Plodding In Fine Style!

Well I have just spent a pleasant few hours in the company of the oddly-named DC “DC Smith”, an interesting choice of initials for a detective constable if ever there was one. This is Frost rebooted, a gumpy old curmudgeon but with more of a human side and a considerably beefier background. There is a young protégé to add to the mix and as crime fiction so often has it the usual mix of doubting senior officers, competitive colleagues and local characters.

It would be wrong to write this one off as just another cliché though. The writing is clever and the characters are engaging. What this book also proves is that you can write a good crime novel without killing off half the local population and incorporating the worst of crimes. The central incident of this novel is an almost mundane seeming accidental drowning of a local teenager that is almost but not quite closed as just that rather than being properly investigated.

The narration by Gildart Jackson seems to fit these character to a tee. It’s not the most energetic of performances but it does breathe genuine life into the lead character. The story itself does develop significantly from its humble beginnings and the mental leap to the end from the starting mundane incident is a big one. The back story of DC Smith is also gradually revealed and he does surprise us with being quite a bit more than just another old cantankerous detective on the verge of retirement.

I liked it despite its brevity.

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14 people found this helpful

an engaging protagonist

I have tried a couple of Grainger's novels and have had to give up mainly because of the narrator's over sonorous tones. Maybe I'm just used to Gildard now but I enjoyed this one. DC is an engaging character and Waters, his young copper sidekick, made a nice foil. The story was twisty enough to keep the interest without being too far fetched.
A nice procedural, with gore free action. A pleasant listen

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1 person found this helpful

Nicely paced, well thought out and good narrator

This is a well thought out book which goes at a nice pace and has a really good narrator. I must have thought it was good as I have now bought the rest of the series.

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excellent narrator

Good story. very well read and narrator voices were excellent. Hoping further audio book by this author available

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Sweet story

A sweet police procedural which has a benign older cop, Mentoring a bright young University graduate. Some nice twists and turns. Demonstrating generational differences and mutual learning.

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Brill

I was a bit unsure to begin with, but the story was great and the narrator was brilliant at the dry humour, even though it was a crime story,it was equally as funny, the main character is a detective and his quiet sarcasim was hilarious. Absolutely loved it

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Excellently narrated

A gem - didn’t expect this to be so good - well narrated and engrossing story with some good characterisation.

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The moral of the story

To see and understand the experience of age and learn from those ahead in age and experience

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characters

Loved this book. Great narrating, became invested in the characters and their stories. The dry humour slightly sarky DC was brilliantly portrayed by the author and the narrator. Looking forward to the next book

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Gritty thriller with a difference

Loved this audio book. A great story which kept me interested, made me smile at times but best of all -no obscenities which makes a refreshing change for this genre. Thank you

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