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The Final Round

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About this listen

On the morning after Boat Race Day, a man's body is found in a nature reserve beside the Thames. He has been viciously stabbed, his tongue cut out, and an Oxford college scarf stuffed in his mouth. The body is identified as that of Nick Bellamy, last seen at the charity quiz organised by his Oxford contemporary, the popular newsreader Melissa Matthews.

Enter DI Garibaldi, whose first task is to look into Bellamy's contemporaries from Balfour College. In particular, the surprise 'final round' of questions at this year's charity quiz in which guests were invited to guess whether allegations about Melissa Matthews and her Oxford friends are true. These allegations range from plagiarism and shoplifting to sextortion and murder...

©2021 Bernard O'Keeffe (P)2021 W F Howes Crime Fiction Mystery Fiction Crime Suspense
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Most relevant
If this book had been read by a less capable narrator I doubt I would have continued to the end. Oliver Hembrough does an excellent job, in my opinion, in bringing the characters to life.

The Detective is called Garibaldi and, lest you forget, this is repeated hundreds if not thousands of times. So much so, that my husband (who came within earshot) said "Jeez, enough with the Garibaldi!" The writing is very much along the lines of:

Garibaldi walked into the room and turned on the light, "That's bright" Garibaldi thought. Garibaldi walked to the window and closed the curtains "that's better" Garibaldi said to himself.

In so many instances it could have said "the detective said" or "the DI said" or simply "he said" and the repetition of his name eventually grated on me. Other than that (which was almost enough to make me want to stop listening) I found the book entertaining.

I listen to audiobooks all day. every day, while I work so I get through a lot! Crime fiction is my go-to genre. There are some truly excellent books available and, comparing this one to my previous listens/reads - I would probably give it 6/10 as the storyline is quite weak. However, the narration really improves this book so hence the 4 stars.

Saved by Excellent Narration

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This is the 1st audio book I've listened to by this author and I enjoyed it immensely. So much going on and guessing "who dunnit" right to the very end. Brilliantly narrated.

Great Storyline

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A nice old fashioned detective tale, the focus on each character’s internal narrative reminded me a little of Agatha Christie, the plotting also a nod to Agatha Christie, only quibble was it was not difficult to follow the clues to the culprit, beautifully read though, a very enjoyable listen

Old fashioned police procedural

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Didn’t think I will like it, but I did! Name like Garibaldi pulls you in. Interesting idea and how it played out!

Nice!

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The continuous use of the detectives name even in a two way conversation, Garibaldi said this and Garibaldi said that, I found very annoying. Finally couldn’t stand it and gave up trying to continue to listen to it. Glad I didn’t waste my credit on it as thankfully it was an included in membership one.

Repetitive

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