Review: THE DAUGHTERS OF CAIN, Colin Dexter - audio book

• format audio: Audible
• Narrated by: Samuel West
• Series: Inspector Morse Mysteries, Book 11
• Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-14-17
• Originally published 1994
• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio 

Synopsis (Audible)

Bizarre and bewildering - that's what so many murder investigations in the past had proved to be.... In this respect, at least, Lewis was correct in his thinking. What he could not have known was what unprecedented anguish the present case would cause to Morse's soul.

Chief Superintendent Strange's opinion was that too little progress had been made since the discovery of a corpse in a North Oxford flat. The victim had been killed by a single stab wound to the stomach. Yet the police had no weapon, no suspect, no motive.

Within days of taking over the case Chief Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis uncover startling new information about the life and death of Dr Felix McClure. When another body is discovered, Morse suddenly finds himself with rather too many suspects. For once, he can see no solution. But then he receives a letter containing a declaration of love....

My Take

Another excellent audio version with narration by Samuel West.
My respect for the writing of Colin Dexter grows. Morse is often convinced that his latest theory fits all the facts and then he finds that it doesn't. Lewis keeps asking questions, and then the aspect he doesn't understand of Morse's theory provides the springboard for a more acceptable explanation. Often Morse can't even explain what has given rise to his latest idea, but eventually, of course he is right.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read
4.3, INSPECTOR MORSE: BBB Radio Collection
4.5, THE SECRET OF ANNEXE THREE -audio book
4.6, THE WENCH IS DEAD- audio book
4.3, SERVICE OF ALL THE DEAD - audio book
4.4, LAST SEEN WEARING  - audio book
4.6, THE RIDDLE OF THE THIRD MILE - audio book
4.6, THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS - audio book
4.8, THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS #10, audio book 

Review: THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS, Colin Dexter - audio book

• format: audio book from Audible
• Narrated by: Samuel West
• Series: Inspector Morse Mysteries, Book 9
• Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-14-17
• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio 
• Book originally published 1991

Synopsis (Audible)

He looked overweight around the midriff, though nowhere else, and she wondered whether perhaps he drank too much. He looked weary, as if he had been up most of the night conducting his investigations....

For Oxford, the arrival of 27 American tourists is nothing out of the ordinary...until one of their number is found dead in Room 310 at the Randolph Hotel.

It looks like a sudden - and tragic - accident. Only Chief Inspector Morse appears not to overlook the simultaneous theft of a jewel-encrusted antique from the victim's handbag....

Then, two days later, a naked and battered corpse is dragged from the River Cherwell. A coincidence? Maybe. But this time Morse is determined to prove the link....

My take

Morse doesn't always get it right. Sometimes he gets to the point of actually charging a suspect before he realises that he's got it wrong. In fact Lewis thinks that Morse creates scenarios before he looks at the facts. But somehow he gets some elements right and then he plucks something else out of left field, and somehow it all fits.

We listen carefully, just as Lewis does, and eventually Morse persuades us.

We have really been enjoying this set of audio books narrated superbly by Samuel West.

My rating: 4.6

I've also "read"
4.3, INSPECTOR MORSE: BBB Radio Collection
4.5, THE SECRET OF ANNEXE THREE -audio book
4.6, THE WENCH IS DEAD- audio book
4.3, SERVICE OF ALL THE DEAD - audio book
4.4, LAST SEEN WEARING  - audio book
4.6, THE RIDDLE OF THE THIRD MILE - audio book  

Review: LAST SEEN WEARING, Colin Dexter - audio book

• audio book from audible.com
• Narrated by: Samuel West
• Series: Inspector Morse Mysteries, Book 2
• Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 10-05-17
• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio
• originally published 1976

Synopsis (audible)

Morse was beset by a nagging feeling. Most of his fanciful notions about the Taylor girl had evaporated, and he had begun to suspect that further investigation into Valerie's disappearance would involve little more than sober and tedious routine....

The statements before Inspector Morse appeared to confirm the bald, simple truth.

After leaving home to return to school, teenager Valerie Taylor had completely vanished, and the trail had gone cold.

Until two years, three months and two days after Valerie's disappearance, somebody decides to supply some surprising new evidence for the case....

My Take

I read most of the Morse novels over 30 years ago and then followed them up by watching the Morse TV series. I really hadn't realised, until I listened to this particular book, the extent of differences between the original books and what was done for television.


I got a little confused towards the end (or did I momentarily drop off to sleep?) with the result that I had to listen to the last hour again to be sure that I knew the way it all finished up.

LAST SEEN WEARING is #2 in the series and is full of red herrings and false threads. Morse leaps from one idea to another, often operating on a few dodgy facts, and drawing some shaky conclusions from them. He becomes very despondent after one theory after another bites the dust, but in the end he does get it right. It is a very wasteful way of doing detective work, and there is not much logic to it. All of this does make reading the novel a very academic exercise, and I guess that's what sets Colin Dexter apart from the rest.


But don't go away thinking that this Morse is the one you've seen John Thaw play.
He is a much coarser person, but I think by the time we get to later in the series some of these cruder bits have been toned down.

If you want to follow up on the differences between Morse's character in the books and in the TV series, you might like check here.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read
4.3, INSPECTOR MORSE: BBB Radio Collection
4.5, THE SECRET OF ANNEXE THREE -audio book -#7
4.6, THE WENCH IS DEAD, Colin Dexter - audio book - #8
4.3, SERVICE OF ALL THE DEAD, Colin Dexter - audio book  - #4

The books in publication order
1. Last Bus to Woodstock (1975)
2. Last Seen Wearing (1976)
3. The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977)
4. Service of All the Dead (1979)
5. The Dead of Jericho (1981)
6. The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983)
7. The Secret of Annexe 3 (1986)
8. The Wench Is Dead (1989)
9. The Jewel That Was Ours (1991)
10. The Way Through the Woods (1992)
11. The Daughters of Cain (1994)
12. Death Is Now My Neighbour (1996)
13. The Remorseful Day (1999)

Review: THE SECRET OF ANNEXE THREE, Colin Dexter - audio book

• By: Colin Dexter
• Narrated by: Samuel West
• Series: Inspector Morse Mysteries, Book 7
• Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
• audio book: Macmillan Digital Audio
• source: my local library

Synopsis (Audible)

Morse sought to hide his disappointment. So many people in the Haworth Hotel that fateful evening had been wearing some sort of disguise - a change of dress, a change of makeup, a change of partner, a change of attitude, a change of life almost; and the man who had died had been the most consummate artist of them all....

Chief Inspector Morse seldom allowed himself to be caught up in New Year celebrations. So the murder inquiry in the festive hotel had a certain appeal.

It was a crime worthy of the season.

The corpse was still in fancy dress. And hardly a single guest at the Haworth had registered under a genuine name....

My Take

I've actually read most or all of the Morse books years ago (prior to this blog commencing), as well as seeing most of the TV versions with John Thaw and Kevin Whately.
However the audio version gives you a chance to contemplate Colin Dexter's skill as a writer, and in particular how clever he is as a plotter and how literary his expression is.

Samuel West does a lovely job of narration, and I'm looking forward to my next.

My rating: 4.5

I've already read
4.3, INSPECTOR MORSE: BBB Radio Collection

Review: THE MURDER AT REDMIRE HALL, J. R. Ellis - audio book

• audio book from Audible.com
• Narrated by: Michael Page
• Series: Yorkshire Murder Mystery Series, Book 3
• Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 09-13-18
• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Synopsis (Audible.com)

An impossible murder behind a locked door. Can DCI Oldroyd find the key to the mystery?

Lord Redmire’s gambling habit has placed him in serious debt. Determined to salvage his fortune by putting Redmire Hall on the map, the aristocrat performs an impossible locked-door illusion on live TV. But as the cameras roll, his spectacular trick goes fatally wrong....

Special guest DCI Jim Oldroyd has a front-row seat, but in all his years with the West Riding Police he’s never witnessed anything like this. He sees Redmire disappear - and then reappear, dead, with a knife in his back.

As Oldroyd and DS Stephanie Johnson soon discover, nearly everyone at the event had a reason to resent the eccentric lord. But how did the murderer get into the locked room - or out, for that matter?

When the only other person who knew the secret behind the illusion is brutally silenced, the case begins to look unsolvable. Because as Oldroyd and Johnson know, it’s not just a question of who did it and why - but how?

My take

This is the third, for the moment, the last,  in the cozy mystery series featuring DCI Olroyd and his colleague DS Stephanie Johnson. The audio book is well produced and is engaging listening.

Lord Redmire's father was the one who had the locked room trick installed in his house, but once performed, it was forgotten for over 30 years. now his son wants to use the trick to bring tourists to the house.

He invites DCI Oldroyd to be an official witness at the operation of the trick, but that actually has the effect of ensuring that the police  are at hand to begin the investigation into Lord Redmire's death.

I certainly hope there are more titles to come in the series.

My rating: 4.4

See my other reviews in this series
4.3, THE  BODY IN THE DALES
4.4, THE QUARTET MURDERS

Review: MURDER UNDER A GREEN SEA, Phillip Hunter

• this edition published by Mirror Books 2019
• provided as a review book by the publisher
• ISBN 9-781912-624164
• 329 pages

Synopsis (Mirror Books)

There's a murder on the streets of London, a plot that threatens the country and a dinner party to arrange. Only one man can help. Unfortunately, he's got a terrible hangover...

Set in 1936, Murder Under a Green Sea is the story of Max and Martha Dalton, a young couple who seem to live a carefree life of luxury and dinner parties, far removed from the increasingly brutal world.

When an old army friend is murdered, Max finds himself drawn into the crime and back to his own past.

As the police suspect Max guilty of the murder, he believes there must be a connection with a tragic crime committed in the muddy hell of the Western Front.

Police suspicions grow along with a body count featuring one too many of Max's former comrades.

With Martha, he sets out to unravel a knotted series of events, motivations and lies, while being pursued by a police force convinced that he's the murderer, and with unknown assassins hot on his trail.

With the slightly dubious help of Martha, their maid, Flora, Flora's sweetheart, Eric, and a very confused solicitor, Max manages to uncover a plot that threatens the safety of the whole country.

This is an action-packed caper, cleverly plotted with engaging characters.

My Take

Max is a freelance London journalist but his stories don't always make publication. He is particularly concerned about Hitler's rearmament of the Rhineland, and that a second World War is imminent. He meets up with a friend from the First War, Burton, but became too drunk to remember what Burton and he talked about. And now Burton has been found dead, and the police think Max has something to do with it.

Max manages to find out that Burton came up to London with another from their platoon and now both are dead.

The author has tried to recreate a Tommy and Tuppence feel to his characters Max and Martha, and even draws Winston Churchill into his plot.


My rating: 4.1

About the author
Phillip Hunter has a degree in English Literature from Middlesex University and an MA in Screenwriting from the London Institute. He was part of the team that sequenced the human genome. He lives in Saffron Walden, Essex.

Review: THE BODY IN THE DALES, J. R. Ellis - audio book

• format: audio book (Audible.com)
•  Narrated by: Michael Page
• Series: Yorkshire Murder Mystery Series, Book 1
• Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• published 2017
• Release date: 08-09-18
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• aka The Body in Jingling Pot

Synopsis  (Audible.com)

An unpopular victim. An impossible crime. A murderer on the loose.

A body is discovered deep in a cave beneath the Yorkshire Dales. Leading the investigation into the mysterious death are experienced DCI Jim Oldroyd and his partner DS Carter, a newcomer from London.

The deceased is Dave Atkins, well known throughout the village but not well liked. While there is no shortage of suspects, the details of the crime leave Oldroyd and Carter stumped. How did Atkins’s body end up in such a remote section of the cave? When someone with vital information turns up dead, it becomes clear that whoever is behind the murders will stop at nothing to conceal their tracks.

Oldroyd and his team try to uncover the truth, but every answer unearths a new set of questions. And as secrets and lies are exposed within the close-knit community, the mystery becomes deeper, darker and more complex than the caves below.

My Take

This story certainly takes most of us to places we have not been - underground into a cave system.
In reality this is something I would much rather do vicariously. Getting stuck underground would not be my idea of fun. Nevertheless I learnt a lot about caving

The first mystery to be solved is how the body got there? a remote section of a cave that is relatively difficult to get to. Did somebody carry the body there? It doesn't seem that the location was where the murder was committed. And then what was the motive for the murder?

DCI Jim Olroyd is an interesting character, and one can't help thinking of Andy Dalziel, and his treatment of newcomer DS Carter is kindly. I could have done without Carter's phone conversations with his inane London mate, although I suppose they do emphasis how very different life in Yorkshire is.

There were some inconsistencies in the mental picture of the deceased Dave Atkins who is described as both attractive to women, and a difficult person to like, but perhaps the last was from the point of view of cuckolded husbands.

The final solution to the first mystery was similar to my first thoughts on the topic, although the actual motive was harder to guess.

The narrator was set a hard task in this reading in that he attempts to reproduce an incredible number of voices. In the main he manages to make most voices distinctive.

My Rating: 4.3

About the author
John R. Ellis has lived in Yorkshire for most of his life and has spent many years exploring Yorkshire's diverse landscapes, history, language and communities. He recently retired after a career in teaching mostly in further education in the Leeds area. In addition to the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series he writes poetry, ghost stories and biography. He recently completed a screenplay about the last years of the poet Edward Thomas and he is currently working on his memoirs of growing up in a working class area of Huddersfield in the 1950s and 1960s.

Review: QUOTA, Jock Serong - audio book

• audio book - source my local library
•  Narrated by: Simon Harvey
• Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 09-01-16
• Originally published: 28 May 2014
• Language: English
• Publisher: Wavesound Audio
• Read it on Google Books

Synopsis (Audible)

Charlie Jardim has just trashed his legal career in a spectacular courtroom meltdown, and his girlfriend has finally left him. So when a colleague slings him a prosecution brief for the remote coastal town of Dauphin, Charlie reluctantly agrees to go.

The case is murder. The victim was involved in illegal abalone trading and even more illegal drug trafficking. And the witnesses aren't talking. As Dauphin closes ranks around him, Charlie finds his interest in the law powerfully reignited.

My Take

HIS HONOUR: Mr Jardim, withdraw that comment immediately.

MR JARDIM: Your Honour, I'm not withdrawing it because it's got nothing to do with the merits of this case, just as your small-minded treatment of my client has got nothing to do with the merits of the case. I mean, could you have cocked this thing up any worse? Bloody helpless kid and you know she's back out on the street now. You're known throughout the state as a heartless old prick and a drunk, and seeing I've gone this far, your daughter-in-law's appointment to the court is widely viewed as a grubby political payoff. Today's pretty much the lowest I've seen you stoop but it's been a rich field of excrem—

HIS HONOUR: Senior, will you have Mr Jardim removed?

QUOTA takes an unusual case, the murder of an abalone fisherman who is also dabbling in drug distribution.

Charlie Jardim is trying to put together a case to prosecute the victim's murderers. The account given of events by the victim's brother just does not hang together so Jardim travels to a small seaside Victorian town to see if he can get people to talk.

On the way to Dauphin he hits a kangaroo and wrecks his car. He is easily identified as a city man, and outsider, and before long every knows the Prosecutor is in town. Only the pub owner will talk to him.

Eventually he befriends the victim's brother and gets a different version of what occurred, and more importantly, gets him to agree to replace the original statement that the police have on record. But this is just the start of the plot.

There is a strong Australian flavour to this recording reinforced both by the language particularly the dialogue, but also by the narrator's voice. There are superb descriptions of the Victorian countryside, of the heat, of the declining nature of the town, of the way things are ruled by one family, and the way others have to take drastic measures to survive.

My rating: 4.6

I've also reviewed
5.0, THE RULES OF BACKYARD CRICKET
5.0, ON THE JAVA RIDGE
4.8, PRESERVATION

QUOTA is Serong's first novel and didn't get the same attention and recognition that his later novels have. I think taht is possibly because his voice is so different to other Australian crime fiction writers.
He was a practising lawyer when he published QUOTA

Review: MONK'S-HOOD, Ellis Peters - audio book

• source: audible.com
•  Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
• Series: Brother Cadfael, Book 3
• Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-01-11
• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio UK
• Book originally published 1980

Synopsis (audible.com)

Gervase Bonel, with his wife and servants, is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he is suddenly taken ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted by two very different surprises.

In Master Bonel's wife, the good monk recognises Richildis, whom he loved many years ago before he took his vows. And Master Bonel has been fatally poisoned by a dose of deadly monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's herbarium. The Sheriff is convinced that the murderer is Richildis' son Edwin, who had reasons aplenty to hate his stepfather. But Cadfael, guided in part by his tender concern for a woman to whom he was once betrothed, is certain of her son's innocence. Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder.... 

My Take

Another excellent narration by Stephen Thorne who brings Cadfael to life. Unfortunately it appears that he has only narrated three of the Cadfael series, so this is the last.

A little more of Cadfael's past is revealed and there is a lovely assessment of the impact of the civil war on the Abbey as Father Heribert goes off to find out whether he will keep his position or whether Prior Robert will take over.

Cadfael discovers who was responsible for the poisoning of Gervase Bonel and eventually administers his own form of justice.

What an excellent writer Ellis Peters was, bringing this periods of English history to life.

My rating: 4.6

I've also reviewed
THE PILGRIM OF HATE
4.3, A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES
4.6, A CORPSE TOO MANY

Review: TWELVE RED HERRINGS, Jeffrey Archer - audio book

• audio book from Audible.com
• Narrated by: Alec McCowen
• Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
• Abridged Audiobook
  Release date: 06-01-07
  Collection printed 1994
• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Synopsis (Audible.com)

An imprisoned man is certain that his supposed murder victim is very much alive; a female driver is pursued relentlessly by a menacing figure in another vehicle; a young artist gets the biggest break of her career; a restless beauty manages the perfect birthday celebration; an escaped Iraqi on Saddam Hussein's death list pays an involuntary visit to his homeland. How will they react? How would you?

Twelve Red Herrings is the third collection of irresistible short stories from a master storyteller. Cleverly styled, with richly drawn characters and ingeniously plotted story lines, each of the 12 tales ends with a delightfully unexpected turn of events.

From Wikipedia
The book contains 12 stories.

• "Trial and Error"
• "Cheap at Half The Price"*
• "Dougie Mortimer's Right Arm"*
• "Do Not Pass Go"*
• "Chunnel Vision"*
• "Shoeshine Boy"*
• "You'll Never Live to Regret It"*
• "Never Stop on the Motorway"*
• "Not for Sale"
• "Timeo Danaos"*
• "An Eye for an Eye"*
• "One Man's Meat..."

In the preface the author notes that the stories indicated with an asterisk are "based on known incidents (some of them embellished with considerable licence)."


My Take

Once again a batch of short stories, involving some mysteries, but most are on the edge of crime fiction.
This audio production makes good listening particularly as the narration by Alec McCowen is so well done. Each of the stories has an unexpected twist in the final moments.

My rating:4.5

I've also reviewed
A TWIST IN THE TALE
4.7, TELL TALE
4.6, CAT O'NINE TALES 
They are all collections of short stories.

Review: THE GHOST, Robert Harris - audio book

• first published 2007  aka The Ghost Writer
• this edition unabridged audio book from Audible.com 
• Narrated by: Michael Jayston
• Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
• Release date: 11-20-14
• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Audiobooks

Synopsis (Publisher's summary)

The moment I heard how McAra died I should have walked away. I can see that now...

The narrator of Robert Harris's gripping new novel is a professional ghostwriter - cynical, mercenary, and with a nice line in deadpan humour. Accustomed to working with fading rock stars and minor celebrities, he jumps at the chance to ghost the memoirs of Britain's former prime minister, especially as it means flying to the American resort of Martha's Vineyard in the middle of winter and finishing the book in the seclusion of a luxurious house.

But it doesn't take him long to realise he has made a terrible mistake. His predecessor on the project died in circumstances that were distinctly suspicious, and the ex-prime minister turns out to be a man with secrets in his past that are returning to haunt him - secrets with the power to kill.

My Take

I've probably missed all the political implications of  this contemporary thriller (see more), but it certainly is a good read. We never find out who the ghost writer is, but he finds out that his predecessor has recently died, and that he must work on the manuscript in the house where his subject, a recently unseated British prime minister, is staying. Not only that, but the timeline for completing the work is incredibly short.  
The ghost writer realises that this is yet another boring autobiography. There is no personal interest to hook the reader and he feels that he will need to cull much of the existing text and find something new as the opening hook. In his quest to be thorough he discovers that much of the text written by his predecessor is not true at all. And then an international news item brings the "hook".

The text is superbly narrated by Michael Jayston.

My rating: 4.8

I've also read
5.0, CONCLAVE
4.8, IMPERIUM
4.6, LUSTRUM
4.5, DICTATOR 

Audio Book Challenge Update, 13 October 2010 - FINISHED

Audio Book Challenge is now hosted at Queen of Happy Endings.
.
Listening to audio versions of crime fiction and thrillers is a way of life for me  I listen to books to and from work every day and in fact almost whenever I drive the car.  Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.
I seem to be more tolerant of thrillers in audio, and it stretches the range of books I am comfortable in reading.
Sometimes, I think, a good narrator will get me to the end of a book, and enjoying it too, where I may have become frustrated when just turning pages. Comedy in crime comes in that category. 
I count all audio books in my list of book read, and I review them too.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell
13. DEATH OF A GLUTTON, M. C. Beaton 
14. DOUBLE VISION, Pat Barker
15. THE MESSENGER, Daniel Silva
16. THE PILGRIM OF HATE, Ellis Peters
17. ROYAL FLUSH, Lynda la Plante
18. TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION, P.D. James 
19. SINGLE & SINGLE, John Le Carre
20. WHILE THE LIGHT LASTS, Agatha Christie

Audio Book Challenge Update, 22 September 2010

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
.
Listening to audio versions of crime fiction and thrillers is a way of life for me  I listen to books to and from work every day and in fact almost whenever I drive the car.  Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.
I seem to be more tolerant of thrillers in audio, and it stretches the range of books I am comfortable in reading.
Sometimes, I think, a good narrator will get me to the end of a book, and enjoying it too, where I may have become frustrated when just turning pages. Comedy in crime comes in that category. 
I count all audio books in my list of book read, and I review them too.

I have set my sights on Obsessed and now I have only 2 to go.
Currently listening to SINGLE & SINGLE by John le Carre.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

My progress so far... 18 books

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell
13. DEATH OF A GLUTTON, M. C. Beaton 
14. DOUBLE VISION, Pat Barker
15. THE MESSENGER, Daniel Silva
16. THE PILGRIM OF HATE, Ellis Peters
17. ROYAL FLUSH, Lynda la Plante
18. TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION, P.D. James

Audio Book Challenge Update, 10 September 2010

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
.
Listening to audio versions of crime fiction and thrillers is a way of life for me  I listen to books to and from work every day and in fact almost whenever I drive the car.  Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.
I seem to be more tolerant of thrillers in audio, and it stretches the range of books I am comfortable in reading.
Sometimes, I think, a good narrator will get me to the end of a book, and enjoying it too, where I may have become frustrated when just turning pages. Comedy in crime comes in that category. 
I count all audio books in my list of book read, and I review them too.

I have set my sights on Obsessed and now I have only 3 to go.
Currently listening to SINGLE & SINGLE by John le Carre.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

My progress so far... 17 books

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell
13. DEATH OF A GLUTTON, M. C. Beaton 
14. DOUBLE VISION, Pat Barker
15. THE MESSENGER, Daniel Silva
16. THE PILGRIM OF HATE, Ellis Peters
17. ROYAL FLUSH, Lynda la Plante

Audio Book Challenge Update, 21 Aug 2010

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
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Listening to audio versions of crime fiction and thrillers is a way of life for me  I listen to books to and from work every day and in fact almost whenever I drive the car.  Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.
I seem to be more tolerant of thrillers in audio, and it stretches the range of books I am comfortable in reading.
Sometimes, I think, a good narrator will get me to the end of a book, and enjoying it too, where I may have become frustrated when just turning pages. Comedy in crime comes in that category. 
I count all audio books in my list of book read, and I review them too.

I have set my sights on Obsessed and at this stage it is well within my reach.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

My progress so far... 16 books

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell
13. DEATH OF A GLUTTON, M. C. Beaton 
14. DOUBLE VISION, Pat Barker
15. THE MESSENGER, Daniel Silva
16. THE PILGRIM OF HATE, Ellis Peters

Audio Book Challenge Update #7

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
I listen to books to and from work every day so hopefully this will be relatively easy to achieve. Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.

I've now made Addicted, so I have set my sights on Obsessed.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

My progress so far... 15 books

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell
13. DEATH OF A GLUTTON, M. C. Beaton 
14. DOUBLE VISION, Pat Barker
15. THE MESSENGER, Daniel Silva

Audio Book Challenge Update #6

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
I listen to books to and from work every day so hopefully this will be relatively easy to achieve. Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.

I've now made Addicted, so I have set my sights on Obsessed.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

My progress so far... 14 books

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell
13. DEATH OF A GLUTTON, M. C. Beaton 
14. DOUBLE VISION, Pat Barker

Audio Book Challenge Update #5

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
I listen to books to and from work every day so hopefully this will be relatively easy to achieve. Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.

I've now made Addicted, so I have set my sights on Obsessed.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

My progress so far...

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell
13. DEATH OF A GLUTTON, M. C. Beaton 

Audio Book Challenge Update #4

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
I listen to books to and from work every day so hopefully this will be relatively easy to achieve. Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.

I've now made Addicted, so I have set my sights on Obsessed.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.


My progress so far...

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell
12. THE CHORISTER AT THE ABBEY, Lis Howell

Audio Book Challenge Update #3

Audio Book Challenge is hosted at Royal Reviews.
I listen to books to and from work every day so hopefully this will be relatively easy to achieve. Add to that the fact that I've also realised the usefulness of an audio book on my I-Pod for long flights.

I was planning to go for Addicted, but now I've made Fascinated, I have set my sights on Obsessed.

There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

I've decided to try for Obsessed: 20 books

My progress so far...

1. DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Myer
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens
3. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, Edgar Allan Poe
4. THE SPY'S WIFE, Reginald Hill
5. THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson
6. THE CONCRETE BLONDE, Michael Connelly
7. DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN, Martin Edwards
8. HIDE & SEEK, Ian Rankin
9. MARCH VIOLETS, Philip Kerr
10. THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
11. THE FIFTH WOMAN, Henning Mankell