From the author of All The Pretty Horses and most recently The Road comes another literary gem in No Country For Old Men. If you are aware of McCarthy’s previous work, you’ve either fallen in love with his style or been put off by it; either way its something that sparks conversation about the work. Yes, the book is a bit of a tricky reading exercise with the unconventional way the story is displayed; there are no quotation marks to designate dialogue. But this is the audio version, and the hindrance of the quotations is gone, creating a more fluid narrative to follow.

The story is pretty straightforward. While hunting for antelope, Vietnam vet Llewelyn Moss comes across the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad. There are many bodies ( human and canine) strewn about the scene, but Moss not only finds dead bodies: he also discovers a load of heroin and two million dollars in a case, and one last man barely clinging to life. The temptation is too great for Moss. He takes the suitcase filled with cash and flees the scene, knowing that it’s a huge mistake, and goes from hunter to hunted in the blink of an eye.

Enter into the fray one Anton Chigurh. His character is crystal clear: pure psychopath. He is a ruthless, non-stop killing machine who has his mind set on tracking down Moss and collecting the money. The polar opposite to Chigurh is WWII vet Sheriff Bell, weary and contemplative on what the world has become today. For a good chunk of the story, it’s basically Moss on the run from Chigurh, who is followed by Bell.

The audio production is absolutely stunning; everything is crisp and clean, creating a quality listening experience. The narration by Tom Stechschulte (he also narrated The Road) is incredible. He really brings McCarthy’s terse prose and vivid descriptions to life with his husky, Texas-twanged accent. Overall, No Country For Old Men is a thrilling Texas noir crime thriller that will keep audiophiles riveted.

• No Country for Old Men [paperback]