This tale will not be forgotten for a very long time. Businesses went under by the hundreds, debt and foreclosures boomed, and breadlines grew in many. McCammon has written a few supernatural horror novels in his time but nothing can match the horror of evil people mistreating innocent people. McCammon - The Listener, Hardcover - 1934. Though they don't understand their gifts, they do appreciate them and when the children are snatched, Curtis is the only one who can help. In this way he has met and befriended little Nilla Ludenmere. His secret is he hears everything spoken plus thoughts unspoken. He also has a gift for slowing and settling arguments before they spiral too far out of control simply by listening to opponents and finding compromises that both parties can agree to. He has met and helped thousands of people over the years getting from one place to another and takes great pride in his work. He is a 'listener.'Ĭurtis is a redcap for the railroads at Union Station. He is Curtis Mayhew, a man with no pretensions and an unusual gift. Unbeknownst to all, Nilla has a secret friend. More energy is spent keeping him under control than the two children.īut there is another unexpected twist that threatens the plan. The ringer is Ginger's psychotic cousin, Donny. Nilla and her younger brother, Jack, are the targets and the plan seems to go with barely a hitch.

She senses in him an ability her current partner no longer possesses and by the end of the night a new and diabolical team is formed.ĭeciding they would have done a far better job in the kidnapping and ransoming of the Lindberg baby, they design a can't-miss plan to snatch the children of successful (and very rich) Jack Ludenmere. Not very long after Bonnie and Clyde came to the end of their run, smalltime con man John Partlow meets grifter Ginger LaFrance. It's 1934 New Orleans where desperation is the watch word of the times. Robert McCammon's latest thriller, “The Listener,” is a tour de force of crime noir. Data: Cemetery Dance Publications, 380 pages, $25

Robert mccammon the listener