Knife Edge

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Knife Edge

By: Paul Adam

Narrated by: Seán Barrett

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About this listen

In London, a newly-arrived Kurdish immigrant is brutally murdered by Turkish people-traffickers. The dead man’s wife, Irena, flees to East Anglia where she disappears into the murky world of illegal foreign workers. Reporter Joe Verdi goes undercover as a migrant worker to try to find Irena. But he’s not the only one looking for her – the Turks are also on her trail. Meanwhile, Joe’s colleague, Elli Mason, is following up the story of a typhoid outbreak. Three people have contracted the disease and the only link between them seems to be a supermarket chain. As the two reporters’ investigations come together, they discover there is a price to pay for cheap food – and sometimes that price is people’s lives.

Action & Adventure

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Suspense

Thriller & Suspense

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I came to this after thoroughly enjoying Paganini' Ghost. I was a little concerned at the beginning that I might find the subject matter (exploitation of illegal immigrants) too harrowing. However the way this was approached enabled me to stick with it and enjoy yet another good storyline from this author. This man obviously does his homework and the issues covered in Knife Edge have changed my slant on both the subject of immigrant workers and the questionable methods employed in the food chain. I will certainly look at both quite differently in the future. Another good read by the excellent Sean Barrett.

Another excellent listen from Paul Adam

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This was the second Paul Adam book that I have listened to and it was even better than the first. Within this genre, there was a sufficiently rich and complex set of characters to complement the plot and whose back stories were touched upon in enough detail to make them believable. The story had two main threads that were interwoven to produce a coherent narrative and it drew on topical issues that will resonate with anyone living in the UK today. There were good changes of pace that reflected the situation of the protagonists. If there is a minor criticism, it is that the plot fitted together too well, so that small elements of detail in the later part of the story telegraphed the endgame. Finally, the narrator gave a virtuoso performance that made the characters and the story come alive. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a thriller with a good plot and good characterisation. Without doubt, I will certainly be listening to Paul Adam's other books.

An excellent contemporary thriller set in the UK

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Where does Knife Edge rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Knife Edge ranks quite high but not amongst the very best of all but I definitely enjoyed listening to it

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joe was my favourite character but that isn't surprising as he was the main character in the story.

Which character – as performed by Seán Barrett – was your favourite?

Joe was the best character but all characters were superbly voiced by Sean Barrett. He is so good at different voices and making them all sound so natural and effortless. He is excellent at women's voices in the most subtle way. I really believe in them

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

No idea

Any additional comments?

Are there awards for narration? If so, Sean Barrett certainly deserves one!

A Good Read / Listen

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Sean Barrett is always a pleasure to listen to and reads this very well. It's my second book by this author and I was engaged both by the tense criminal plot and the insights it gives into the food industry and the social and animal welfare impact of cheap mass produced food. It shows how gang masters enable exploitation of immigrant labour to service the food industry and how supermarkets enforce the punitive contracts that keep working conditions bad and payment at rock bottom. This fictionalised investigative thriller explores the link between human trafficking , agricultural labour and food hygiene scandals. Characters are well rounded- Apart from the fatuous restaurant critic , but maybe he was necessary to the plot.
I'll explore further books by this author.

A thriller with insight

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What a great listen. I chose this purely because it is narrated by Sean Barrett and the reviews were good and how glad am I!

Excellent stories running alongside each other - I was a bit dubious with the plot but it was very well written and had me completely hooked from the start eager to find out how the plots ended. I won't give anything away - hopefully if you choose this book you will enjoy it as much as me. My first Paul Adam listen and think I will try the other but Sean Barrett really is my number one narrator!

Hooked from the start!

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