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Murder in the Barn

The Arnold Landon Series, Book 1

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Murder in the Barn

By: Roy Lewis
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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About this listen

Meet Arnold Landon, mild-mannered history buff turned amateur sleuth. Murder in the Barn marks the beginning of an addictive new series, featuring an unlikely hero whose passions run deep.

IT STARTS WITH A SIMPLE PLANNING REQUEST …

Rampton Farm, Northumberland, has always been a gloomy, godforsaken place. Now it’s earmarked for demolition—to make way for just another tawdry amusement park. It will be progress, and nothing can stand in the way—except perhaps Arnold Landon, the Planning Officer who must glean the lie of the land.

Medieval architecture is Arnold’s passion. And scouting the grounds, he makes a thrilling discovery: the Old Wheat Barn. He is captivated the moment he crosses the threshold; its walls echo with whispers of the past. Then and there, he realizes he must save it from the developers. But his efforts meet with hostile resistance. And then the barn offers up its most shocking secret yet …

A dead body, sprawled in the straw.

What other crimes lay hidden in the dark history of the barn? Arnold won’t rest until he uncovers the truth.

Originally published as A Gathering of Ghosts, fans of Elly Griffiths, Peter James, P. D. James, Damien Boyd, Helen H. Durrant, JD Kirk, Bill Kitson, and Peter Robinson will devour this intriguing mystery.

©1982, 2012, 2021 Roy Lewis (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing
Amateur Sleuths International Mystery & Crime Mystery Traditional Detectives Exciting
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Steven Crossley is one of the best narrators and he does a wonderful job here. I thought the book interesting and agree with the review that describes the main character as boring but, that’s part of his appeal. Arnold Landon is a character you can identify with and even if you don’t warm to him you can’t dislike him either.
I will be getting the next book in the series.

Perfect narration

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Steven Crossley delivers a first class performance reading a delightful "crime thriller". Beautifully slow, delightfully enjoyable a wonderful story that totally grows on a listener. Take the time to slow down and enjoy this story and you won't regret a second.

totally lovely

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It’s very hard to make a hero who is dull and considered boring by all his colleagues to be anything but for the reader. Unfortunately the author didn’t succeed for me. The planner come detective is a tedious little man.

Downbeat

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I liked the imagery and historic detail, but the main protagonist was rather plodding. He was not quite savvy enough to be engaging, nor did he have humour or confidence. But, I finished the book and I'd put it in the category of non compelling bed time reading.

so so

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Roy Lewis's "Murder in the Barn" is a perfect blend of mystery, investigation, appreciation for history, and dry, witty humour. Arnold Landon is an unusual but excellent protagonist. Just like with the Eric Ward series, Lewis manages to make seemingly unbearably boring areas fascinating - in this series, it's planning permissions and land disputes. I understand some might find the book too slow, but I loved it and especially enjoyed the bits explaining historical building methods. I can't wait to read the rest of series.

Planning permissions made fascinating.

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