desire, and he’s very good at it, gorgeous, aloof and unattainable both on and off camera. His life is exactly how he wants it – he has a boyfriend, Nick, he maintains a friends-with-benefits relationship with Pez, and has casual hook-ups whenever he feels like it; he’s in control, always keeping the upper hand in relationships and never allowing anyone too close.
He’s just finished a shoot when he receives a panicked phone call from Nick, listening in disbelief as Nick tells him that his (Nick’s) estranged wife and business partner Catriona is dead, that she killed herself and that he found the body. He begs Tom to come over – and on the way, Tom can’t fight off his rising sense of fear and trepidation. He can’t think of any reason why Catriona would have killed herself… although he can’t deny the possibility that his relationship with Nick might have had something to do with it. Five months earlier, Nick left Catriona, to whom he’s been married for almost a decade, to be with Tom, but surely that can’t have driven the coolly efficient, poised and collected woman he knew to such a drastic act? Or is that guilt making excuses?
I don’t want to say too much more about the plot, which is incredibly intricate, brilliantly constructed and utterly gripping. Catriona’s death is the catalyst for a chain of events that send Tom’s carefully ordered life spiralling out of control and almost destroys him, starting when a friend of hers comes forward and accuses Tom of harassing and stalking Cat, effectively driving her to suicide. Tom, still reeling from the shock of Cat’s death and from only now realising quite how unaware he’d been of the fact that she’d been depressed over Nick’s desertion and struggling at work, and still trying to come to terms with the death of someone he’d considered a friend, is horrified… and scared because the police seem intent on pinning something on him. The solicitor Nick has hired engages a private investigator to look into the stalking allegations, assuring them that the guy is the best in the business, and arranges for them to meet. It’s only after the meeting is arranged that Nick’s sister Jena rather sheepishly tells Tom that the investigator is former detective inspector Will Foster – the man with whom Tom had a five-month relationship two years ago – his one foray into exclusivity – and had cruelly dumped when he realised he was in deeper than he wanted to be.
Tom had hoped never to see Will again, and in spite of his insistence to himself that he has no regrets about ending things between them, can’t deny that seeing him now is stirring up a mass of complicated emotions he doesn’t want. Unfortunately for Tom however, Will and the memories he evokes are the least of his problems. The police have determined that Catriona was murdered – and Tom is their prime suspect.
Gah! I was so engrossed in this story that I’d have listened to all (almost) thirteen hours of it in one sitting if I’d been able to. The suspense plot is brilliant; gritty, full of twists and turns, it’s a dark story of obsession and betrayal, and the author does a fantastic job of ratcheting up the tension by slow degrees – it’s there on the very first page, never lets up until the end, and I’m sure I was holding my breath at various points as things got worse and worse for Tom. Whoever is targeting him is devious, clever and always one step ahead; whatever Tom does only seems to enmesh him further in the killer’s web until he can’t see any way out of it.
While the mystery is truly compelling, the relationship between Tom and Will is equally so. As with Ben Morgan in Bitter Legacy, Dal Maclean has written a central protagonist who isn’t always easy to like, although as Tom is the PoV character here, he’s definitely easier to understand. Coolly self-contained on the outside, on the inside he’s a hot mess; petrified of love, he sees it as weakness after years of watching his father being impaled on the dagger of unreturned adoration for his flighty mother. Determined never to be like his dad, he’s become like his mum instead, flitting from partner to partner and getting out the minute the other person starts wanting more than Tom’s prepared to give. There were times I wanted to smack some sense into him, but even though he’s frustrating and sometimes makes unwise choices, it’s hard not to root for him or find him endearing, something I put down – in part – to Gary Furlong’s highly sympathetic portrayal.
We only see Will from Tom’s perspective, but it’s clear from his words and actions – and the things Tom shows us but doesn’t see – that he still cares deeply for Tom, and together, they make a great investigating team.
Gary Furlong delivers another absolutely outstanding performance here. He adopts a wide range of vocal characterisations to portray the fairly large secondary cast, all of whom are distinct from one another and easy to identify in group conversations. He voices female characters appropriately and convincingly, and gets to display his facility with accents from all over the British Isles, from a Northern Irish brogue to a Welsh lilt (Welsh accents are HARD!), to accents from the Midlands and Lancashire (actually, if I do have a small grumble, it’s that that character sounds more like a Yorkshireman – a heinous crime to anyone from either of those parts of the country!). Yes, I’m picky, but if you know me from these pages, then you’ll know that about me by now!
His portrayal of Tom, however, is truly fantastic and the real stand-out feature of this audiobook. Dal Maclean has written an incredibly complex, rounded character, but Mr. Furlong takes it one step further and breathes life into him in way that brings him into sharp, vivid focus. Tom’s growing sense of fear, anger, devastation and despair are all right there in Mr. Furlong’s voice, as is the overall sense of encroaching dread that permeates the novel; and his obvious engagement with the character and the story makes it easy for the listener to become invested in Tom’s fate and in his relationship with Will, whose solid dependability is reflected in his considered delivery and even tone of voice.
Object of Desire is clever, sexy and edge-of-your-seat thrilling, and once again, Dal Maclean has achieved a perfect balance between the suspense plot and the romance. Add in Gary Furlong’s insightful, nuanced performance and you’ve got one of the best audiobooks of 2020, no question.
Caz
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