Better than the rest!

Would you listen to The Black Mile again? Why?

Yes, It is an enthralling story. To get a deeper involvement with he story

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Black Mile?

Being at the murder scenes

Which character – as performed by Brian J. Gill – was your favourite?

Charlie Murphy

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

London before the Krays was more deadly

Any additional comments?

The idea base of this story is very good and well written, you feel you are in those dangerous times.
Mark Dawson writes well and this book is no exception, the reader will be captivated by the storyline and
empathise with certain characters while recoiling in horror from others.
I found the story fascinating, the fact it is based on a true story is amazing, and, adds to the gritty realism of those dark days.
Thoroughly recommended reading, a far better writer than certain thriller writers who are household names.

7 people found this helpful

Strangulated vowels!

Enjoyable story and an excellent evocation of a period, despite the odd anachronism, but trying to work out the nationality of the narrator becomes a distraction. Accents are generally well done suggesting that Mr Gill has an ear for the way people speak, but in his ordinary speaking voice he must be copying someone like Loyd Grosman as he distorts the language horribly. If a word has an "o" in it he tends to elongate "ooooorange," the "r" in Berwick" is stressed so it becomes "Burrwick," and I didn't realise "Arrskeith" was actually "Asquith" until I read these reviews. I found myself shouting in frustration at this verbal mangling: the chap needs a voice coach or something, or to get out on to the streets and actually listen to people. Incredibly irritating!

2 people found this helpful

Good story but hard to follow...

I love Mark Dawson books especially the John Milton Series but I'm sorry the pronunciation of some words drove me mad and I nearly gave up!

2 people found this helpful

The first Mark Dawson flop for me

I've loved Mark Dawson's other works, but I'm giving up on this one half way through.

The main reason is Brian Gill's narration, which is close to the worst torture of spoken English since Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins. His mispronouncing of simple words and misreading of phrases has made it unbearable to continue.

The story also seems to have historical inaccuracies, such as the use of plastic sheets and bags to wrap bodies in a story set in WWII London.

Very sorry to have to be so critical, but I'm going to be much more cautious picking new series from old favourites in future.

4 people found this helpful

I really wanted to like this book but...

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Crime story lovers who aren't concerned with historical accuracies.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Charlie, obviously but Frank, being the misled innocent got my sympathy.

What didn’t you like about Brian J. Gill’s performance?

To be honest, 2/3 of the reason I didn't enjoy this book was the narration! Gill's pronunciation was nothing short of awful! He really didn't get the basics, never mind the subtleties of the Queen's English; talk about two nations divided by a common language! To pronounce Asquith as "Areskithe" and to flick between the long and short "A" in bath in the same paragraph was inexcusable. Too many more to list...

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The story-line was good; bent cops and masons could have been stale, but it was a good story.

Any additional comments?

There were a number of historical inaccuracies that spoilt it: Plastic buckets!, plastic bags on the victim's hands! Tape fingerprint lifting, (1950s at the earliest)

3 people found this helpful

Poor reading style fails to cast light on the blac

I was given a copy of this audio version of The Black Miles , in return for an honest review.

I was excited to receive this audio book as I had previously read and enjoyed Mark Dawson's atmospheric police thriller set in war torn London. My mother was a true born Eatender and grew up there, acting as a fire watcher when the bombs fell. I wasn't born until near the end of hostilities but grew up with the destruction very evident around me, the still vacant bomb sites, the street shelters and, of course, my parent's stories. The book catches the general feel of the period well and incorporates the street slang of the time so adding to the colour. The book is also cleverly constructed with news bulletins to help drive the plot. This works well on the written page but, sadly, fails when narrated mostly because of the reading by Brian Gill.
I assume that the idea was to replicate the dipped tones of the 1940's newsreaders. If so, it completely failed. Instead, the narrative was harsh, poorly spaced and there were some strangely pronounced words to add to listener discomfort, such as 'beryl' instead of 'barrel', small details which became big irritants as the book progressed The dialogue, on the other hand, was well performed but was insufficient to make up for the stilted, poor narrative between conversations.

I found it very hard to finish listening to the audio version. Mark Dawson is a talented author and well worth reading. But buy the written version to absorb the atmosphere and enjoy the story.

4 people found this helpful

The most unintelligible narrator EVER!

I have never, in 20+ years listened to such an awful narrator! Viscount Asquith, he pronounces.. get this! Viz-kont As-kith! CRETINOUS That's one of around 25+ repeated mispronunciations.. English CANNOT be his birth language! If it is? Then I've been thinking & speaking Esperanto for the last 50 years! Are there no audio editors? I'm disgusted!! Should a publisher sell a printed book with as many stupid howlers in it they'd be laughed out of every bookshop on the planet! P.S. I'm getting a full refund!

2 people found this helpful

Never will listen to another book narrated by Brian J Gill!

Poor and inconsistent try at an English accent, many places wrongly pronounced, even for the period in which the story was set. Many reading mistakes. All the above interrupted concentration on the story, to the point where it has now taken 4 weeks of effort and re-listening to get to where I have given up! Mark Dawson is one of my favourite authors but I shall never buy another audible book if it involves Brian J. Gill!

Disppointing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Afraid not, annoying and erratic narration with mispronounced words and muffed phrasing which only served to make a poor story even worse.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

Mark Dawson started well with the John Milton series but they got a bit "samey" towards the end, the Beatrix Rose series were poorly written and seemed to have been churned out for the sake of it.

1 person found this helpful

Mispronunciation spoils entire story.

Names of places and common words alike suffer and it detracts from the content. The author has, however, tried hard to get vocabulary of the period right.

1 person found this helpful