Audiobook Review – Murder by Other Means (The Dispatcher, Book 2) by John Scalzi, Narrated by Zachary Quinto (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 3 hours and 33 minutes
Publisher: Audible Originals
Release Date: September 10, 2020
ASIN: B08FCXKMV2
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in The Dispatcher series
Source: Borrowed audiobook from Audible Plus
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Welcome to the new world, in which murder is all but a thing of the past. Because when someone kills you, 999 times out of 1,000, you instantly come back to life. In this world, there are dispatchers – licensed killers who step in when you’re at risk of a natural or unintentional death. They kill you – so you can live.

Tony Valdez is used to working his job as a dispatcher within the rules of the law and the state. But times are tough, and more and more Tony finds himself riding the line between what’s legal and what will pay his bills. After one of these shady gigs and after being a witness to a crime gone horribly wrong, Tony discovers that people around him are dying, for reasons that make no sense…and which just may implicate him.

Tony is running out of time: to solve the mystery of these deaths, to keep others from dying, and to keep himself from being a victim of what looks like murder, by other means.”

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Dispatcher series. I borrowed this on audiobook from Audible Plus.

Audiobook Quality (4/5): This is a well done audiobook that I enjoyed listening to. The narration is well done and the narrator captures Tony perfectly.

Story (4/5): Times are tough for dispatchers and Tony Valdez has been forced into taking some shady jobs. The most recent one seems pretty benign…dispatch a businessman so he can make it back to China quickly to close a business deal. The Dispatch goes great, the Chinaman dies as planned and wakes up in China as planned. However, it’s afterwards that things get a bit tricky. Now someone is out to frame Tony for other crimes and his life is in danger; he needs to protect his friends and prove his innocence if he’s ever going to get out of this mess.

This is a fun story with a lot of twists and turns. I continue to love the premise of people not being able to be murdered. This story turns that whole idea on its head a bit by using a villain that is forcing people to commit suicide so that they stay dead.

Characters (4/5): I absolutely loved both Tony’s character and the detective he works with. Tony is sardonic, sarcastic and in a really tough spot. I love that he just keeps moving forward and trying to toe the line between good and evil the best way he knows how.

Setting (4/5): I enjoy this futuristic American setting where people can’t be murdered. The mechanics behind this strange phenomenon are still a mystery but the psychological effect of this is discussed in detail throughout the story.

Writing Style (4/5): This is fast-paced and well written. Scalzi does a great job keeping you guessing and keeping the story moving forward. I enjoyed the characters, the world, and the mystery a lot…they are all very well done. This is a fun concept and works great in these short format mystery novels.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this story a lot and will continue to read The Dispatcher novels. The world here is built on a neat concept, the stories are fast-paced and I enjoy the mystery and the characters. Definitely recommended, I would start with the first book since that explains the world in more detail.