• First Counsel

  • Booktrack Edition
  • By: Brad Meltzer
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (654 ratings)

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First Counsel  By  cover art

First Counsel

By: Brad Meltzer
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's summary

First Counsel: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!

White House lawyer Michael Garrick has a relatively anonymous position at a very public address. That is, until he starts dating Nora Harston (secret service code name: Shadow), the sexy and dangerously irresistible daughter of the President. But the confident young attorney thinks he can handle the pressure. Until, out on a date, Nora and Michael see something they shouldn't. To protect her, he admits to something he shouldn't. And when a body is discovered and Michael is the suspected killer, he finds himself on the run. Now, in a world where power is an aphrodisiac and close friends carry guns and are under strict orders to risk their lives, Michael must find a way to prove his innocence.

Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration so that listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2001 Brad Meltzer (P)2001 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about First Counsel

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    388
  • 4 Stars
    140
  • 3 Stars
    77
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    30
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Performance
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    90
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    335
  • 4 Stars
    119
  • 3 Stars
    72
  • 2 Stars
    34
  • 1 Stars
    18

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Please make it stoppppppp!

I’m halfway through this book and I don’t know if I can stomach another 22 chapters!
I’ve read the Culper Ring series, and found it to be an entertaining read, if not perfectly written. So I thought I’d try this one to pass 12 hours while I paint.
This is billed as a political thriller... yet 8 hours into it I would say only 2 of those hours would fall into that category. The other 6, the listener is subjected to what passes as the most moronic love story I’ve ever heard.
I seriously can’t take the stupidity that this main character displays when it comes to ‘Nora’ the President’s daughter. She puts both of them (and others) in danger while she ‘expertly’ drives like a bat outta hell to escape the Secret Service...she takes money from a crime scene and then puts it in Michaels Car so he looks like the guilty party, she drugs him without his knowledge cuz she’s ‘crazy like that’, she has him kidnapped by big scary men so she can talk to him privately... WHAT IS ATTRACTIVE ABOUT THIS?
But Michael continues to prove what an idiot he is after all of that, by giving her the benefit of the doubt time and time again. And why? Because he sees the hurt little girl in her.🤮 she’s had it so bad you know, she’s never had any friends because of Daddy’s political career 😢.
The few times he even comes close to calling her out on her antics, she has the balls to get mad at HIM! She completely ruined this guy’s life and career but she is outraged if he calls her on it! He always ends those encounters by enfolding her in his arms and promising that he’ll never let anyone hurt her.... usually because she does something crazy cute like smiling a smile that lights up the room, or giggling in her little girl giggle! ‘Sigh’
I don’t think I can listen to the rest of the book... I keep waiting for the political thriller to show up, but I fear I’ll just be trudging through another 6 hours of this nauseating love story.
I’d love to see Brad Meltzer write an actual woman, someone who isn’t his high school fantasy.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding!

Really liked the on going mystery and the ending was unexpected. Great read, buy it!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not just a good mystery

Not just a good mystery but also an in-depth characterization of the worst & best of mankind.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another good one

Really liked the plot. Always learn more from Meltzer’s books then anything else. Good plot. Good setting.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worthy of a binge listen

Oh my! Couldn't stop listening! So good I may listen again. So many twists, turns and surprises

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow!

Truly an amazing and immersive story from the opening paragraph to final words! This is by far the best book I’ve ever listened to!

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great storyline

Great storyline, great performance the Primos was a little far-fetched as was a few of the actions of our protagonist.but I tend to gauge a book is a great book if I look for reasons to get back in the car to listen to it. That's the way this one was. I think you'll enjoy it.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good plot

The plot is good with great twists. The summery said that the music in the back ground isn’t distracting, humm I had a very hard time listening to this book. Maybe it’s just me but the sound effects were very distracting which made it very hard to follow the story line.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Music and sound effect: Bad idea!

The musical background was distracting. Scott Brick is a GREAT narrator but the music took away from his delivery. Interesting character development but this is one book I'd suggest reading rather than listening to.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Background music or sound

Really thought book was great but background sound tract distracting. Too busy in tense parts as your trying to concentrate.

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5 people found this helpful