A Dark and Lonely Place

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edna Buchanan weaves together two parallel tales of doomed romance separated by a century in this sweeping crime saga set against the backdrop of Florida's violent frontier past and contemporary Miami. When a legendary outlaw named John Ashley faces execution for murder in early 1900s Miami, he escapes with his beloved Laura to begin a notorious crime spree across the state. A hundred years later, homicide detective John Ashley finds himself drawn into a wealthy man's murder case and becomes inexplicably attracted to a mysterious model named Laura connected to the investigation. As the modern-day Ashley becomes a suspect himself, history threatens to repeat its deadly cycle.

Robertson Dean's compelling narration captures both the sultry atmosphere of historical Florida and the gritty tension of modern police procedural work. His performance seamlessly transitions between time periods, giving distinct voices to characters across generations while maintaining the story's underlying sense of fate and inevitability. Dean's pacing allows listeners to fully absorb Buchanan's intricate plotting and rich historical detail, while his delivery heightens the supernatural elements that bind the two storylines together. The audio format enhances the novel's dreamlike quality, making the connections between past and present feel both mysterious and urgent.