Kirstine
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Bridges to Burn
- Detective Clare Mackay, Book 8
- By: Marion Todd
- Narrated by: Helen Darbyshire
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
DI Clare Mackay is called to Albany High, where the body of a girl has been found. A suspected suicide – yet Sophie Bakewell was by all accounts a cheerful, talented student. Could she really have been hiding a darker side? It's not the only disturbing case to land on Clare's desk. Across town, an elderly man is in danger. Yet before the police can determine the facts, everything changes and they are presented with two suspicious deaths to investigate.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another excellent book in the series
- By Kirstine on 10-01-25
- Bridges to Burn
- Detective Clare Mackay, Book 8
- By: Marion Todd
- Narrated by: Helen Darbyshire
Another excellent book in the series
Reviewed: 10-01-25
I’ve listened to all 8 books on sequence and enjoyed them all. Good well crafted stories with characters whose evolving lives add depth to the books. I don’t usually like it when a narrator changes but in this and the last book the change is seamless.
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Old Bones Lie
- Detective Clare Mackay, Book 6
- By: Marion Todd
- Narrated by: Marion Todd
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
When a report comes in that a van containing two prison officers and a convicted jewel thief is missing, the police in St Andrews work quickly to locate the vehicle. Their efforts prove in vain when no trace is found and they realise the wives of both officers also appear to have left the area. DI Clare Mackay leads the team but has to do without her right hand man; DS Chris West is a cousin to one of the missing prison officers and must not be involved in the case. With a new sergeant at her side plus a previously unencountered DCI, Clare’s people skills are pushed to the limit.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A delayed pleasure.
- By Jane on 20-08-22
- Old Bones Lie
- Detective Clare Mackay, Book 6
- By: Marion Todd
- Narrated by: Marion Todd
Another engaging story
Reviewed: 04-01-25
I’ve enjoyed all the books in the series up to and including this one. A well-crafted story that kept me listening. I like series that allow the characters to develop as we follow their lives as a backdrop to the detective work. I’ll certainly be downloading the next books in the series. Authors reading their own work isn’t always successful but this author sounds just right.
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The Colour of Mystery
- Ellie McEwan Mysteries, Book 2
- By: Joy Ellis
- Narrated by: Sophie Rundle
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 854
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 827
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 827
It’s the night shift worker who finds them. Huddled in a hospital store cupboard is elderly Edith Higgins. Knifed to death. Sitting behind her is Staff Nurse Lily Frampton, a scalpel clasped in her blood-soaked hand. No one can understand why this kind-hearted, dedicated nurse would brutally murder a frail patient she’s spent months caring for. That same day, mild-mannered schoolteacher Rod Black is found surrounded by the battered bodies of his pupils. Why would a well-respected teacher beat five schoolboys to death?
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5 out of 5 stars
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The need for another book !
- By M. Self on 01-06-24
- The Colour of Mystery
- Ellie McEwan Mysteries, Book 2
- By: Joy Ellis
- Narrated by: Sophie Rundle
Shouldn't have been publsihed
Reviewed: 29-12-24
I don't think this book would have been accepted for publication if it was not written by an author who became successful. It lacks narraive drive. tries to juggle too many characters in parallel stories and is bloated by non-essental detail. I gave up after several hours of boredom. Thank goodness the author honed her skills and went on to produce some engaging detective stories.
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The Red Dahlia
- Anna Travis, Book 2
- By: Lynda La Plante
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 191
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 190
Detective Anna Travis is investigating the brutal murder of a young woman whose body was discovered in the Thames, brutalised and severed in half, a red flower in her hair. With the case bearing an eerie resemblance to the famous unsolved murder case of Elizabeth Short—known as the Black Dahlia—media interest intensifies, and fears of a copycat take hold. But with almost no clues, the case is slowly going cold. That is until the killer reaches out to the press.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Tell the narrator to stop screaming
- By Eugene Shortall on 13-11-22
- The Red Dahlia
- Anna Travis, Book 2
- By: Lynda La Plante
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
Great story spoiled by narrator
Reviewed: 06-12-24
Lynda La Plant is a great writer and I've read/ listened to many of her books. I enjoyed the first book in this series in which DCI Langton is somewhat irrascible, however, the narrator makes him ridculously rude in this second book which has runied the book for me. It's not just his words but the way she speaks them vastly overdoes the impact, not least it makes wearing hearphones painful at times/
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Dead Real
- Calladine and Bayliss, Book 12
- By: Helen H. Durrant
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 324
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 308
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 308
A sweltering summer day on the Hobfield housing estate. New tenant Lisa Woodley is horrified when her cat comes home with a human foot in its mouth. The foot belongs to 16-year-old Noah Crosby, whose decomposing remains are found in a rubbish-strewn alleyway. It’s not a robbery, as the teen has an expensive gold watch, high-end trainers and a top-of-the-range mobile phone on him. Where did he get such expensive gear? A letter X is carved into Noah’s flesh. Twenty years ago this was the hallmark of a serial killer who was never caught.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen
- By caroline on 21-01-24
- Dead Real
- Calladine and Bayliss, Book 12
- By: Helen H. Durrant
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
OK but didn't engage me
Reviewed: 17-11-24
A pedestrian story that failed to grab my attention. Two dimensional charaters that blurred together, but worst of all is the painful to the ear gravelly voice given to Calladine.
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Maybe Tomorrow
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Annabel Scholey
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,345
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,294
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,294
The morning after a ferocious storm, the body of a vulnerable teenage girl is found in the woods. The police are under pressure to find the killer and solve the tragedy but with thin evidence and no witnesses, the case is falling apart. Desperate to find this vicious murderer, they hunt high and low and eventually find their man: an outsider with no alibi. When the suspect confesses to the crime, it’s an open and shut case. But two women suspect foul play and dedicate their lives to working out what really happened, at all costs.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Characters well rounded and read well
- By David whittaker on 24-08-24
- Maybe Tomorrow
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Annabel Scholey
Gripping story
Reviewed: 28-10-24
A well written and narrated gripping story that kept one listening keen to find out the outcome. Frightening illustration how circumstantial evidence and public pressure for a conviction can land a person in prison. It reminds me of a similar real life case of Stefan Kiszko convicted of the rape and murder of Lesley Molseed.
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Murder on Oxford Lane
- By: Tony Bassett
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 252
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 244
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Story4 out of 5 stars 244
The peace of a Midlands village is upset when local businessman Harry Bowers doesn’t return from choir practice. More concerned than the man’s own wife, it would seem, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy becomes convinced he has been done away with. But there is no trace of the man, just a litany of evidence of an ailing marriage and a nose-diving business venture. In charge of her first serious case, DS Roy will struggle to win the respect of her colleagues—in particular her Brummie boss, DCI Gavin Roscoe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By Ruth on 25-02-23
- Murder on Oxford Lane
- By: Tony Bassett
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
Writing so bad I gave up
Reviewed: 22-10-24
This had the potential to be a good story but is ruined by the bad writing slowing the narrative with chunks of unnecessary descriptions of what people look like, what they are wearing, details of the decor of rooms more suited to an estate agents brochure and even some history thrown in. How this book got past an editor is beyond me.
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Under the Ice
- By: Rachael Blok
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
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Story4 out of 5 stars 70
It is the week before Christmas, and the cathedral city of St Albans is blanketed by snow. But beneath the festive lights, darkness is stirring. The frozen body of a young girl is discovered by the ice-covered lake. The police scramble for clues. A local woman, Jenny, has had visions of what happened the night of the murder. But Jenny is an exhausted new mother whose midnight wanderings pull her ever closer to the lake. Then another girl goes missing, and the community unravels. Neighbour turns against neighbour, and Jenny has no idea who to believe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not an ending I expected
- By Jenn on 18-12-24
- Under the Ice
- By: Rachael Blok
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
Ok but too much overwrought emotion
Reviewed: 21-10-24
An ok story that could have shorter if some of descriptions of Jenny’s continuous overwrought emotional state were removed. I felt irritated by her not helped by the narrator’s, at times, screeching delivery. When Jenny’s predicament warranted heightened emotion there had been so much before the impact of the final denouement was lost.
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The Running Grave
- Cormoran Strike, Book 7
- By: Robert Galbraith
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister
- Length: 34 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 6,102
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,756
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Story5 out of 5 stars 5,754
The Universal Humanitarian Church is, on the surface, a peaceable organisation that campaigns for a better world. Yet Strike discovers that beneath the surface there are deeply sinister undertones, and unexplained deaths. In order to try to rescue Will, Strike's business partner Robin Ellacott decides to infiltrate the cult and she travels to Norfolk to live incognito amongst them. But in doing so, she is unprepared for the dangers that await her there or for the toll it will take on her.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love them more than ever
- By Abra Brash on 27-09-23
- The Running Grave
- Cormoran Strike, Book 7
- By: Robert Galbraith
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister
Far, far too long
Reviewed: 15-09-24
A basically interesting story is vastly padded out by superfluous details and side stories that add nothing to the main narrative. it could have been told at a third of the length and become a more engaging book. Having abstruse, largely irrelevant quotes from the IChing Book of Changes at the beginning of every chapter adds to the padding. I've noticed the author has quotes before every chapter in other books and think it an affectation presumably designed to make readers believe she's more cultured than just being a crime novelist. The narrator is very good but I pity him having to wade through so much verbiage.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Italian Chapel
- By: Philip Paris
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
Amidst strikes, conflicts and untold hardships, the Italian prisoners of war sent to a tiny Orkney island during World War Two create a monument to the human spirit’s ability to lift itself above great adversity. One artist falls in love with a local Orkney woman and leaves a token of his love in the chapel. It is still there today and, until now, no-one has ever known its true meaning.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Inspiring Book
- By Maureen on 03-02-13
- The Italian Chapel
- By: Philip Paris
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
Heart warming story
Reviewed: 13-09-24
An engaging story of perseverance and skills of Italian POWs interned on Orkney. And their astonishing achievement in building a chapel from materials scavenged from sunk ships etc. I was glad to learn of the friendliness of locals towards the Italians. Hearing this book reminded me of my many enjoyable holidays on the islands and the visits I made to the chapel. David Rintoul’s narration is as excellent as usual.
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