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  • A Darker Domain

  • By: Val McDermid
  • Narrated by: Eilidh Fraser
  • Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,986 ratings)
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A Darker Domain cover art

A Darker Domain

By: Val McDermid
Narrated by: Eilidh Fraser
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Summary

It's 1984. The miners' strike is dividing the country. In a struggling coal-mining town, the miners and their families are living at the edge of their resources. On the 14th of December, five miners break ranks to travel to Nottingham and work. For those who stay behind, this is an unforgivable betrayal.

Twenty-three years later, a young woman is asking the police to trace her missing father. Miner Mick Prentice vanished, never to be seen again. Soon, DI Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parharta find themselves investigating a forgotten disappearance.

©2008 Val McDermid (P)2008 WF Howes Ltd

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What listeners say about A Darker Domain

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,107
  • 4 Stars
    611
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    37
  • 1 Stars
    27
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,092
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    152
  • 2 Stars
    36
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    21
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    985
  • 4 Stars
    507
  • 3 Stars
    200
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    24

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Cleverly constructed story

I'd sometimes shied away from Val McDermid's books, despite my admiration from her excellent writing, as I found her viscerally explicit descriptions of violent and cruel acts off-putting. This book is quite different for, although it does involve deaths these are peripheral to the two intricate and cleverly intertwined stories that kept me rapt for many hours eager to find out how the stories ended. A splendid book with a good narrator.

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58 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

If you could sum up A Darker Domain in three words, what would they be?

This was a fast moving plot with no boring and unecessary facts. The clever plot starts with the search for a man who went missing 20 years previously during the time of the miners strikes. Also at that time in a nearby location was the death of a well-heeled woman after a kidnapping turned sour and the disappearance of her son, then a baby.The story takes you to beautiful Italy with it's laid back "hippy style" communes and also into the lives of a powerful familiy who believe they are beyond the law.The relationship between the reporters and Police was revealing and so accurate.My only gripe is the ending which was left a little unfinished.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Undoubtably the best character was DI Pirie. Fiesty yet likeable with grit and determination, a person not to be cowed by her supervisors nor class division. A good cop who gets the job done.

Have you listened to any of Eilidh Fraser’s other performances? How does this one compare?

A good performance by Eilidh Fraser whose lilting tones fitted the story so well.

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • AT
  • 12-04-16

A great tale, even if sometimes heard strangely!

A typically enthralling story from Val Mcdermid set in her home area and read in a dialect understandable to most .....however Eilidh Fraser was in sore need of pronunciation advice. Once I could ignore ( eg the mangle-ing of the striking Scot's miners leader's name) but by the 5th or 6th occasion it was really becoming annoying and not even with particularly unusual words. I feel sorry for the reader but especially sad that such a popular author has her work let down in this way. And it is a great story!

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Twisted plot

What did you like best about this story?

Loved the plot twists and turns and the colourful characters. My first Val McDermid book. Gonna get more!

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Lovely and appropriate to have it read in a Scottish accent, but she couldn't really vary it at all - posh Scottish, strong Fife and English sounded pretty much the same. For a short cringeworthy section she tried to do a strong Italian accent. I felt her pain.
There were basic pronunciation mistakes, especially with the Italian words, that could have been easily researched.
Barring that, she told the story well and it must be a bit of a marathon reading for an audiobook, so respect anyway.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good story but unfinished ending

I stuck with this book as really not sure about the narrator - guess I've been spoilt by Sean Barrett and Steven Pacey who are excellent. Good story with the background running alongside, came together well towards the end but very disappointed with the unfinished ending - a lot of guessing left with the story on both sides.

All in all ok, but not sure I would recommend as a great read compared to some of the many books I have listened to. Don't want to put anyone off but a 3 star from me.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story with interesting insight into UK miners

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. The plot is plausible, and the characters are interesting.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Darker Domain?

The descriptions of the hardships suffered by striking miners, and the conflicting loyalties they faced.

What three words best describe Eilidh Fraser’s performance?

A bit staccato. She put pauses, every few words, which I found, irritating after, a while.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Light and dark in Scotland and Italy.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

McDermid on form

I'm a fan of this writer and the story was good with lots of twists and turns, no gruesome violence and gore and it is very well read.
The action moves between the UK and Tuscany.
The last hour, however, stretched credibility which was a shame but I'd still recommend it.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

A Darker Domain

I struggled to get into this book, rewinding whole chunks to see whether I could determine any kind of hook, but sadly I wasn't able to. Maybe the timelines which bounced between the late 1970s, the 1984 Miners' Strike and modern day made it more disjointed? I finally gave up at 3hr 30min and asked Audible for a refund.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
  • JH
  • 27-03-17

Confusing...

This one wasn't for me, I usually love a good Val McDermaid but I found this one confusing to the last.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Poor ending

Good book, lots of twists and turns but for me the end was decidedly abrupt and after buying into the actions of the villains I would have liked to know more about their fate. Worth listening to though. Hey ho!

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6 people found this helpful