An Art Form Rises: Audio Without the Book

Print has been good to Jeffery Deaver. Over the last 26 years, Mr. Deaver, a lawyer-turned-thriller writer, has published 35 novels and sold 40 million copies of them globally. But his latest work, "The Starling Project," a globe-spanning mystery about a grizzled war crimes investigator, isn't available in bookstores. It won't be printed at all. The story was conceived, written and produced as an original audio drama for Audible, the audiobook producer and retailer. If Mr. Deaver's readers want the story, they'll have to listen to it