I created an Audible listens page last August with every intention of making it a regular event. However circumstances meant that I never got around to putting out the next page. Until now… Only 10 months late (but hey who’s counting?).
I still love listening to stories while I walk the dog, or travel to and from work (less frequently now that we are mainly WFH). The app that I use is still Audible as it has everything I want (plus I still have a lot of credits to use), and plenty of offers available.
In June, I listened to stories from Andrew Cartmel, John Connolly and M.W. Craven.
Attack and Decay is the sixth book in the Vinyl Detective series written by Andrew Cartmel. I’m a big fan of this series and purchased the audiobook as soon as I saw it was available. Normally tasked with seeking out rare records, the Vinyl Detective is this time asked to validate that a record being purchased is the ‘real deal’. One problem is that he needs to go to Sweden to listen to the album.
All stories in the Vinyl Detective series are based upon a musical theme. This one is no exception, the author choosing to focus on Demonic Metal (think Death Metal but more hard-core…). Again, sharing the adventure with the Vinyl Detective are his friends: Nevada Warren, Jordan Tinkler and Agatha ‘Clean Head’ Dubois-Kanes.
As with the other books in the series, seeking out rare records is not the only type of detecting our hero gets involved in. So expect some fun, action and maybe even a murder mystery?
The story was again read admirably by Finlay Robertson lasting 13hrs and 9mins.
Full review
The Unquiet is the sixth book in the Charlie Parker series written by John Connolly. These books certainly aren’t for the faint-hearted, and this book touches on some sensitive topics. For those not familiar with Charlie Parker, he’s an ex-cop turned private investigator whose wife and child were murdered by the ‘travelling man’. He seeks redemption for failing his family by righting the wrongs of the people he encounters by whatever means. As the series has gone on, it’s become darker and darker.
This time around, he’s employed by Rebecca Clay who claims she’s being stalked by a stranger asking after her father who died some years ago. Parker agrees to help and soon meets the stalker known as Merrick who is seeking Rebecca's father in the hope of finding his own daughter. As is usual in these stories, there’s a heck of a lot more going on than initially meets the eye, and in this story we are drawn into a world of corruption and abuse.
Moving further into the Charlie Parker series, the supernatural elements are playing a larger part.
I love listening to Jeff Harding read these Charlie Parker stories, He has a great voice and the stories just flow along beautifully. Book Length: 14hrs and 19mins.
The Botanist is the fifth book in the Washington Poe series by M.W. Craven. It's another series of books that I just love to listen to, so eagerly pre-ordered the Audible copy.
In this novel, Washington's friend Estelle Doyle has been arrested for the murder of her father. We've met Estelle in previous stories. She's a pathologist who has helped Poe over the years, always flirting with him and makes him generally uncomfortable. At the same time however a series of murders has occurred requiring SCAS to investigate leaving Poe with a dilema, he can't work both cases, can he?
The murders are a series of poisonings by a person that the papers have labelled 'The Botanist'. The Botanist has even managed to kill a prominent MP who was under police protection the whole time. It's up to Poe and his partner Tilly Bradshaw to work out firstly how the poisoner is able to get at their victims, and more importantly find out who the Botanist is before they kill their next victim
The Audible version of the book was read again by John Banks who gives another cracking performance. Book Length: 11hrs and 18mins
