Discover Most Popular Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective Top 100

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Calling

Author: David Mack

Narrator: Rob Dean

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-28-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

From acclaimed author David Mack comes a gripping supernatural thriller about a man who can hear other peoples prayers for help - involving him in an ancient, ongoing struggle between the forces of heaven and hell.

For millennia, a supernatural war has been waged on Earth, with all the souls who dwell there as its pawns. On one side are the Called - men and women guided by guardian angels who defend humanity from its own worst impulses. On the other side are the Scorned - people influenced by fallen angels.

Tom Nash is a member of the Called who works as a handyman and makes his living doing odd jobs. Hes 33 years old, married, and a few weeks away from becoming a father for the first time. And since he was 16, hes been hearing other peoples prayers.

So when he hears the prayers of a kidnapped young girl in New York, he leaves his pregnant wife behind to help, unknowingly becoming a key figure in the ages-old conflict between the Called and the Scorned.

Expertly written, briskly paced, and featuring an edgy, cinematic style, The Calling is a page-turning thriller that listeners will be unable to put down.

Members Reviews:

Nice book with action and suspense throughout

Well written with a cohesive plot and plenty of action and suspense throughout the book. The ending dragged a little and did not close as well as I would have liked.

Belief is the cement that strengthens faith.

What did you love best about The Calling?

The author's ability to present his hero's strength of belief in God's calling, without denigrating or assuming the listeners religious preferences, It is a moving story that is about the power of faith without the distraction and disharmony of religion.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Calling?

When he is woken to heed the calling and tells his very pregnant he must go,

What does Rob Dean bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

A quiet confident voice, great characterisation and a sense of reality.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

An interesting presentation of what some will catergorise as para-normal, but the author has handled the subject in such away that this 'calling' seems entirely credible.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Touch & Go

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Lisa Gardner

Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-17-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Justin and Libby Denbe have the kind of life youd find in the pages of a glossy magazine: A beautiful 14-year-old daughter. A gorgeous brownstone on a tree-lined street in Bostons Back Bay neighborhood. A great marriage, admired by all. A perfect life.

This is what I know: Pain has a flavor....

When investigator Tessa Leone arrives at the crime scene in the foyer of the Denbes home, she finds scuff marks on the floor and a million tiny pieces of bright green Taser confetti. The family appears to have been abducted, with only a pile of their cell phones and electronic devices remaining. No witnesses, no ransom demands, no motive. Just a perfect little family, gone. This is what I fear: The worst is yet to come....

Tessa knows better than anyone that flawless fronts can hide the darkest secrets. Now she must race against the clock to uncover the Denbes innermost dealings, a complex tangle of friendships and betrayal, big business and small sacrifices. Who would want to kidnap such a perfect little family? And how far would such a person be willing to go?

This is the truth: Love, safety, family...its all touch and go.

Members Reviews:

LOVE...LOVE..LOVE...GARDNER!

WOW! What a great read! I read a couple of comments that didn't give this book great reviews but i felt different. This book and you wondering till the end who was involved. I got this one wrong..lol..I couldn't figure who was the person involved and why. I love the twist and turns Gardner always delivers in her books and this one was not disappointing. An absolutely great read and I fully recommend!

Great book...kinda stinky voices

Really good book. The Boston accents want the greatest. No way we sound like that. LOL. One of the One of the voices of the kidnappers was horrible creepy even and unreal. The story however was really good and I didn't guess the ending which is always awesome. The performers reading was really good also the delivery was really good just the accent was off other Than that, five stars all the way

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Death Roe

Subtitle: A Woods Cop Mystery, Book 6

Author: Joseph Heywood

Narrator: David Colacci

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-02-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

In the sixth title in the successful Woods Cop Mystery series, another suspenseful who-done-it finds Grady Service with an unexpectedly complex, truly rotten, and important case on his hands. This time tainted eggs are showing up in caviar and Service must expose a ring of corruption in state government and perhaps within his own beloved DNR, one that could lead him all the way to the top.

Making enemies at every level of the state, Service rousts out the people on the take. Can he get to the source of the contaminated eggs and prove it? Pitting corporate greed against the health of the general public isnt something Service takes lightly. He doesnt rest until there has been full exposure in a case that takes him from the wilds of the Upper Peninsula to the jungles of the state capital, into the maw of the Ukrainian mafia in New York City and onto distant beaches of Central America.

Members Reviews:

A Different Take On A Cop Story

If you could sum up Death Roe in three words, what would they be?

Complex - Pleasing - Worth The Time

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Never knew what the next wrinkle would be.

Which scene was your favorite?

Zinnia doing yoga.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

If you go out in the Woods today, you better not go alone!

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Cat in the Dark

Subtitle: A Joe Grey Mystery, Book 4

Author: Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Narrator: Susan Boyce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-23-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 59 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Theres a bad new cat in sleepy little Molena Point: a renegade tom with a penchant for robbery, a scorn for his fellow felines, and a disdain for human laws. And hes masterminding a crime spree thats quickly escalating toward murder most foul. Dulcie and Joe Grey both know the score - theyve seen Azrael in action. But how can they expose the criminal without letting ordinary, untrustworthy humans in on the secret that certain select cats can think - and talk? Cats like them

Members Reviews:

Another great adventure from Joe and Dulcie

Any additional comments?

This one started out a little slow - lots of description that at the time didn't make sense and seemed extraneous. After the first hour or so though, things started happening, and the story became the appealing tale I really enjoy. Not quite so many twists and turns as the earlier books, but enough misdirects to make the final solution a surprise. Good listening!

Love finds many forms

This fourth entry in the Joe Grey series is a mystery featuring amateur sleuths Joe Grey and Dulcie, two sentient cats who are more than best friends. I think this entry has a line going through it about love, or lack of love, and the various kinds of love. Joe Grey and Dulcie are very much in love and spend as much of their time together as possible. They love to investigate crimes. They must do so carefully since they dont want to reveal their special abilities of speech and reading. Sound too far gone and unbelievable? Not so in Mrs. Murphys skilled hands or in Susan Boyces proficient narration.

Wilmas niece Charlies new Clean it, Fix it business was doing well. Under the cats silent supervision, she had two employees to whom she was delegating the cleaning and minor repairs Mavity and Pearl Ann -- while Charlie did the heavier fixing. Both are working at an investment gurus place who works by computer at home. Pearl Ann just loves what he does with the little bit of money shes given him to invest, until later when she discovers what hes actually done with it.

When Mavity disappears, no one knows why or where. The town searches for her until finally a woman is found unconscious in the back seat of her car which has apparently hit a lamp post. Mavitys worst wound came from a screw driver hitting her, not the car accident, and she has temporarily lost her memory. She is taken to the hospital where she is quickly identified. Afterward Wilma takes Mavity into her home to help her regain her memory. Dulcie comforts Mavity and gathers clues.

Mavitys brother Greely is in town on a visit, only he has rented a store room as the only place he could find to rent and get drunk. He has an all black cat named Azrael who is evil. He and the other cats do not get along and actually enter several fights. Azrael is also sentient and cruel. He enjoys scaring Dulcie. He actually jumps to attack Mavity, but Dulcie jumps to stop him, and they fight until he runs off.

One action that makes this story explode is made by the investor. He had his doubts about Pearl Ann. Via Dulcie and Joe Grey, we know that Pearl Ann had entered his home with the key she had to clean with, and spent many hours on his computer. He supposedly leaves his home for a short trip, but he hides his car a few blocks away and returns home quietly to find Pearl Ann working on his computer.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Wrong Turn

Subtitle: Lucinda Pierce, Book 6

Author: Diane Fanning

Narrator: Flora Plumb

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-22-13

Publisher: Diane Fanning

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Two cases from the past return to haunt Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce.... She helped an investigator to put Martha Sherman behind bars for the murder of her stepdaughter, Emily. Now, Emily's body has been found in the basement of a home filled with the victims of serial killer Mack Rogers. Dismayed, Lucinda reviews the original investigation to uncover where she took the wrong turn to cause a wrongful conviction.

While she delves into that case, FBI Special Agent Jake Lovett is tasked with looking into the coming prison release of politician Chris Phillips who just won a victory in appeals court. His conviction for killing his wife was set aside, raising the prospect that Lucinda was involved in yet another case of wrongful imprisonment.

Bowing beneath feelings of guilt and self-doubt, she is hit with a third problem: Her young friend Charley Spencer is arrested on vandalism charges and it appears as if she's been framed....

In the face of all this turmoil, Lucinda knows she must stop Mack Rogers before he racks up yet another murder in his long list of victims - killings that continued for years because she put the wrong person behind bars.

Wrong Turn is the sixth book in Edgar Award-winning true-crime writer Diane Fanning's critically acclaimed Lucinda Pierce mystery series.

Members Reviews:

Love Lucinda Pierce

Another good read front Diane Fanning. Two suspected wrongful arrests that involve Lucinda Pierce and Charley in a situation over her head have Lucinda and Jake bust. My dislike of The D.A. continues to grow. I have new respect for the police chief as he steps up in support of Lucinda.

Entertaining Mystery

Diane Fanning writes a good mystery with multiple cases to solve. I have just recently discovered her books and cannot wait to read the next one!

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Flashfire

Subtitle: Parker, Book 19

Author: Richard Stark

Narrator: Mark Peckham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

The basis for the movie Parker, starring Jason Stratham and Jennifer Lopez!

Between Parker's 1961 debut and his return in the late 1990s, the world of crime changed considerably. Now fake IDs and credit cards have to be purchased from specialists; increasingly sophisticated policing makes escape and evasion tougher; and, worst of all, money has gone digital - the days of cash-stuffed payroll trucks were long gone.

But cash isn't everything, and now Parker's after a fortune in jewels. In Flashfire, Parker's in West Palm Beach, competing with a crew that has an unhealthy love of explosions. When things go sour, Parker finds himself shot and trapped - and forced to rely on a civilian to survive.

Members Reviews:

This was pretty good.

Not the best Parker, but above average. The ending was very feel good.

This was different in that Parker needed help when he was shot and in the hospital. He had to trust and rely on a woman he recently met. I love the way Parker gets revenge on people who cross him which he does here. I liked what Parker did to the bad guys hideout home and guns.

I especially liked one line. Parker is describing to Leslie how the bad guys are going to rob a charity auction - coming in or leaving by sea wearing scuba gear. Leslie said Like James Bond. Parker said More like Jaws. These are really bad guys - not cool like James Bond.

The narrator Mark Peckham was ok, but his voice for Parker didnt fit. He made Parker sound too normal. I prefer Keith Szarabajka.

THE SERIES:

This is book 19 in the 24 book series. These stories are about bad guys. They rob. They kill. Theyre smart. Most dont go to jail. Parker is the main bad guy, a brilliant strategist. He partners with different guys for different jobs in each book.

If you are new to the series, I suggest reading the first three and then choose among the rest. A few should be read in order since characters continue in a sequel fashion. Those are listed below (with my star ratings). The rest can be read as stand alones.

The first three books in order:

4 stars. The Hunter (Point Blank movie with Lee Marvin 1967) (Payback movie with Mel Gibson)

3 stars. The Man with the Getaway Face (The Steel Hit)

4 stars. The Outfit.

Read these two in order:

5 stars. Slayground (Bk #14)

5 stars. Butchers Moon (Bk #16)

Read these four in order:

4 stars. The Sour Lemon Score (Bk #12)

2 stars. Firebreak (Bk #20)

(not read) Nobody Runs Forever (Bk #22)

2 stars. Dirty Money (Bk #24)

Others that I gave 4 or more stars to:

The Jugger (Bk #6), The Seventh (Bk#7), The Handle (Bk #8), Deadly Edge (Bk#13), Flashfire (Bk#19)

GENRE: noir crime fiction

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Wildfire

Subtitle: Henry Lightstone, Book 2

Author: Ken Goddard

Narrator: Joel Pierson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-11-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Battling the deadly ICER Committee, an international group bent on destroying the environmental movement, Fish and Wildlife Service undercover cop Henry Lightstone learns that the committee has joined forces with a pyrotechnic terrorist organization.

Critic Reviews:

"...keeps a big stewpot boiling...has a blow-'em-all-to-hell kind of liveliness." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Wildfire is an afterburner of a thriller, an incandescent torch that burns up the pages in a flurry of action and speed." (Tampa Tribune)

"Ken Goddard is a Field and Stream Tom Clancy." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

A Great Read!

Adventure! Mystery! Action! Surprise! Tongue in cheek humor. Mr. Goddard has supplied all of these along with a very human (meaning "not perfect") hero in Henry Lightstone. Using the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service as a the law enforcement agency of record in the book gives a bit of a "twist" to the bulk of crime stories. Very entertaining and --- if you're not careful --- you could find some educational information in the story as well.

Five Stars

A litttle slow in the beginning, but worked up to exciting ending.

No exception

Most of Goddard's books are first rate. This is no exception.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: We All Fall Down

Author: Simon Wood

Narrator: James Langton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-07-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 46 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Hayden Duke has the naive ambition to make some money and prove to his family that he can take care of himself, so he accepts a short-term contract working for his old college friend, Shane Fallon. All seems like a dream come trueuntil Shane kills himself. Right in front of Hayden.

Detective Santiago has seen it all before. Shane had narcotics in his system when he hanged himself, and the dope had to come from somewhere - like an old college buddy. Case closed. But only a week before Shanes suicide, another employee from the same office walked straight into the ocean. Both mens last words are the same - theyre sorry for what theyve done. Just a coincidence, right?

Inspired by true events, We All Fall Down is a heart-racing classic from prolific thriller author Simon Wood.

Members Reviews:

Easy listening, interesting story line.

What did you love best about We All Fall Down?

Its an easy story to follow, you'll guess the plot before it happens so its a little predictable but enjoyable non the less.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Santiago, reminds me of Columbo.

Narration Ruins It

The narrator is British but the story is set in California. The pronunciations make it awkward. I only listened to the entire book because the story was interesting. However, the main characters are so stupid that at points I thought they were getting just what they deserved. I normally rate Simon Wood five stars but this one just missed the mark for me.

Characters can't figure out the obvious

Would you try another book from Simon Wood and/or James Langton?

I actually have. It's apparent he likes to make his characters dumb as bricks. They have no common sense and their stupidity gets other characters killed. Not as bright as the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew in diapers

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was all wrong for this book. Accent, intonations ugh

Do you think We All Fall Down needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

NO

Author Simon Wood is a Brit who lives in the US

I've listened to ten Simon Wood novels and enjoyed most. This novel is set in California where he now lives. In the opening minutes of We All Fall Down a character speaks with a strong southern accent. Wood writes that the character is from the south where "they fu-k their sisters and marry their cousins". I decided not to listen to more. Mr. Wood, you likely have more listeners/readers from the US south than me. Your insulting us with a stupid comment may be an error.

Disappointing

This is the first Simon Wood book I've read/listened to. Based on the reviews, I expected more. The pace of the story was good, and it moved along nicely. But the characters--cops, criminals and victims alike--were none too bright. If you've ever watched one detective show on TV in your whole life, you're smarter than these people. The narrator did an OK job, although I don't really understand why they picked a British narrator when all the characters were Americans. There was one California cop named Santiago. The narrator portrayed him with a Hispanic accent that sounded closer to Russian. I found that very distracting. Langton's mispronunciation of "Marin" County was also annoying. No more Simon Wood for me.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: A Pound of Flesh

Subtitle: DCI Lorimer, Book 9

Author: Alex Gray

Narrator: Joe Dunlop

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-06-12

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 58 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Detective Superintendent Lorimer's worst nightmare is a serial killer loose in his city. But two serial killers operating at once on the streets of Glasgow is a nightmare come to life. Is there a link between the brutal slaying of prostitutes in the backstreets of the city and the methodical killing of several unconnected businessmen? Lorimer is never one to jump to conclusions but something about these cases just doesn't add up.

Each killer has a different MO, but their obsession with murder is equally chilling. When the latest death is that of a prominent government minister, Lorimer finds the media's relentless scrutiny turned on his investigation. Psychologist Solly Brightman is helping with both cases, but someone within Lorimer's team is sabotaging their efforts by leaking confidential police information. Their whispers will cost lives . . . As a freezing winter grips Glasgow, two killers are relentlessly murdering in cold blood, brandishing their own kind of brutal justice, each taking greater risks and claiming more victims. For Lorimer, time is running out.Evoking the gritty truth of Glasgow like no other writer, Alex Gray has created in Lorimer the most dynamic Scottish detective since Rebus.

Members Reviews:

Another winner

Another good mystery in the series. I do so enjoy a Scottish police - procedural - if this is what it truly is. The author has sprinkled a bit of fairy dust over the main characters. I didn't mind a bit.

lack of suspense

the story is not thrilling or suspensefull and it does not grip the reader. Easy to forget

Overall a good listen

Although one of the 'villains' was obvious before too long this was still a good listen. The narrator performs characters well and it's nice to have a Scot reading a book set in Scotland. I'm always looking for well spoken mysteries and will try another Alex Gray

Dire narration "murdered" this book

This may be a grippingly good, edge of your seat thriller. I will never know, I got to the end of book 1 and lost the will to listen to any more of it. The narration was boring, stilted and would be better suited for someone looking for a cure for insommnia.

Good but...

I think most people like to read books that are set in a background they know well. Coming from a west of Scotland, Jewish background I was always going to be a keen reader of Alex Gray's series featuring a Glasgow cop with a Jewish psychologist sidekick, however unlikely that pairing may be in real police work. However famliarity with the setting can also make one very critical of any inaccuracy in detail. When it comes to audio books the first thing that is subject to scrutiny is a reader's accent(s). Of course there is no problem with long time narrator of the series Bill Dunlop. If you wanted to be hyper-critical you could say that his reading of the famous verse from Tam O' Shanter which features in the book is a little flat and lacking in inflexion compared to how it is normally spoken but that is a very minor quibble. So accents are fine, and the fact that Solomon Brightman is very much a lapsed Jew means that there is little Jewish detail to find fault with either.

It is with the plot that cracks are starting to appear.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Night Has a Thousand Eyes

Author: Cornell Woolrich

Narrator: Angela Brazil

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

In Woolrich's iconic tale, Detective Tom Shawn saves a lovely young woman from a suicide attempt one night, and later hears her story. She is in despair because the death of her wealthy father has been predicted by a confidence man seemingly gifted with the power of clairvoyance; a man whose predictions have unerringly aided her father in his business many times before. Shawn and a squad of detectives investigate this dire prediction and try to avert the millionaire businessman from meeting his ordained end at the stroke of midnight. One of Cornell Woolrich's most influential novels, this classic noir tale of a man struggling with his ability to see the future is arguably the author's best in its depiction of a doomed vision of predestination.

Members Reviews:

A disappointment.

[{ "answer" : "", "type" : "Overall", "question" : "What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you? ", "id" : 61, "typeString" : "overall" }, { "answer" : "", "type" : "Story", "question" : "If youve listened to books by Cornell Woolrich before, how does this one compare?", "id" : 21, "typeString" : "story" }, { "answer" : "", "type" : "Performance", "question" : "Did the narration match the pace of the story?", "id" : 38, "typeString" : "performance" }, { "answer" : "", "type" : "Genre", "question" : "If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Night Has a Thousand Eyes?", "id" : 95, "typeString" : "genre" }, { "answer" : "I had often heard Cornell Woolrich grouped with writers of the hard-boiled school like Chester Himes and David Goodis, less famous perhaps than the Hammetts and Chandlers, but deserving of more exposure. Based on the evidence of \"The Night Has A Thousand Eyes\" he is not in their class. This is the first Woolrich I have exposed myself to, but I think it will probably be my last.

This is not a well-written novel.

Woolrich produced a copious amount of work in his lifetime and a very large number of his stories were adapted into well-regarded movies, often in the noir vein. I'm guessing (again going on just this novel, which, who knows, may not be as representative as I'm assuming) that the film adaptations did not strive to be terribly faithful. In this book I found his plotting inconsistent, his characters wooden, his dialogue artificial (and all of a single flowery tone, whether spoken by characters high-born or low), and his pacing leaden.

There is a germ of a good idea in the plot -- and perhaps that is what attracted film makers to his works, their plots rather than anything in their presentation. But the plot of this one is barely enough to sustain a short story. This audio book is almost 12 hours long.

In this book, Woolrich makes sure that anything he has to say or describe he says over and over again in as many ways as possible. If a character has a sarcastic retort to someone, Woolrich makes sure to report the retort, then point out that it was meant sarcastically, then underline that the sarcasm was meant disparagingly.