Caffeinated Reviewer | Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart
13th Jan
I am always in the mood for a good science fiction fantasy, and Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart piqued my interest. I began reading the novel but switched over to the audio version narrated by Max Meyers. Detour delivered a suspenseful sci-fi thriller that kept me engaged from the first page.
Detour
by Jeff Rake, Rob Hart
Series: Detour #1
Narrator: Max Meyers
Length: 10 hours and 51 minutes
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible | Libro.fm *affiliate
Rating: 
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.5x
A space shuttle flight crew discovers that the Earth they’ve returned to is not the home they left behind in this emotional, mind-bending thriller from the creator of the hit Netflix series Manifest and the bestselling author of The Warehouse.
“If The Martian and The Twilight Zone had a baby, it would be Detour—a thriller that messes with your head as you scramble to piece together what’s really going on.”—Steve Netter, Best Thriller Books
Ryan Crane wasn’t looking for trouble—just a cup of coffee. But when this cop spots a gunman emerging from an unmarked van, he leaps into action and unknowingly saves John Ward, a billionaire with presidential aspirations, from an assassination attempt.
As thanks for Ryan’s quick thinking, Ward offers him the chance of a lifetime: to join a group of lucky civilians chosen to accompany three veteran astronauts on the first manned mission to Saturn’s moon Titan.
A devoted family man, Ryan is reluctant to leave on this two-year expedition, yet with the encouragement of his loving wife—and an exorbitant paycheck guaranteeing lifetime care for their disabled son—he crews up and ventures into a new frontier.
But as the ship is circling Titan, it is rocked by an unexplained series of explosions. The crew works together to get back on course, and they return to Earth as heroes.
When the fanfare dies down, Ryan and his fellow astronauts notice that things are different. Some changes are good, such as lavish upgrades to their homes, but others are more disconcerting. Before the group can connect, mysterious figures start tailing them, and their communications are scrambled.
Separated and suspicious, the crew must uncover the truth and decide how far they’re willing to go to return to their normal lives. Just when their space adventure seemingly ends, it shockingly begins.
First, I recommend going into this one blind. We meet the six characters intended to travel to Saturn’s moon, Titan, and the man sponsoring it all, Ward. Ward is a billionaire looking to become the next President of the United States. The space shuttle crew is a mix of astronauts, scientists and two civilians, a cop and a hacker. We learn about their personal and professional issues as they prepare, travel and what happens when they return to Earth.
The authors hooked me and slowly built up the suspense even before the shuttle took off. We’ve got a scientist attempting to warn our scientist crew members about dangers and issues with the crew working together.
Most of the story takes place after they return. I felt the beginning did an excellent job of letting us get to know the characters’ professional and personal lives as it set the tone. Surprisingly, we spent the least amount of time in space, but that time and the events and issues that occur have everything to do with their return, and Ward seems to know exactly what is up.
Most of the story, i’d say the last forty percent, takes place back on Earth. From their arrival to the way they are treated seems wrong, and soon our six crew members are questioning everything. Be warned, this ended with a major cliffhanger that has left me craving the next audiobook.
While the book is set up clearly for this cast of characters and story, I absolutely preferred listening. Max Meyers captured the crew, their emotions and the tone of the story perfectly. You’ll want to grab your earbuds for this one!
I gotta kick out of realizing that Jeff Rake was the creator of Manifest ✈️. I loved that show!
About Jeff Rake
eff Rake recently served as creator, executive producer, writer, and showrunner for NBC/Netflix’s Manifest. He previously developed and Executive Produced The Mysteries of Laura, which aired for multiple seasons on NBC and in more than 100 countries. His past credits include consulting producer on The CW’s Beauty and the Beast, TNT’s Franklin & Bash and Hawthorne, and Fox’s Bones. Jeff also executive produced ABC’s Cashmere Mafia and Boston Legal. On the feature side, he has written screenplays for MGM and Disney. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and many children.
About Rob Hart
Rob Hart is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Assassins Anonymous series. The latest installment, THE MEDUSA PROTOCOL, is in stores now. He also wrote THE WAREHOUSE, THE PARADOX HOTEL, the Ash McKenna crime series, the short story collection TAKE-OUT, the novella SCOTT FREE with James Patterson, the comic book BLOOD OATH with Alex Segura, and the novel DARK SPACE, also with Segura. His next book, available in January, is DETOUR, co-written with Jeff Rake, the creator and showrunner of TV’s MANIFEST. He’s also a freelance editor and a writing mentor in Seton Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA. He lives in Jersey City.
About Max Meyers
Max is a multi-hyphenate artist who received their Bachelors of Fine Arts from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and went on to perform in Off-Broadway, Regional, and Touring Productions. Their approach to art-making across media stems from their training at Stella Adler Studio in New York City, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, The International Theatre Workshop in Amsterdam, and the New Studio on Broadway for Musical Theatre, as well as their unique perspective on life as a neurodivergent individual. Today they work as an Audiobook Narrator (Earphones Award, 2024 Audie Nomination). As a teacher and coach, they combine their own Chakra-Based Self-Awareness Practice with a technical foundation in contemporary and classical text analysis, character development, dynamic movement, monologue and song repertoire coaching, speech, and dialect work. As a collaborator, Max takes pride in their thorough and dynamic approach to telling stories.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat.
