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A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller
Summary
Was the biggest case of his career the worst mistake he ever made?
Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed "Mister Whisper", earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process.
Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow's Major Investigations Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw.
And what he did.
When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home.
But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago?
And, if so, is the real Mister Whisper about to claim his fourth victim?
A Litter of Bones is the explosive debut crime thriller novel from JD Kirk, an exciting new voice in Scottish crime fiction.
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What listeners say about A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs D J Fraser
- 13-08-19
Brilliant unless you're a lover of cats!
A good measure of a crime thriller in today's saturated market is one's willingness to consider the sequel. I'm off to buy it asap. DCI Logan doesn't disappoint. A veteran officer, haunted by the worst case of his career. No self pitying, no long laments; a believable character who's honesty and self deprecating humour is also a breath of fresh air. Suspense at its best! Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Paul Finch, David Jackson, Val MacDermid to name a few. Brilliantly narrated!! You get the gist but avoid like the plague if you favour the feline variety. It's hard to listen to at times!
25 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 12-12-19
Have You Room For 'Just One More'?
It's the question many of us have to ask ourselves from time to time . . . Do we have room for one more cantankerous Scottish detective in our lives? Of course it's a very crowded space in the world of fiction and any new entrant probably has to either stretch the genre a little just like say James Oswald with the supernatural twist to his Inspector McLean books or produce characters and places that readers love like the wonderful denizens of Kinloch that infuse Denzil Meyrick's DCI Daley books.
JD Kirk certainly hasn't gone for the genre stretching option, this is straight down the line Scottish detective fiction so anyone on the lookout for something new isn't going to find it here. With that direction in mind Kirk needed those good characters and to put them into good stories and that is precisely what he has done.
Logan is a bad tempered bugger and he doesn't care who knows it. It works for him though and together with the cast of characters around him Kirk gives us a grim and dark tale that is also lit throughout with moments of warmth and humour. It's quite stripped back too, never getting hampered with huge amounts of back story meaning that it flows with genuine pace towards a very satisfying ending.
Of course we're talking audio here and so Kirk needed to find himself a good narrator. Job done I'd say. I don't think Angus King is quite as silky on the ear as say a David Monteath but with these characters he gives a very convincing performance. Crucially he seems at his best with Logan himself who he delivers extremely convincingly and with suitable menace.
So, if you're after something genre-busting or completely fresh and new then Kirk probably isn't for you but if you do have room for 'just one more' then pour yourself your favourite tipple, sit back and enjoy a very decent detective story.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Garry S.
- 05-09-19
Supertastic from start to finish
At last a great listen from audible I was beginning to give up the narrator was amazing which made the experience more gripping than the author had intended, I listen to approx 80 books a year and this was up at the top cant wait until his other books become available on audible....if your reading this give it a go you will like it.
15 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- TTelly
- 04-09-19
Utterly Brilliant.
Hands down one of the BEST crime thriller books I've had, and I have a stupidly large collection of them!!! Totally fantastic, I couldn't stop listening. Roll on the next one!!!
10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rizrie
- 04-09-19
Litter of Bones
I’m an avid reader of Crime Fiction & this one really hooked me from the very beginning. Gritty, dark & pretty disturbing at times.
Realistic characters who had the right balance of empathy, frustration & humour!
Thoroughly enjoyed the setting between Glasgow & Fort William & particularly loved the audible version read with the different Scottish accents.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Skye
- 24-08-19
Great first book
Ready enjoyed the story all the way through. Well written good Scottish crime thriller and very pleased it was narrated buy a Scottish person. This help with the right pronunciation of words.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Xavier Quill
- 19-08-19
A Braw Thriller
At last a rival to John Rebus!
This one manages to equate magnificently with anything created by that Scots powerhouse Ian Rankin. Well drawn characters and superbly paced throughout. Can’t wait for the next one.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mike
- 07-08-19
couldn't put it down
A thoroughly enjoyable listen & well performed. I got this book to 'give it a try' because I loved the authors other sci-fi-funny books, I'm glad i did. Excellent plot, characters nicely detailed with a serious story line & a touch of dark humour. My next audible credit is going on book 2.
WELL DONE MR BJH 👉👉
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- brian hamblett
- 04-08-19
superb
I found this book to have it all, tension, drama, humour and emotion. must read
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Recepient
- 04-12-19
A great book by this author...
Well read by the narrator -
Enjoyed this book immensely -
Another author on my list -
2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Bllsth
- 01-07-20
High hopes dashed: not just a little bit of child and animal torture
I had high hopes for this series - Scottish crime story with a great narrator - but there is excruciating detail of animal torture and child cruelty in this first book.
Do normal people actually like to read that kind of inhuman horror? And do normal writers like to describe it? I’m not looking for Mrs Marple but geez
200 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Dr. William J. Kass
- 02-08-19
too much violence/too little character/story
The characters in this book, especially the lead, Logan, seem one dimensional, maybe 1 1/2. There is too much gratuitous violence against children and animals which seems to be intended to manipulate reader-emotion to justify police violence and aggressiveness. There are also a lot of chase scenes which made me think someone might be writing for a camera rather than a reader. At the end of the day, the villain is dispatched even though he was clearly a victim whose story deserved more, IMO. These crime novels don't need to be true, but, as someone said, they should be plausible. With complex characters, almost any story line can seem plausible but because these characters are so shallow, the story line faltered. I doubt I'll be keeping an eye out for a second book.
157 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- L. Beach
- 26-09-19
Pretty good story; Fantastic narrator.
This was very good. The protagonist is immediately likable and interesting, but at the same time a no-nonsense cop. The story developed at a good pace and the ending was not terribly predictable, although I did feel it was a little rushed. Like they went from clueless to A-ha! in 30 seconds and then everything just tumbled together in a hurry.
I didn't find it to be any more gratuitously violent than any normal police drama on TV, (E.G. Bones. There is some SUPER gross stuff on Bones and this book doesn't even come close to that level) Murder generally produces a corpse. So you can pretty much bet on there being at least one dead body in a murder mystery. If that's a problem, maybe this isn't your genre.
There was NO sex, gratuitous or otherwise and this I greatly appreciate. It's rarely important to the plot anyway, So refreshing not to have the male detective trying to get with the female detective or vice versa. Instead, they focused on solving the actual crime. Amazing.
But if I'm being 100% honest, the narrator sealed the deal for me. He could have been reading from the dictionary and I would have listened to it.
55 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mimi
- 20-04-20
Loved it
I read all the bad reviews, particularly about the narrator. I listened to the preview & seemed it deserved a chance. Maybe it's because I'm American & love accents from 'across the pond'. Likely I don't hear the fault. If so, it's a blessing because I truly enjoyed the narrator. One aspect was over-the-top gruesome for me; don't know how long it will take me to un-see the visual on that. Not at all regretting the purchase & look forward to the rest of the series.
5 stars.
32 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Donna
- 21-07-19
4
Fun for me, Scotland, a new series I will continue buying.
We ran through every cliche
available in police procedurals and I didn't mind a bit. Pefect on a rainy day :-)
23 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 11-03-20
Too cruel for my taste
The story is good but I couldn’t finish the book because of aspects and incidents of cruelty that I found to be unbearably disturbing. If I remember I will avoid this author in the future.
20 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Yankee Bookworm
- 16-09-19
Thought I would like it more than I did
I'm a fan of Brit detective mysteries and expected to like this book more. The main character needed more development I think. Hard to say exactly what it was about the book that didn't fully engage me. The story line was thoroughly done enough, but there was just something missing. Not sure I would read another installment, assuming there are more.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris Soothill
- 21-07-19
I hope this is just the start of a long series
DCI Logan is a tremendous character. The story moves forward at a good pace. It's engaging from start to finish. The narration was especially good. I'll be looking for the next book to hit audible.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Diane
- 27-08-19
brilliant
loved this book, great characters, narration, storyline, the lot. Suspenseful with surprises and really creepy at times, brilliant writing a really gritty story. Logan is my new hero he just nudged Jack Reacher out of the way let's hope the next one is as good.
11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- William Davis
- 31-07-19
WOW!!!
I think I have a new favorite crime writer. This book has everything--mystery, humor, some great characters, a fast pace, and just the right amount of thrill. Can't wait for the next one.
10 people found this helpful