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The Patient Man – Joy Ellis

A mystery which will captivate you till the dramatic ending.

Jackman and Evans’ most dangerous enemy is back to finish things off.

The domestic bliss of Detective Inspector Rowan Jackman, of Fenland Constabulary, doesn’t last long. His old nemesis, serial killer Alistair Ashcroft, is back in town and ready to tidy up unfinished business.

Ashcroft sends a sinister text to DS Marie Evans. His opening move in what will prove to be a lethal game of cat-and-mouse. Yet for all his taunts, where is he? In a county crawling with police on the lookout for him, Ashcroft is nowhere to be found.

Everyone Jackman cares about is in danger. Alongside the hunt for Ashcroft, however, normal police work must continue. The separate thefts of six pigs, a thoroughbred stallion, guns and some oil lead Jackman’s crew to the notorious Lorimer family, ruled over on their farm by the fearsome matriarch Rachel.

Meanwhile, a seemingly routine break-in at the home of gun-club owner Kenneth Harcourt quickly becomes more complicated when the man long held responsible for having killed Harcourt’s young daughter in a hit-and-run is shot dead in a car park – by a sniper. A killer is on the loose in the quiet streets of Saltern-le-Fen, and he isn’t going to stop at claiming one life. But why is he focusing on young Kevin, so close to promotion to detective?

And the sniper, like Ashcroft, takes to taunting the police: they’ll never catch him, they need to respect him, they shouldn’t be sidetracked looking for their old adversary.

In a stunning conclusion, Jackman and Evans race against time to catch the sniper and track down their deadly adversary. A lethal game with a very patient man. Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you listening until the shocking ending. Set in the atmospheric Lincolnshire Fens whose towns and isolated villages hide many dark secrets.

My thanks to Ben at Midas PR for the invitation to join the audiobook blog tour for The Patient Man. I received access to the audiobook to allow an impartial review to be written.

Initially I will admit I wasn’t wild about The Patient Man. The Jackman/Evans series has been running for several books yet this was my introduction to the characters. It caused a little frustration that early in the story there were several references to previous events from the preceding books which were not clarified or explained to new readers. I appreciate returning readers will probably be glad some basic info wasn’t explained, however, when releasing an audio-only title it is possible new readers may be discovering the characters for the first time.

That’s the niggle done as I stuck with The Patient Man and I am happy to report I thoroughly enjoyed the deadly cat and mouse tale. It quickly became clear that DI Rowan Jackman had previously crossed paths with a dangerous killer called Alistair Ashcroft. Their past encounters were brutal, draining experiences for Jackman. So when Ashcroft leaves a message for Jackman making it clear he was back to settle scores, Jackman is a worried man.

All of Jackmans team are on the lookout for Ashford but the killer seems to be extremely skilled at remaining undetected. Making matters even more difficult for the police is the other matters they must give their attention to. A break-in at the home of local gun-range owner sees a number of firearms go missing. Soon after people start dying as a sniper targets seemingly random victims. On a lesser scale there are also a series of farmyard thefts to be investigated. Pigs and a breeding stallion are stolen and the farmers are seeking prompt return if their beasts.

The police get a lead which takes them to the home of the Lorimer family. A wild family of outcasts and social misfits who live well away from the local town and are generally mistrusted by the residents. The Lorimer family were probably my favourite element to Thd Patient Man as their complex family dynamic, rejection of modern society and their random personalities made them so much fun to hear about.

But snipers, farm thefts and odd families aside – Evans and Jackman know that Alistair Ashcroft is out there watching them. He will be plotting on ways to undermine their resolve. Upset or kill their friends, family or colleagues and they know he will be a deadly adversary. The tension builds throughout the story and Joy Ellis brilliantly keeps the drama going to the last set-play.

The Patient Man is Audible only so getting the narrator right is vital. Narration duties lie with Richard Armitage and I found him very listenable. There are many characters in the story and he gave each a distinctive voice which made it very easy for me to keep this new (to me) cast clearly identified in my head.

When the last chapter had run its course I felt I had been on a journey with Jackman and Evans. I enjoyed the time I spent in their company and Ashcroft was a great hook to keep me listening – nasty bad guys are always a treat in my reading choices.

The Patient Man is published by Audible Studios and is only available in audiobook format. You can purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patient-Man-Jackman-Evans-Book/dp/B082J2PKKX/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Joy+Ellis&qid=1582674475&s=books&sr=1-1

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December 17

Cast A Deadly Shadow (audiobook) – Roger Granelli

With Cast a Deadly Shadow Roger Granelli has followed his exciting series of Palermo Stories with a full-length novel that is a fast-moving tale of murder, betrayal and lust.

Continuing their never-ending fight against the Mafia, detectives Carpanini and Bracchi have captured their longtime target, the gangster Bardolini, setting off a dramatic chain of events in which dangerous men of the Sicilian underworld get involved – each one with his own agenda.

Carpanini’s marriage is on the rocks, and Bracchi has a heart-rending choice of devotion over duty, and the redoubtable duo are in their tightest spot ever – threatened by three different Mafia entities, all trying to gain the upper hand, as the story twists and turns towards an explosive final climax.

My thanks to Anna at Midas PR for the opportunity to join the blog tour and for providing a review copy of the story.

Cast A Deadly Shadow is only available as an audiobook and I listened through the Audible App. I did receive a review copy for the purpose of the tour but when the book released last week I also picked up a copy through the Audible Store (I like to nudge up the narration speed through the app).

Although I read a lot of crime stories I seldom get to enjoy a tale about the Mafia families so I took to Cast A Deadly Shadow with huge anticipation and I splurged on the book. Running time is over 8 hours, I got through it over two days. To put that into perspective, at present I normally only listen to an audiobook for around 30 to 45 mins per day. I got a bit caught up in this one!

Italy is the setting and we are in the company of detectives Carpanini and Bracchi. They have secured the arrest of one of the Mafia’s biggest thugs who had turned his fists on his girlfriend only to have her call the police and reveal his location. Carpanini and Bracchi are escorting their prisoner back to Palermo when the Mafia henchmen catch-up with the cops on the train. A shoot-out ensues and the fallout has repercussions for the rest of the book.

After the incident on the train one of the shooters targets the police to get revenge for the twarted plan. Carpanini and Bracchi have to deal with the emotional fallout and we see how high tension events (a staple of crime thrillers) should and does have ramifications for those involved and hos it impacts upon those they are close to.

But organised crime doesn’t stay quiet for long and soon the police are dealing with a robbery – protagonists heavily armed and casualties high. A kidnapping, which made for quite uncomfortable listening as we follow the kidnapper narrowing in on his target and there needs to be a rescue attempt to have us racing towards the end of the story.

I found Cast A Deadly Shadow to be well paced and nicely told. It held plenty of twists and thrills but the quieter moments were well covered too and the author made the characters engaging and well defined for a new reader/listener.

As ever an audiobook is reliant upon the narrator. Cast A Deadly Shadow has Andrew Wincott taking us through the tale. No complaints over his skills to deliver a well told and dramatic story – as I indicated I got caught up in this story and listened for hours in a single sitting. One thing which did strike me as odd was the fact all the Italian gangsters had a broad (thick?) London accents. It slightly distracted from the fact events were taking place in a totally different country; when locations were mentioned it brought the anomaly back to my attention. Minor quibble and, as I previously stated, the narrator is very good.

All in – good fun was had. Enough action to hold me, not too many characters and events to make it confused and over the top. Definitely a thumbs up – enjoyed my time with this listen.

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September 23

Secrets in Death – JD Robb (Audiobook)

Lt. Eve Dallas must separate rumors from reality when a woman who traffics in other people’s secrets is silenced.

The chic Manhattan nightspot Du Vin is not the kind of place Eve Dallas would usually patronize, and it’s not the kind of bar where a lot of blood gets spilled. But that’s exactly what happens one cold February evening.

The mortally wounded woman is Larinda Mars, a self-described “social information reporter,” or as most people would call it, a professional gossip. As it turns out, she was keeping the most shocking stories quiet, for profitable use in her side business as a blackmailer. Setting her sights on rich, prominent marks, she’d find out what they most wanted to keep hidden and then bleed them dry. Now someone’s done the same to her, literally – with a knife to the brachial artery.

Eve didn’t like Larinda Mars. But she likes murder even less. To find justice for this victim, she’ll have to plunge into the dirty little secrets of all the people Larinda Mars victimized herself. But along the way, she may be exposed to some information she really didn’t want to know…

Another audiobook review – this time I thought I would use September’s Audible Subscription Credit to pick up the newest title in JD Robb’s fantastic “in Death” series.

Full disclosure from the start – I LOVE THESE BOOKS. I have ploughed hours of my life into reading and re-reading stories about Eve Dallas – the tough cop who is perpetually (and hilariously) uncomfortable when not chasing down murderers. Secrets in Death is book 45 in the series – I have read all previous books (often more than once) and I am heavily invested in the lives of the characters.

So did I enjoy Secrets in Death? Yes! I thought it was the best new release in this series for a while. Did I like the Audio? On the whole I did – but Susan Ericksen’s Irish accent was a bit of a shock initially and took a little getting used to. When Dallas is married to an Irishman that’s a bit of an issue, particularly since Roarke features heavily in Secrets.

The story its-self was really strong. Eve is enduring an awkward meeting in a plush New York bar when tv’s gossip girl (who Eve had previously noticed sitting at a nearby table) stumbles across the floor of the bar and falls to the floor. She is bleeding heaving and despite the best efforts of Dallas and two medical practitioners also in the bar – Larinda Mars dies at Eve’s feet.

It is a strong start and the pace keeps going. Larinda has made her fame through sharing the secrets and gossip of the nations celebs. As she climbed the ladder to her success she has upset more than her fair share of people with her exclusive reveals. But there may be more to Larinda’s investigative powers than a simple nose for the “truth” and it is not long before Eve becomes embroiled in an investigation where potential suspects are very good at keeping secrets.

Book 45 in the series – you do need to have an awareness of the background of the characters to get the most from Secrets. However it can be read as a stand alone as there is a strong murder story at the heart of the book.

A strong entry into the series though a minor quibble was that I did find that identifying the murderer was slightly easier this time around than in some of the other books. However, the story was as sharp as ever and I never fail to enjoy a JD Robb novel.

Secrets in Death is published by Piatkus and is available in Hardback, Digital and audiobook format: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Death-J-D-Robb-ebook/dp/B01MSAHS7G/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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August 17

Block 46 – Johana Gustawsson – Audio

Evil remembers…

Falkenberg, Sweden. The mutilated body of talented young jewellery designer, Linnea Blix, is found in a snow-swept marina.
Hampstead Heath, London. The body of a young boy is discovered with similar wounds to Linnea’s.
Buchenwald Concentration Camp, 1944. In the midst of the hell of the Holocaust, Erich Hebner will do anything to see himself as a human again.

Are the two murders the work of a serial killer, and how are they connected to shocking events at Buchenwald?

Emily Roy, a profiler on loan to Scotland Yard from the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, joins up with Linnea’s friend, French truecrime writer Alexis Castells, to investigate the puzzling case. They travel between Sweden and London, and then deep into the past, as a startling and terrifying connection comes to light.

Another from my unexpected (but very enjoyable) Audiobook Season – today I get to rave about Block 46.

First the audiobook experience. Very positive! The narration duties are split for Block 46 – the majority of the book is delivered by Patricia Rodriguez with the “historical” elements (which I shall come to shortly) picked up by Mark Meadows. The two voices work wonderfully – both actors are to be commended for bringing the story to life around me.

Block 46 is a modern day murder mystery but it holds a link to 1944 and a concentration camp in Germany (the aforementioned Historical element of the tale). In London Alexis Castells attends the launch of a new jewellery collection designed by her friend Linnea Blix – despite the importance of the night Linnea does not appear. Alexis travels to Sweden where Linnea would often stay “on retreat” but as she arrives in snowy Falkenberg Linnea’s body is found.

While Alexis gets swept up in the investigation into Linnea’s murder – kept in the loop through a friendship with criminal profiler Emily Roy – the reader gets to slip back in time where we encounter Erich Hebner. A German national in a German concentration camp. Erich is doing what he can to survive but when Johana Gustawsson begins to outline some of the terrors which Erich, and the other prisoners, endure each day it becomes impossible to see how he will escape from this Hell.

Narrative swings to present day, the murder investigation reveals some unexpected connections to London. Then we are back in wartime Germany and Erich’s story moves on…he has been granted a rare opportunity to contribute to the German “war effort” but how will he feel about helping when he learns he is going to Block 46. Nobody every comes out of Block 46 alive.

I cannot praise this book enough – at times harrowing but always compelling. It threw up the classic reading dilemma – so good I want to reach the end to find out what happened. But I don’t want to reach the end as I was enjoying it so much.

Block 46 is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Block-Roy-Castells-Johana-Gustawsson/dp/1910633704/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502917618&sr=1-1

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August 9

The Girl in the Ice – Robert Bryndza – Audio

Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice…She is not the only one.

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound, and dumped in water around London.

What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?

As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.

The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong…resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she’s faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?

My thanks to Kim at Bookouture for the opportunity to listen to this book.

The variable nature of my day job sprang a recent surprise…gone is my daily train journey and my hour of peaceful reading on the train. Say hello to 3 or 4 hours in the car each day. Say hello to a series of audiobook reviews here at Grab This Book.

Audiobooks live and die on one crucial element – the narrator. It really does not matter how good the underlying story is, if the narration is jarring then listening to that voice for 10+ hours is not going to be a fun or relaxing experience.

Fortunately for Robert Bryndza’s The Girl in the Ice the listener is in very good hands. Jan Cramer narrates throughout and she does a fantastic job. Erika Foster’s voice is now firmly fixed into my mind and Cramer’s narration has brought a character to life for me more vividly than would have been the case had I read a paper copy of the book.

As for the story – I loved it. A society rich girl (and seemingly an extremely shallow young woman) is found dead in the waters of London. She has been bound and brutally attacked prior to death and Erika Foster is put in charge of the investigation. Foster is taking on a new role in London, relocating from Manchester following the death of her husband (a fellow police officer) when a police operation went badly wrong.

Thrown in at the deep end – Foster must establish her authority over a new team, overcome racial prejudices when dealing with the dead girl’s parents and contend with factions within the police who are determined to undermine her investigation to keep a politically sensitive murder investigation “acceptable” in the media.

The juggle and pressure which Foster faces will take its toll and I felt myself getting frustrated that she was being thwarted at pursing the leads she felt needed tackled. Robert Bryndza presents us with a string of red herrings and a suspect pool which is sufficiently broad and unlikeable (for various reasons) that it will keep you guessing to the identity of the killer – right until the shocking endgame.

Fans of police procedurals and gripping serial killer thrillers – this is a book for you. I cannot listen as fast as I can read – but I grudged every second that I had to remove my earbuds whilst listening to The Girl in the Ice.

The Girl in the Ice is available as a paperback, digital book and (obviously) as an audiobook. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Ice-gripping-thriller-Detective-ebook/dp/B019G6DSDE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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November 9

Talking Books with Steve Worsley

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to chat with AK Benedict about audiobooks. She had just released her fantastic new novel Jonathan Dark or the Evidence of Ghosts and had also written a Torchwood audio play for Big Finish productions – she was telling Captain Jack Harkness what to say! Our chat covered what it was like for an author to pass their work to a team to turn it into an audiobook. You can read that interview here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=1419

Now I am delighted to be able to bring you the other side of the story. Today’s guest, Steve Worsley, is a narrator of audiobooks and has spent hours in a studio to give a voice to the books we listen to. Down the years I have listened to many, many audiobooks so I was keen to learn a little more about how the audiobooks come together.

My first question is never actually a question, this is where I ask you to introduce yourself and give you the opportunity to get a few plugs in!

I am Steve Worsley. I’m a Scottish actor/singer. Originally from Aberdeen but now living in Falkirk with my wife and step children. I sing with a rat pack vocal trio called Ocean’s 3. I also perform improvised comedy with an Edinburgh improv troupe called Men With Coconuts. We perform at the Edinburgh Fringe, Prague Fringe and currently have a residency at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh.

How do you become the voice of an audiobook?

For me it kind of happened by accident. I was working with another actor who specialises in voice over work. He mentioned that he had been asked to narrate an audiobook. It was Shatter the Bones by Stuart MacBride. He said he didn’t really fancy it as he was from Glasgow and the Stuart MacBride books were set in Aberdeen (my home town). I jokingly said I’d do it if he didn’t fancy it. He took me up on the offer and helped me record a short demo to be approved by the publisher (HarperCollins). To my surprise they did and before I knew it I was off to a studio in Manchester to record my first unabridged audiobook. On the back of that I approached another publisher, who as luck would have it had just listened to Shatter the Bones. I was immediately offered another audiobook. The rather wonderful crime thriller The Blackhouse by Peter May. Due to reader popularity I have now become the voice of all the Logan MacRae series of books by Stuart MacBride. Since then I have gathered together all the equipment needed to make a wee home studio, and now produce my own audiobooks through an online company called ACX where writers submit their novels, and narrators can then audition for the roles.

I know all books will vary in length but if you have narrated a story with a 10-hour running time how long may you have spent in a studio to get that recorded?

I usually spend about 3-4 days in a studio, reading from 9-5 with regular breaks. My longest book so far is The Missing and the Dead by Stuart MacBride which came in at just over 17 hours. That took about 4 days in a studio in London. That was a real challenge to complete as the studio had booked me for 4 days but then found out that the book was about 150 pages longer than estimated! Luckily I’ve been told by several sound engineers that my sight reading rate is unusually high. I can comfortably read about 150 pages in a single day. Of course home recording is a different matter as I not only have to read but edit the whole book myself. And I can only record when the kids are at school! It can take me up to 2 months to produce a home recording.

Do you need to be able to voice different accents?

Oh yes! The Stuart MacBride books were great for me as they are all set in my home town. Until I took over on book 7 his books had never been narrated by a native Aberdonian (except the two he did himself). But even in his books there are loads of different accents. Some of them particularly specific. One character spoke with a mix of Aberdonian and Brummie!!. I’ve also had to do American, regional English accents and few others from around the world. In The Blackhouse by Peter May the whole book was set in Stornoway and was littered with Gaelic phrases and names. That was a real challenge! Not to mention reading different gendered characters as well.

Is a book recorded sequentially?

Yes. You start at chapter 1 and keep going to the end.

(I think I know the answer to this but…) Can you just show up at a recording session and start reading or would you expect to have read the book beforehand?

I always read the book at least once (twice if possible) and allow time to makes notes. Unfortunately that it not always possible. Particularly with the big publishers. In the past I’ve received a manuscript on a Friday or Saturday and been in the studio on the Monday!

Do you ever meet any of the authors or get feedback from them?

I’m good friends on Facebook with Peter May. He lives in France. My wife and his daughter are also now best friends as they are both artists. Most of the authors I home record for live in the States but again we stay in touch through Facebook. I’ve been lucky enough to have had some lovely things said about my work from the authors. Which is not only an honour but a huge relief!! It can be pretty nerve-wracking being entrusted with someone’s baby!!!

Are you a reader? If so then what types of books do you enjoy?

I love to read when I can find the time. I like a bit of everything but have been a lifelong Stephen King fan. He truly is one of the great writers of the last century. I also love Clive Barker (I do love a bit of horror). And of course The Lord of the Rings gets an outing every few years. And if I am in the mood then you can’t beat Matthew Reilly for just pure entertainment and non-stop action.

Have you have to narrate books which you really didn’t enjoy (and I am not asking you to name them) but would that make the experience seem longer?

All I will say is yes and YES! However so far I have been very lucky to have read some wonderful books by extremely talented authors.

Steve – thank you! I have spent hours/weeks/days of my life listening to audiobooks have not given much consideration to all the work that goes into making that possible. As a skim reader (who doesn’t like to say much) I am in awe of how much work you have to do to bring us these audio delights.

You can find Steve’s audiobooks on the Audible website here: http://www.audible.co.uk/search/ref=a_pd_Crime-_tseft?advsearchKeywords=steve+worsley&filterby=field-keywords&sprefixRefmarker=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8&sprefix=steve+wo

More information about Men With Coconuts on this link: http://www.menwithcoconuts.com/

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