Listen free for 30 days

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Infirmary: A DCI Ryan Mystery (Multicast Drama) cover art

The Infirmary: A DCI Ryan Mystery (Multicast Drama)

By: L. J. Ross
Narrated by: Tom Bateman,Bertie Carvel,Hermione Norris,Kevin Whately
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Impostor cover art
The Bay cover art
The Murderer's Son cover art
The Cuckoo's Calling cover art
Broadland cover art
Detective Sebastian Clifford, Books 1-3 cover art
A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller cover art
The Dark Yorkshire Series: Books 1-3 cover art
Dead Wrong cover art
A Long Time Dead cover art
A Tapping at My Door cover art
The Body in the Marsh cover art
First Blood cover art
The Corfe Castle Murders cover art
Silent Tide cover art
Grimm Up North cover art

Summary

Introducing a new multicast drama by L. J. Ross, the author of the international number one best-selling series, the DCI Ryan mysteries. 

There's a serial killer targeting the streets of Newcastle, seemingly picking his victims at random but subjecting them all to the same torturous end. When the Chief Inspector on the case goes missing, it falls on DCI Ryan to track down the man who is brutally murdering women and goading the police to 'catch me if you can'. 

As everyone becomes a suspect, Ryan and his team get drawn further and further into the case, but for Ryan the nightmare gets closer to home than he could ever have imagined. 

This Audible Original drama stars Tom Bateman (Murder on the Orient Express, Jekyll & Hyde, Snatched), Bertie Carvel (Doctor Foster, Les Misérables), Hermione Norris (Spooks, Cold Feet) and Kevin Whately (Lewis, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet) and is a prequel to the DCI Ryan series.

Starring: Alun Armstrong, Rachel Atkins, Tom Bateman, Mark Bazeley, Anna Bolton, Bertie Carvel, Stephen Critchlow, Vicki Davids, Reece Dinsdale, Harriet Ghost, Frances Jeater, Jack Lloyd, Dean Logan, Daniel Matthew Lemon, Roger May, Hermione Norris, Kate Okello, Colleen Prendergast, Shaun Prendergast, Nicholas Rowe, David Seddon, Marlene Sidaway, Tom Slatter, Fiona Victory, Lauren Waine, Kevin Whately and Hannah Wood

Audible member reviews

“I was going to listen to a bit whilst I swept and cleaned the floors and then I had work to do that just couldn't wait any more. I am now the proud owner of the cleanest floor in the UK, and possibly the world! I just couldn't stop, it's a totally gripping and absorbing dramatisation. It was fascinating listening, especially as a long standing fan of LJ Ross' DCI Ryan series, and the idea of giving listeners the back story to how the team came together is inspired. A standing ovation for The Infirmary.” – Melanie, Audible member

“If, like me, you are a DCI Ryan fan then you will already know what this story is about. If you haven't yet met DCI Ryan and his crew then you are in for a treat as this starts the series off in the most chilling of ways. I could feel the goose bumps rising, my skin crawling as you got that absolute detachment, especially from Bertie Carvel as he divulged the killer's thoughts to the listener. With all the thrills and spills of your favourite DCI Ryan novels, brought to life by a stellar cast, this book will hook you from the action filled opening, through the story's dark and chilling heart, to its sad but inevitable conclusion.” – Jen, Audible member

“If you haven't read any DCI Ryan before, you are in for such a treat, and if you have, you are going to LOVE how this brings those much-loved characters completely to life. This Audible Original takes us back to the beginning, and we come to understand how and why Ryan ended up on Holy Island in Book One. With the cast of wonderful characters: Frank, Denise, Jack and the return of Arthur Griegson (superbly played by Alun Armstrong - one of my favourite actors), Ryan is hunting down The Hacker - the killer that has haunted him throughout the series so far. Bertie Carvel stood out for me: a fantastic, spine-chilling performance as the serial killer that has turned Newcastle into a ghost town. Oh, my skin crawled! So many great performances, and I was thrilled to hear genuine North East actors and accents which, along with the music and sound effects, brought authenticity to the whole story. Wonderful stuff.” – Nicky, Audible member

You can also listen to Jonathan Keeble narrating the unabridged version of the story here.
©2018 L. J. Ross (P)2018 Audible, Ltd

Audible Sessions with LJ Ross, Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately and Hermione Norris

Meet the author and cast of The Infirmary
0:00

What listeners say about The Infirmary: A DCI Ryan Mystery (Multicast Drama)

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,464
  • 4 Stars
    1,073
  • 3 Stars
    433
  • 2 Stars
    185
  • 1 Stars
    140
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,544
  • 4 Stars
    791
  • 3 Stars
    299
  • 2 Stars
    130
  • 1 Stars
    120
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,080
  • 4 Stars
    1,032
  • 3 Stars
    419
  • 2 Stars
    175
  • 1 Stars
    147

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • AB
  • 08-11-18

Excellent DCI Ryan mystery....

Having enjoyed the Ryan Series thus far I was a little hesitant when I heard that we were straying away from the norm (and brilliance of Jonathan Keeble's narration), and venturing into an audio drama.
I must admit this surpassed my expectations. The actors played their parts superbly, and as Ryan fans will know, this story filled in a major part of the backstory to the series. This means, however, that fans will know how this particular story pans out (in a general sense), but this doesn't detract at all from the enjoyment of the story. It had me gripped right from the word go, and ended up listening right through in one sitting..(a rare occurrence for me!).
I can't recommend this and indeed the rest of the series enough. In fact those new to this series may benefit from listening to The Infirmary first.
I'm looking forward to the continuation of the series, and hope that we can enjoy more Audible drama's interspersed within the main body of the series that is beautifully narrated by Jonathan Keeble.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

119 people found this helpful

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

Amazing

I have read all of L J Ross's DCI Ryan books so far (except The Hermitage and I'm waiting for the audio version to come out) and when I heard about this one I was so excited. Then when I read the blurb I was a bit apprehensive. No Jonathan Keeble!! How can you have a Ryan book without Jonathan? He's an amazing narrator. Nevertheless I pre-ordered and when it landed in my library yesterday I couldn't wait to listen.

There was no need to be concerned. The book is AMAZING!

This book is a prequel to all the rest, and I knew how it would end, that didn't detract from the story. For anyone new to Ryan this would be a great place to start, and the story ends where Holy Island begins - and you will fall in love with Ryan!. For anyone who has read the other DCI Ryan books this is a must-listen.

It is a quality production. Many of the cast are household names - Tom Bateman as Ross, Kevin Whately as Phillips, and Bertie Carvel was absolutely chilling when speaking the killer's inner thoughts! The dialogue felt completely natural and the story moves along at a good pace. Hermione Norris's narration was also impeccable. I could listen to her all day! In fact I did! Nothing much got done yesterday so that I could give all my attention to this!

I still love the original audio books narrated by Jonathan Keeble but it would also be great to have a few more of these multi-cast versions too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

58 people found this helpful

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

Violence against women

Horrible, lingering scenes of graphic torture and ritualistic violence against women. I thought that we had moved on from stylised violence against women as entertainment. Truly unpleasant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

43 people found this helpful

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

Cringing

I’m not one to do reviews, this is my first, despite having listened to all of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, many of the Harry Bosch series and all of the excellent ‘Cabin Pressure’ series, amongst many others. Unfortunately, this comes nowhere near any of them. It was like listening to a radio thriller back in the 1940’s, with silly details verbalised by the actor, rather than explained by the narrator. “Eyes...opening.....must....get....out.....oh....the....pain”, etc. I very nearly gave up on this on several occasions, as I found the dialogue cringing but, as with all of us crime readers, I did want to know how it all ends. Glad I stayed with it, as the conclusion is good, but there are so many better listens out there, in my opinion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful

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

LJ Ross is a wonderful storyteller.

I loved this book. this is the first audio book I've listened too. listened to it in a oner. my living room has been crying out for a spring clean for months. Today I went into every corner as I listened to this on my phone. I really hope they use these actors to make a DCI Ryan TV SERIES.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

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

it had a high tut rating. at least one every 2 min

I don't know if it is lj ross or the director/script editor who is to blame, but the cliches; literary, voiceover, regional, gender, class, mental health all got regular clunking appearances. I felt angry at myself for having continued with it, but i needed some background filler while I worked. don't waste your money or time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

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

A captivating audio drama

The Infirmary, the newest release in the fantastic DCI Ryan series takes us back in time to before the Holy Island (book 1) events occurred. This prequel to the series gives us an insight into the early days of the team and the backstory of its members. It’s captivating for all who are familiar with the series, while for others it’s a brilliant introduction to DCI Ryan, his crew and their gripping cases.
Audible releasing a dramatized version of the story is also a first for any LJ Ross book: it veers away from the traditionally narrated set up with a multicast drama. I was really impressed by how incredibly well it worked! I would close my eyes, listen to the story and picture everything like a TV show in my head. (Note to self: don’t do that while driving and listening to it in the car.)
All in all, it’s another fascinating story and a must-listen-to audiobook for the fans of the DCI Ryan mysteries. LJ Ross never disappoints!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

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

A cheap thrill, forgettable in the extreme.

I’m glad I got this prequel for free so I could check out the saga before plunging into it, what a disappointment. The plot is so cliché I knew who the killer was before I was even half-way through it. The use of first-person narration to communicate the suffering of the victims and the viciousness of the killer reads more like an attempt to provide self-gratification material to disturbed individuals. The nice touches of local colour and police procedure are totally wasted here.

The cast are talented and nice to listen to, but their work is spoiled by the annoyingly mournful tone of the narrator, so overdone it irritated me to the point of distraction. Though she was not nearly as irritating as the loud music and sound effects, which made words unintelligible at certain points.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

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

Background music and sounds too loud

I was looking forward to listening to this but when it started the music was so loud I could not hear what was being said. I listened for about an hour and gave up which is a shame as she is a good writer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

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

GREAT STORY, but.....

Having listened to all of the Ryan books in order you can appreciate my anticipation of the new book. I get that the story is based before Holy Island but the way it is narrated, I feel like I am listening to a radio play. you can pick out Norris, Wheatley etc. this version does not feel like a Ryan book. if Ryan was played by the usual narrator then I feel I could gel with the story more instead of getting distracted by 'Lewis' ,the woman narrating Denise makes her sound older than the character is, I keep getting this vision of Mrs Brown's cousin in my head when Denise character materialises.lol

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for George
  • George
  • 16-06-20

Absolutely mesmerizing

A throwback to old time radio. All the negative reviews just don’t understand what an audio theatre production is.
Highly entertaining and if you understand audio theatre, you will be captivated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for monique
  • monique
  • 09-09-20

torture scenes too much for me

I love a great mystery novel, and procedural mystery novels. I believe I can handle a lot when it comes to gritty. However, the cast approach and the prolonged torture scenes really spoiled it for me. Otherwise, well done story and performance if you have the stomach for it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Chris
  • Chris
  • 14-09-20

WOW, RIVETING STORY

This was an unexpected find, once I started listening to this book I could not stop...The characters the angst the drama wow.
With the full cast you could close your eyes and be transported to the story, Loved it, even thought when listening to the girls I did feel their anguish a bit too real.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amie Friend
  • Amie Friend
  • 17-11-18

Too Much!

I always enjoy the DCI Ryan books by LJ Ross. Their usual narrator, Jonathan Keeble, makes them easy to listen to and does a great job distinguishing the characters from one another. But this radio-like drama was just too much. Between the cheesy dramatic music, background voices, noises and sound effects, I could not get through the 2nd chapter and gave up - which is why I didn't rate the story. If you are used to plain and simple audiobooks and not overacted, over-dubbed dramas, I can't recommend this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for barbara
  • barbara
  • 29-12-18

The Infirmary

Wow, what a story, so glad I got it as it made the whole DCI Ryan series seem even more real. I have grown to love them and will continue to enjoy them, always eagerly waiting for the next. The Narration was excellent, a bit of getting used to the action and background noises, but loved it by the end. Thank you to all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Camille T.
  • Camille T.
  • 29-01-22

Too graphic.

Violence against women in this story is over the top! Almost feels that it’s written on purpose to stimulate deviant men. Not a fan. Can’t even rate it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Slavyana Yavorskaya
  • Slavyana Yavorskaya
  • 04-02-21

good performance but predictable plot

loved actors and their performance, but the plot was too simple. also i'm not a big fan of gory details, which were plenty

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Becky Ann
  • Becky Ann
  • 12-09-20

Not to my taste

Performances seemed over-dramatic. Main characters were difficult to like. Story was predictable. Serial murders including dismemberment don’t appeal to me. My advice: choose some other way to spend your time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Sherry Bodnar
  • Sherry Bodnar
  • 02-12-22

Could have been.

story could have been told without all the descriptions of women being tortured and terrified. what makes an author think he needs to include shit like this?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for MOTchicago
  • MOTchicago
  • 21-11-22

Too evil

Well done but too gruesome for me. I guess I prefer mystery stories versus horror stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful