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  • The Rat Stone Serenade

  • A D.C.I. Daley Thriller, Book 4
  • By: Denzil Meyrick
  • Narrated by: David Monteath
  • Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,303 ratings)
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The Rat Stone Serenade cover art

The Rat Stone Serenade

By: Denzil Meyrick
Narrated by: David Monteath
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Summary

It's December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world's biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home, and his descendants have been cursed ever since.

When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming. But for whom, and from what?

©2016 Denzil Meyrick (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about The Rat Stone Serenade

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • I
  • 19-07-17

MacMidsomer Madness

"Far-fetched" was a term used by one of the characters in this bizarre instalment of what has, hitherto, been a refreshing addition to the crime fiction scene.

Characterisation and development, such a strong element of the preceding novels, was cast aside in favour of over-complex and frankly incredible plotting; the last four hours of listening felt interminable.

'Phoned in' is an expression I believe is used to described lazy, formulaic Hollywood scripts and this one felt phoned-in.

After a pause, I think I will give the fifth novel a go but DCI Daley and his fellow island-dwellers are, as far as I'm concerned, on notice.

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28 people found this helpful

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

Mad Rats and Scottish Men Out in the Midday Snow!

The title of this book was one of the first things that attracted me to this series, The Rat Stone Serenade, it spoke of rare imagination. And hell's teeth Meyrick certainly engaged that part of his writing talent to the full in writing this one. He throws just about everything at it; the occult, health issues, relationships, action, violence, sex, human sacrifice, ancient curses, corporate greed and possibly the longest, most convoluted Scooby-Doo ending that the fictional world has ever witnessed. It's utterly amazing what's happened in this small Scottish town. In fictional tourist information circles it is fast outstripping Midsommer as a place to try and sell to would-be visitors.

It really is just plain bonkers and if you want realistism abandon all hope should you enter here. For me it's bonkers in a good way though. Once again the characters really shine including an interesting new boss for Daley, a resurrection of the story of his love life and of course Brian Scott who has to battle demons of his own in his usual inimitable style. My absolute favourite though is the town of Kinloch itself whose denizens once again stamp their character on the book including a cracking drunken scene in the pub.

At the microphone is the silken-voiced David Monteith, a top quality narrator. He always raises a story with his narration though I don't think he'll be winning any awards for his Aussie accent and I felt he was surprisingly unconvincing during the occult scenes. Still, a class act though.

I'm sticking with this series, I don't know what Meyrick is on but it all adds up to one big smile inducing roller coaster of a story where if you can park your common sense for a few hours you'll have a whale of a time!

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22 people found this helpful

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

Not as good as previous books..still okay

I found it annoying that Daleys wife Liz has been left out of this instalment and Daley suddenly back with his colleague Mary...this seemed very out
of place with what I recall of the previous book..story okay very well performed..if u heard or read the previous prob worth a listen

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22 people found this helpful

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

Enid Blighton writes Agatha Christie...

I loved his first 3 DCI Dailey books - but I'm afraid I shall read no more after this particular effort. Managing many disparate story threads and bringing to them a resolution is always tricky, but to do that using the hackneyed 'bring everone together in the same room by the (literal) fireside and get them to confess' is unworthy of Mr Meyrick. Add to this the nature of the denouement - where each confesses that they be not, in fact, who they were supposed to be but instead someone else entirely, stretches credence beyond breaking point. Poor dialogue and non-sequitors dressed as red-herrings complete the experience. I shall be asking for a refund on this one.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Incredulous

Very unusual and convoluted storyline that stretches credibility beyond reason. Disappointing when compared to the rest of the series

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Far fetched

I've enjoyed the previous novels in this series although I find the level of gore slightly hard to take. The plots have been becoming slightly more bizarre with each book and, sadly, in this fourth outing, were completely ridiculous. Not sure I will bother with any more in this series.

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5 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Did someone else write this for D Meyrick?

I was enthralled with the first three in this series but very disappointed with the fourth. It was unrealistic, fanciful and far too unnecessarily complicated. It felt like D Meyrick was under contract pressure to churn another story out at any cost. Also, there were times where I thought I was reading a Mills and Boon novel......yuk! Now considering if I will spend money on book five. So sad as I love it when I find a really entertaining series to get stuck into.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Awesome Novel

I love the DCI Daley Series. Each story gets darker and more intriguing. Once started I just find it hard to put them down. Denzil Meyrick's style of writing and his story concepts are amazing. He is by far my favourite male author. If you like James Patterson, you are going to like Denzil Meyrick, I'm sure.
The DCI Daley series is taken to a whole new level by the Narrator, David Monteath who makes the characters so easy to identify. He brings them to life and that's what I'm looking for as a reader/listener. Fantastic!
Meyrick and Monteath make an exceptional partnership.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

What made the experience of listening to The Rat Stone Serenade the most enjoyable?

The narrator, David Monteath is fantastic. His range of accents is phenomenal!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely the irreverent,immensely likeable sergeant Brian Scott.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Definitely the denouement scenes

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

The western isles - more deadly than midsomer!

Any additional comments?

Denzil Meyrick just gets better and better.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Always a good listen.

I am not one for gore and horror, this suits me well a combination of a good detective story and following their lives through.the years.

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2 people found this helpful