The Good Samaritan, Toni Halleen
The Good Samaritan, Toni Halleen
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The Good Samaritan
A Novel

Author: Toni Halleen

Narrator: Adam Verner, Tara Sands, Carolyn Jania, Giordan Diaz

Unabridged: 9 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Harper

Published: 03/04/2025


Synopsis

A college professor is offered a chance at redemption—if he can figure out the right thing to do in this thoughtful psychological thriller from the author of The Surrogate.Sociology professor Matthew Larkin is barely holding on. After the death of his toddler son, his wife divorced him, his teenage daughter abandoned him, and he lost a job he loved. Landing a rare tenure track position at a small college in southern Minnesota, he’s trying to cope with the disaster his life has become.While driving down an empty highway in the middle of nowhere one gloomy Sunday evening, Matthew gets caught in a hailstorm. Pulling off the road to find shelter, he spies a disturbing sight. Caught in the car’s headlights is a child curled up beneath a plastic tarp. The boy is alive but unconscious, soaked to the bone and possibly hypothermic. Knowing an ambulance would take too long to reach them, Matthew impulsively puts the boy in his car, intending to get medical help.On the way, the boy awakens and becomes agitated, begging Matthew not to take him to a hospital or to call the police. Matthew sympathizes with the panicked boy, who looks to be the same age his son would have been. Overcome by longing, grief, and a need to make sense of everything that’s happened to him, Matthew makes a dangerous choice—risking everything for a chance to face his past, move on from the pain, and forgive both his family and himself. 

About Toni Halleen

Toni Halleen worked for many years as an employment law attorney. She was born and raised in the Midwest and earned a B.A. in women's studies from Mount Holyoke College, and a JD from the University of Minnesota. Toni won a Mentor Prize in fiction from the Loft Literary Center, and her writing has appeared in Wigleaf, Structo, Gravel, the Star Tribune, and elsewhere. She lives in Minneapolis with her family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jayne on April 04, 2025

After author Toni Halleen's impressive debut, I expected THE GOOD SAMARITAN to be very, very GOOD. It wasn't. TWs: Toddler Death, Child Predators The publisher's blurb positioned the book as a psychological thriller. It wasn't. It was a disjointed and disappointing family melodrama. I listened to the 9.5-......more

Goodreads review by Meagan on March 15, 2025

3.5 ⭐️ Full cast audio was awesome. I think this story had so much potential at the beginning. It definitely felt like a thriller in the making but the story didn’t develop at a fast pace which made it more slow burn mystery with minimal mystery. I really like the topics this author brings to the su......more

Goodreads review by Kay on January 05, 2025

I was excited for this book. The premise was intriguing, and I love mystery/thrillers. The characters were interesting ... at first. But as the story continued, nothing happened. No twists, no shocks, no mysteries, and no thrills. This is a family drama with a lot of emotion. I'm the wrong audience......more

Goodreads review by Gigi on April 15, 2025

I was SO intrigued by the synopsis but NOTHING EVER HAPPENED! I read and read and refused to put it down because I just KNEW something good was coming… and it never did. 3 stars only because it did keep me hooked, but maybe I was just hooked by my expectations…......more

Goodreads review by Erin on January 22, 2025

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: March 4, 2025 Toni Halleen, author of “The Surrogate”, poses a sociological question in her new novel, “The Good Samaritan”. If you found......more