Mr

A thoughtful, wonderful and compassionate book

Reviewed: 02-12-24

I wasn’t sure what I would get, the reviews were good and I thought I would try.
This is so different to many books on terrorist atrocities, it focuses so clearly on the victims, the compassion for them and the reflection on the process is clear in every page.
I have a feeling this is the definitive work of its kind and I am so glad I listened.

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A nice short crime book

Reviewed: 27-10-24

I really liked the plot. Someone should have told the narrator to a) stop overacting and b) it’s not children’s book.

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A bland walk through of chaos

Reviewed: 06-10-24

Sir Graham Brady pulls of quite trick here. He manages to take us through some of the most unedifying and chaotic years of politics and reduce them to a breezy chatty confection.
He doesn’t seem to be a ‘Kingmaker’ just a rather ineffectual back bench MP who hasn’t really evolved his thinking from moment he felt good about passing his 11+ and getting into grammar school, the subject of grammar schools becomes a book long and career long obsession.
The unforgivable thing about this book is his lack of any deep or critical thinking about to the damage that has been done to politics during the tenure of Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak
There are some laugh out loud moments, mainly whenever he complains about the media flagging his penchant for holidays, the book is pretty much structured round moments when he is away on holiday and with alarming regularity he is at Gatwick or Heathrow
In short it’s a memoir that is rather forgettable from a career that is rather forgettable and only notable because of the frequency his party managed to make a mess of electing a leader.

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1 person found this helpful

Cosy international caper

Reviewed: 21-09-24

Osman loves a gang doesn’t he? Here he spreads his wings across an international canvass as a dense plot involving money laundering, whimsical hitmen and a core gang of sensitive and quirky protagonists unravel the complex plot.
Does it get a bit too stuck in the cosy gear and does the text have a bit of a knowing wink too often, maybe. However, his gift as a writer is creating characters that a fun to spend time with and this book delivers on every level. Perhaps he is more successful with Steve than he is at plotting Amy and Bonnie’s plotline is a heartbreaking as it is under developed. It’s a great listen though and despite those quibbles it’s a credit you won’t regret spending.

Nicola Walker doesn’t put a foot wrong in this recording. It’s actually some of her best work and sounds like it was exhausting. Her characters are always consistent and her narrative drive is punchy and good. A top performance of the book. Recommended.

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Brilliant biography

Reviewed: 23-08-24

Just so full of detail and analysis. Brilliant performance as well. This truly is part of a classic series

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Brilliant

Reviewed: 20-05-24

These are excellent adaptations. In particular The Karla Trilogy works so well. Standout performances from Hugh Bonneville in The Honourable Schoolboy and Maggie Steed as Connie.
There is a whole world of pain and Cold War angst here and it’s subtle. It’s one of the best audiobooks for a credit. Great adaptation and perfect performances

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Why would you do that?

Reviewed: 16-12-23

This could have been really interesting. However, the narration kills it stone dead. It’s so stilted. Every sentence broken up in strange ways. There are actors. They train. They know how to emphasise and colour words, spend the money on those actors to read the book. This was unlistenable. A waste of a credit.

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Very interesting, but something niggles.

Reviewed: 12-12-23

This is a good memoir by Rory Stewart, the eternal outsider of Tory Politics, the narrative flows along well and his growing disenchantment with all his experience as an MP and then Minister and finally Cabinet Minister and Tory leadership candidate come to the surface.
The problem I have with this, the little niggle, is that there is a chord of narcism in the writing, to write a memoir is obviously a slightly narcissistic thing to do anyway - but here this Eaton educated son of the establishment is at pains to point out his difference to all of those around him, he is at pains to pick away at every other politician he served with and that didn't seem to me to be a fully rounded opinion. He feels as lost in his psyche as he ever was as an MP, a man in search of doing something, being something and changing something - but in the final analysis, just being another in the long line of nearly made-it politicians who didn't have the skill or the edge to truly make a difference. He may be 'The Prime Minister we never had' but that's his failing, and perhaps a more radical and honest approach to his career would have made him less self-serving here.

Not as charismatic as Johnson, not as ruthless as Gove, not as batty as Truss and he did nothing to stop the last 13 years of division and hate that his colleagues, and by extension Stewart himself subjected the country to.

It is an interesting listen for the political nerd, but those who are of a more balanced political outlook may soon tire of the mea culpa.

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1 person found this helpful

101 Digressions

Reviewed: 05-11-23

I have listened to all of the Roy Grace series and this was a disappointment. The plot is very linear, no real twists and then every chapter or so Peter James falls into writing that is so sloppy it almost becomes a parody of itself. Relentless discussions of what the Grace’s are having for tea, what box sets people are watching. The casual naming and inclusion of character names for no reason. It’s just not well edited, full of digressions and after listening to more current bestsellers this guy feels like it’s run it’s course.

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The best so far.

Reviewed: 21-10-23

This is the best so far. The character development is excellent and as Rowling does best the world is full of love, darkness, fear and redemption. The reading by Robert Glennister is perfect as always. It’s a total performance- a one man cast of hundreds. These books are always long, always full of detail and never outstay their welcome. Dare I say that I prefer them to Harry Potter? The work Rowling is doing now is more focused, more on point when it comes to character and her plotting has never been better than here.

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