AudioBook Review: Wrench In the Plan

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff | Content warnings: pedophilia, child sexual abuse

An edgy crime thriller singed with gritty realism and heartbreaking scandal

John Edmund Pike is a pedophile and a child killer.

He’s being trudged around Texas by FBI Agent Ray Winkle more on a publicity tour than a vengeance tour. It’s not humiliating for Pike. It seems almost to benefit him—giving him the exact kind of attention he seeks. But Winkle, however flawed he might be, isn’t doing it to help Pike; he’s trying to help families get closure after a string of them are struck with trauma from missing children.

And yet, some families don’t want this kind of closure. Their pain is too raw and volatile. They’re seeking a different kind. That’s why a traumatized mother seeks the help of one Mr. Fontaine—a guy known around town to be able to “take care” of people, if you know what I’m saying.

Winkle, two ladies of the night—Brandy and Brandi—and their pimp Jimmy Sambuchi all play their part in a grand scheme to take down Pike. What results is a ruckus crime thriller with blood spilled and cinematic chases across the bayou.

Wrench In the Plan is the kind of late-night thriller you won’t be fighting to keep your eyes open for; you’ll be too busy clutching the sheets, dying to hit fast forward to find out what could come next. It’s gritty and dark and doesn’t shy away from anything. If you’re looking for jaw-dropping and spine-tingling crime, you’ve come to the right place.

It’s a wide-sweeping tale set in the American South around 1980, and it’s told from varying perspectives. It’s like your favorite police procedurals except with every angle of the crime told from every background character, making it far more crime than investigation. And that’s kind of what we came here for. It’s not the mystery—it’s the thrill. And it comes in droves.

The characters often toe the line of moral ambiguity, and they’ve all got their own allure. Jay Shirtz’s narration brings their personalities to life across demographics and excitement levels. It’s a cinematic story told with cinematic flare—the perfect combination for the audio format. Jimmy Sambuchi and Brandy are just a couple of the standout characters; each time a character returns, it’s easy to remember them from Shirtz’s narration as well as their own distinct role to play in the crime.

Squeamish listeners should probably step away from this one though. It’s not a book that pulls up short on its shock and tragedy. There a number of cringey moments that’ll make your blood boil, especially from Pike’s explanations. Even readers who are comfy in toeing the line could feel some of it is taken too far. It really is a heartbreaker for all those at least a little sensitive to the depravity enacted upon children in this dark, dangerous world.

The cinematic nature of it all really drives the narrative home. Put down your true crime podcasts and slip this creepy, shocking, torturous story into your earbuds while you’re doing dishes or making the morning commute. It’s electrified with those late-night thrills you remember from midnight television, except with the censors off and the volume turned all the way up.

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