The River Man
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The River Man
Buy Now for £12.90
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Narrated by:
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Dominic West
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By:
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R. B. Croft
How do you track down a killer who might not even exist?
An Audible Original from thrilling new talent, R B Croft, narrated by star of The Crown, The Wire and The Affair Dominic West.
Clem knows every inch of Watersmeet like the back of his hand. After all, he’s controlled crime here for most of his career. But after a shock murder, he meets jaundiced yellow eyes shining out of the darkness beyond the houses on the village’s eerie southern slopes, and everything he thought he knew about the place is thrown into question.
Clem’s grown up with local legends, just like everyone else. But could the River Man be real, and might this creature be behind the recent mysterious killings? It’s a theory – and not one that his superiors want to hear. They’re more interested in courting soundbites and social media with their own wild explanations. Drugs? Gangs? Clem just doesn’t believe it.
Suspended, he takes matters into his own hands and strikes out into the woods behind the farm. Here, amongst the trees and hidden caves, he discovers more than he ever wanted to. Something that’s been hiding. Something that needs to be smoked out. Clem sets out to solve the village’s biggest crime ever, but at what cost?
About the author
R B Croft loves the wild and the creeping sensation that comes with wondering ‘what if…?’. A married father and certified book nut, he’s often found outdoors with a pen in his hand, getting himself into trouble. His literary idols are too many to count, but include Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Michelle Paver, Christina Henry, Peter Benchley, CJ Box, and CJ Tudor - and anyone who stops him from sleeping.
About the narrator
Dominic West is one of the country’s finest and most versatile actors. His thirty-year career has included roles in some of the most iconic television series, from his award-winning portrayal of Jimmy McNulty in The Wire, to Charles, Prince of Wales in The Crown. Since making his film debut opposite Sir Ian McKellen in Richard III, he has appeared in movies as diverse as Oscar-winning musical Chicago, historical drama Downton Abbey: A New Era, provided voices in Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory and played real-life activist Jonathan Blake in the multi-award-winning Pride.
©2024 R. B. Croft (P)2024 Audible, LtdContinue the series
Critic reviews
“A thrilling mash-up of crime and folk horror. With genuinely chilling scenes, The River Man is packed with suspense on every page.” (Sarah A. Denzil, author of The Silent Child)
"Clem's journey through the shadowy underbelly of Watersmeet is riveting. The book masterfully blends crime and folklore, creating a thrilling narrative that will make you doubt what you thought you knew. A compelling listen that brilliantly weaves mystery, local legend, and raw emotion." (Mark Dawson, author of the John Milton, Beatrix and Isabella Rose and Atticus Priest series)
“Mysterious deaths in a small town, The River Man chilled me to my core. Part folklore, part serial killer, this is creepy, eerie storytelling at its best.” (Sam Holland, The Echo Man, The Twenty, The Puppet Master)
I only skimmed the description as I sometimes find them spoiler-laden, more so than the old dust-jacket blurb, and gave it a go - I was not disappointed.
I mention "new genre", it's at least new to me - a Detective Folk Horror (/Thriller?) - it was fairly compelling and easy to settle in to.
Dominic West, whilst a great talent, sometimes seemed a bit too hoarse at times for me, but delivered the material well at a perfect pace.
The story flowed well, touching on a number of facets facing modern policing, generational disconnects, family love and loss, the changing landscape of society in general and never slacked. My old English teacher would describe the ideal story using the context of an 'inverse cheese and Branston sandwich', where the initial cheese and Branston would interest the reader at the start, there'd be a bit of bread, some padding, in the middle, with yet more cheese and Branston at the end so the reader would be wanting more from the same author, there was not much bread to be found in this story, it was the good stuff all the way through.
A few, likely editorial decisions, did annoy, the use of some American English terms (e.g. car trunk and hood) spoiled the spell of the use of English locales and West's delivery. The geographical setting was a tiny bit troubling for me, as far as I heard there was mention of the River Dane, which is in Cheshire, but the story was set further north in the Pennines OANB - this stands for "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" - the word Outstanding was missing from the book's narrative - again whether this was editorial change or other I don't know but gnawed at my Auti brain, sorry.
Anyhow - new author, new book, great enjoyment and as a Plus Catalogue title at the time of listening an absolute pleasure :)
Set in modern day Northern England, the rugged terrain of the old town (village?) has kept a secret for generations - a secret, perhaps as old as the hills. Journey with our hero, Clem, on his bike, around Watersmeet and uncover that secret and outwit the too media savvy new faces of local policing.
New author - new genre? Well worth a listen!
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Excellent compelling listening
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A great mix between genres
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Good listen
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Originality
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