Audiobook Review: The Wanderer (Thunder Point, #1)

Author: Robyn Carr
Narrator: Therese Plummer
Series: Thunder Point, #1
Published: March 26th 2013
Publisher: Recorded Books
Lenght: 10 hrs and 23 mins
Buy: Audible

Nestled on the Oregon coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land’s unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he’s been left an old friend’s entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community’s destiny in his hands. Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful. With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home.

I realize this may come as a shock to some of you, but I’ve never read anything by Nora Roberts or – up until recently – Robyn Carr. However, the second winter started weighing on my mood I started looking for small-town stories with a friendly atmosphere that could keep me warm and my mood light throughout this winter. That is how I finally ended up buying a book by Carr. Intimidated by the length of her Virgin River series, I decided to go with her new series, Thunder Point instead.

I found everything I was looking for in Thunder Point, just like Hank Cooper, who came to the small town to pay respects to his recently deceased friend and eventually stayed. Thunder Point is a closely knit community, a loving and warm little town with friendly people, good food and nature to die for. Carr doesn’t hesitate to entangle us into these people’s lives; not just Cooper’s, but a whole plethora of interesting characters. Although the title implies it, Coop is not the main character, and neither is anyone else. They’re all equally important, both to Carr and to me as a reader.

One can find love in Thunder Point, friendships, supportive parents, talented teens, liberal old aunts, single fathers of three, bullies and their victims and everything else you could possibly think of. I grew most attached to Gina and Mac, two single parents and best friends. They danced tentatively around each other for years, but Mac was afraid of ruining their friendship and making things uncomfortable for their teen daughters, also best friends. Only the fear of losing Gina to someone else was big enough to make him finally take the plunge.

Therese Plummer is a surprisingly good narrator. Since most of the story is told from various male perspectives, narrating the story and handling their voices must have been pretty challenging. The timbre of her voice is elegant and extremely pleasant, even when she makes it deep for the male characters. If you decide to read this, I highly recommend the audio.

I didn’t wait a single second to go back to Thunder Point. The sequel is titled The Newcomer and it centers around all the same characters. Rejoining them already feels like coming home.