The Inquisitor by Mark Allen Smith

by:  Mark Allen Smith
published by:  Henry Holt and Co.
publish date:  April 10, 2012

Geiger has a gift: he knows a lie the instant he hears it. And in his business—called "information retrieval" by its practitioners—that gift is invaluable, because truth is the hottest thing on the market. Geiger's clients count on him to extract the truth from even the most reluctant subjects. Unlike most of his competitors, Geiger rarely sheds blood, but he does use a variety of techniques—some physical, many psychological—to push his subjects to a point where pain takes a backseat to fear.  One of Geiger's rules is that he never works with children. So when his partner, former journalist Harry Boddicker, unwittingly brings in a client who demands that Geiger interrogate a twelve-year-old boy, Geiger responds instinctively. He rescues the boy from his captor, removes him to the safety of his New York City loft, and promises to protect him from further harm. But if Geiger and Harry cannot quickly discover why the client is so desperate to learn the boy's secret, they themselves will become the victims of an utterly ruthless adversary.

This was another of my random audiobook picks of the week.  I didn't know anything about it when I picked it up, but after I listened to it I went poking around on the internet.  Turns out it's the debut novel of Mark Allen Smith.  I'm impressed, I really liked it.

Geiger is a character that definitely stands alone.  He's a professional torturer.  He's hired by the government, the mafia, corporations, whoever has the money and needs information extracted from an uncooperative person.  His backstory was bizarre and leaves one wondering what exactly was the purpose of his upbringing.  Just when you think Geiger is the most cold hearted person you might meet, in comes his dad. 

Ezra was another great character.  I find that "tweens" don't always come across very well in writing.  They're often whiny and bratty.  Ezra was mature for his age, but appropriately scared for the situation.  I really liked how his character was handled throughout the book.

The Inquisitor is a great addition to the thriller genre.  I will warn that it was really graphic at times, it does talk about torturing people.  There were parts that were really freaking me out.  Overall, I really liked it and I hope Mr. Smith has been busy at his keyboard because I would definitely like to read more from him!
Check out the audiobook clip provided by Macmillan Audio: