Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    At First Sight: A Novel of Obsession
    At First Sight: A Novel of Obsession
    At First Sight: A Novel of Obsession
    Audiobook8 hours

    At First Sight: A Novel of Obsession

    Written by Stephen J Cannell

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Meet Chick Best—a middle-aged, self-absorbed California dot.com millionaire. Other than his house and high-priced foreign cars, Chick’s most expensive possession is his trophy wife, Evelyn. Evelyn is good at spending Chick’s money, money that has pretty much run out. Another problem is his drug-addled sixteen-year-old daughter, Melissa. Though concerned about his family, Chick has resigned himself to a miserable state of acceptance. That is, until he, Evelyn, and Melissa take a Christmas vacation in Maui. With this, Chick’s life changes.…

    Chick experiences unrequited love at first sight when he observes Paige Ellis emerging from the hotel swimming pool. His obsession, exceeded only by his need to possess her, isn’t diminished when he learns that she is happily married. Instead, Chick’s obsession compels him to drive to Paige’s house, where he runs down and kills her husband. Chick’s life begins to spiral homicidally out of control, resulting in the destruction of everything he holds dear. Will Paige learn the truth about Chick before it’s too late?

    Fast paced, filled with wry humor, murder, lust, and dead-on L.A. characterizations, Cannell has written his most explosive novel yet.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 8, 2008
    ISBN9781423367789
    At First Sight: A Novel of Obsession
    Author

    Stephen J Cannell

    In his thirty-five-year career, Emmy Award-winning writer Stephen J. Cannell has created more than forty TV series. Among his hits are The Rockford Files, Silk Stalkings, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Hunter, Renegade, Wiseguy, and The Commish. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.

    More audiobooks from Stephen J Cannell

    Related to At First Sight

    Related audiobooks

    Suspense For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Karin Slaughter

      Jul 2, 2020

      This American crime author has sold more than 35 million copies of her books globally. This month she’s celebrating the release of her 20th novel in as many years. It’s also the 10th book in special agent Will Trent’s series. “It feels really great a

      1 min read

    • Article

      Nikki Sixx

      Oct 12, 2021

      Nikki Sixx
      14 min read

    • Article

      Bob Odenkirk Has A New Memoir And A Starry Career That Began Here — Look At The Ways Naperville Creeps Into His Writing. What Does He Think Of Where He Is Now?

      Mar 2, 2022

      Bob Odenkirk Has A New Memoir And A Starry Career That Began Here — Look At The Ways Naperville Creeps Into His Writing. What Does He Think Of Where He Is Now?
      10 min read

    • Article

      LOVE, LOSS & LEONARD NIMOY

      Jun 25, 2021

      LOVE, LOSS & LEONARD NIMOY
      7 min read

    • Article

      David Harewood

      Mar 20, 2023

      David Harewood
      5 min read

    • Article

      Zoe Lyons

      Jan 25, 2021

      Zoe Lyons
      5 min read

    • Article

      Gene Simmons

      Apr 1, 2022

      EVERYBODY KNOWS GENE Simmons. Or at least, they think they know Gene Simmons. Kiss co-founder, blood-dribbler, tongue-waggler and possessor of one of rock’s biggest egos. But long before he became The Demon, he was Chaim Witz, a kid born in Israel an

      5 min read

    • Article

      Jon Richardson

      Apr 17, 2023

      Jon Richardson
      6 min read

    • Article

      Deep Impact

      May 31, 2020

      Deep Impact
      9 min read

    • Article

      Free Spirit

      Jul 19, 2021

      Free Spirit
      4 min read

    • Article

      Lessons From My Grand Mother

      Sep 3, 2020

      Lessons From My Grand Mother
      6 min read

    • Article

      Free Spirit

      Jul 19, 2021

      Free Spirit
      4 min read

    • Article

      Too Much Seinfeld

      Nov 30, 2017

      Too Much Seinfeld
      8 min read

    • Article

      Paul O’grady

      Sep 12, 2022

      Paul O’grady
      5 min read

    • Article

      First Love and a Life Lesson

      Dec 5, 2023

      Being 10 years old and living in a small Missouri town in the mid-1960s, my life was pretty darn good and carefree. Bowling Green was a very friendly town, kind of like the Mayberry of Missouri. I seemed to have something of a weekly routine: five da

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Gift of Sobriety

      Sep 26, 2022

      The Gift of Sobriety
      8 min read

    • Article

      Minnie Driver: ‘I Had To Fake An Orgasm In A Room Full Of Male Execs At An Audition For A Chocolate Bar Ad’

      Feb 4, 2023

      Born in London, Minnie Driver, 53, gained an Oscar nomination for Good Will Hunting in 1998. She was Emmy nominated for her performance in the 2007 television series The Riches and has a recurring role in Will & Grace. More recent films include Cinde

      2 min read

    • Article

      Dave Barry 2020

      Sep 20, 2019

      Dave Barry 2020
      12 min read

    • Article

      Jason Ellis

      May 21, 2019

      Jason Ellis
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Turn

      Aug 14, 2019

      HERE’S a story. In college I entered the spring semester of my freshman year on academic probation. There wasn’t one reason this happened. There were many. I had signed up for a computer science class called Digital Security with no programming knowl

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for At First Sight

    3.5/5

    77 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Excellent writing and narration. Better than most thrillers I have seen, either on TV or the cinema. The writing is crisp, the dialogue is funny, the plot is exciting, the “alternative chapter” thoughts of the characters is intriguing. Cannot recommend it enough.
    • 4/5
      5 stars for the writing; overall, only 4 stars because it was so effective! One of the gotchas about crime stories is the often grizzly detail about things we’d rather not think about, yet can’t look away from. As always, masterfully told, but deeply unsettling that this kind of thing actually happens.
    • 2/5
      Loved the Shane Scully books but this one… what can I say? I found myself just wanting to get to the end. The Chick character just whines & whines & whines some more. Completely unhinged with zero redeeming characteristics. I felt like I was committing self flagellation because I kept listening long after I should’ve cried Uncle. Anyway, my recommendation is to not waste your time with this when there are plenty of great books to delve into instead.
    • 4/5
      Inside the mind of chick and Paige. Interesting way to tell the story.
    • 2/5
      I am very annoyed with Stephen Cannell for dying before he'd finished writing all the stuff I wanted to read so I was tickled to find this one of his books I had not read yet. He notes in the book's preface that he was trying something new and different. Why his publisher let him get away with it is a mystery all its own.

      It is the novel equivalent of a train wreck. I read it to the end and all the while astonished at how clumsily it was constructed and written. The plot was actually decent and the rest was so not.
    • 4/5
      Listened to NLS Talking Book version. Crazy to hear the thoughts of someone who finds a way to rationalize murder.
    • 3/5
      Stephen J. Cannell is known for his screen plays and as a B-list actor. He also churns out a steady stream of novels, and when I came across one in the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble, I decided to give one a shot. As you might expect, nothing too deep here to make you think too much. At First Sight is a quick read, a story about an aging, failing internet mogul named Chick who gets the hots for Paige, a passing girl in a Hawaiian resort. His fantasies are dealt a blow when he discovers this object of his desire is actually married, and he's a stud. Still, he manages to worm his way into their lives, and they part after vacation ostensibly friends. Chick and his hostile, trophy wife agree to try and sell Paige's artwork on their website, the prospects for a continuing friendship are established.When Chick is compelled to supplicate himself to a Wall Street scavenger intent on giving him fractional value for his failing company, Chick inexplicably drives to Charlotte with no particular intent in mind...and that's when things really get out of control.A few corpses and the obligatory terror encounter, and Chick finishes his first-person chronicle shortly before his walk down the "Green Mile." At First Sight is a fast-paced beach read, don't expect more and you'll be mildly entertained.
    • 5/5
      Interesting book, written from the view of the villain. I applaud Cannell for making fun of the rich and narcissistic. I thought the book was funny at times and then really twisted at other times. It was a very easy read; I read the whole book in an afternoon.
    • 2/5
      A wildly successful man has pursued - and attained - everything in his path throughout his life. He is unable to rein in his narcissistic desires when things turn tough and, while on a lavish vacation with his otherwise-occupied wife and angry, belligerent daughter, he sees another man's "perfect" wife and plots his moves to eventually possess her. Less than a year and two murders later, it is hard to develop any kind of empathy for Charles "Chick" Best - or for the living victims of his pursuits. While I have truly enjoyed Cannell's works in the past, this one felt rather absurd and predictable.
    • 3/5
      A thriller with a twist, this story is told from the bad guy's point of view. Chick Best is a dot come millionaire whose business has fallen on hard times. Still he and his family take their annual resort vacation where he sees Paige Ellis and immediately decides that she is the most perfect woman he has ever met and that he must have her. Small problems arise: Paige is newly married and deeply in love with her husband, Chick is unhappily married but will be left penniless in a divorce, etc. Chick goes on to eliminate these problems--starting with Paige's husband. So with this type of book the question is, does the author make the main character interesting enough so that you still want to hear their story even though they are morally reprehensible? Cannell does an OK job with this, and I wanted to see how/if Chick was going to get away with his crimes, but I didn't care much about him and would have been happy to put this book down after I sensed where it was going. As an audiobook it was given a boost but the skillful performance of Scott Brick, who gave Chick the perfect voice and made him somewhat more interesting. I've probably told you too much about this book, but if you like thrillers that are out of the ordinary give it a try.
    • 4/5
      Chick Best, erstwhile dot.com millionaire, was at one time on top of the world, with a luxurious home in Hollywood, cabin in Big Bear, married to a beautiful woman, with a teenage daughter. But lately things have turned sour. Chick’s business is going under, his wife is having an affair, and his teenage daughter’s only interest is hanging out with a criminal biker and taking drugs. The family goes on vacation to Hawaii, where Chick encounters beautiful Paige Ellis and falls in love “at first sight.” Chick is despaired to learn Paige is married to Chandler, a handsome, altruistic man from a wealthy family who uses his time and money to help learning disabled kids. Chick makes an effort to get to Paige through Chandler, but it’s evident Paige is very much in love with her husband. Back home, Chick can’t keep his mind off Paige. When an opportunity arises to go to New York, he flies there, rents a car, and drives to her home in North Carolina, where his life begins its slow, horrific spiral downward into madness and deception.Cannell’s depiction of the shallow mindsets of the materialistic rich is revealed with humor, although at times, it seems sad and unfathomable that people actually think this way. Chick is a character readers will not like, but his inner thoughts and insights, while usually obnoxious are, nonetheless, entertaining. The story has its suspenseful moments and the reader will root for Paige, an intelligent woman who grieves the death of a man she was very much in love with while trying to deal with Chick, a middle-aged, portly man with no morals who is slowly going mad.
    • 4/5
      In his introduction the author says that he was advised against writing this book, Having listened to the audiobook version I can understand why it might be thought an ill-advised project. However, Cannell does manage to bring off the hard task of writing about a main character who is vain, self-obsessed and essentially a psychopath. The build up is such that you retain some sympathy for Chick Best in the early stages but he just gets worse and worse turning into a complete monster by the end of the book.There are many times during the book when you are essentially embarrassed by what Chick Best does and I found myself often saying aloud "don't do it, don't be so stupid, you're just going to make things worse." But then that is the point, even though Best is horrible, even though his exploits make you squirm, you still keep turning the pages (metaphorically in my case).Cannell is a brilliant writer and his Shane Scully series has gripped me from the outset. This one is a little different and I am full of admiration for an author who can run with a deeply unsympathetic main character and still maintain my interest.