Great Story, Great Narration!

Jack Benton (alias Chris Ward) and Kevin E Green are both new to me in audiobooks. I really enjoyed the imagery, the twists, and the storyline in the book. The narrator fit the voice of Slim Hardy perfectly and the other characters. I love it when a narrator is talented and gives various characters distinguishable voices. I thought I had the story figured out, and then I was blown away by the twist I never saw coming! I cannot say enough about how well plotted this book was. The story pulled me in and kept my attention. The twist at the end was fantastic. Glad the mystery was solved.

3 people found this helpful

Deceptively Gentle But....

This is a deceptively gentle tale of a former military man, Slim, who has made mistakes in his life and to whom life has not always been kind. He seeks solace at the bottom of a bottle and funds his habit by stumbling around as a private investigator. His latest case, a wife suspects her husbands infidelity, slowly and beautifully unravels into the hunt for the 'ghost' of a serial killer. The problem is that all the cases have already been closed by the local police as death by natural causes. The location for our tale is a seaside cove and sleepy town. There are nice changes of direction and lots of plot twists to ensure interest up to the very last syllables. The narration is excellent and moves the story along at just the right pace with the handful of characters orally defined wonderfully. I look forward to listening to further audio books by this author and narrator.

2 people found this helpful

fantastic

if you like James Herbert you'll like this. I really loved this audio book as it drew me in and had to wait to the last 30 minutes to find out who did it such a well written and narrated book, I can't wait for more xxxx

Tired eyes are liar's eyes.

Slim Hardy, dishonorably discharged army man, alcoholic and broke, hopes his most recent client for his P.I.services will pay him soon. Emma Douglas hired him several weeks before to find out where her husband went after leaving work early each Friday afternoon. She thought he must have a mistress, but Slim new better: her husband spent his time on a deserted beach at Cramer Cove, apparently reading something - poetry? - out loud from a book. It seemed to Slim to be so bizarre that, even after he was dismissed from the case by his client, he continued to investigate with the assistance of the local police chief. As well as snuggling up to Emma.I It is so refreshing to have a truly down at heel, disreputable leading man, floundering about as a private eye. No slick talking, fast action hero here. He even managed to lose his driving licence during the course of the story for causing an accident whilst driving when drunk. Yet his very carelessness has a certain endearing quality. The author, Chris Ward, writing as Jack Benton, paints not only good character likenesses, but also that of the crashing coastline against which the story is set. And narrator Kevin Green further enhances the pleasure with a good, English performance, pouring out accented character conversation voices appropriate to the various protagonists as well as a well paced text, all nicely done. The story isn't bad, either! As a first sally into crime writing, the author has demonstrated that he can deliver something to really intrigue the reader as well as provide a solid character based and very atmospheric mystery. There were certain places where creepy horror hints also lured the reader, if not to doom, at least to even greater curiosity. Great first in series and i, personally, am very much looking forward to Slim Hardy book 2. My thanks to the rights holder who, at my request freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Story Origin. If you like well written mysteries with an unusual lead character and a trickle of horror the text, this book is for you.

A good listen

This is the first novel by Jack that I have listened to and I did enjoy it. Well worth a listen. I will be listening to more from this Author.

Margot

Great story, excellent narrator! Loved the plot, deceptively simple in it's complexity. Nice quick read.

Book review

I guessed who the culprit was but couldn’t figure out how or why the murders had been committed- this kept me interested / guessing until the book ended. I found PI Slim Harvey an interesting and blatantly honest character and enjoyed getting to know him. I will most probably read the second Slim Harvey book.

What a little gem!

Let me start by saying that I read and listen to A LOT of detective/private investigator/murder mystery novels and it is darn hard to stand out in a crowded market full of same tropes. So I didn’t expect anything special when I picked this up - but boy, what a little gem! Quirky, intriguing, very well written and brilliantly narrated by Kevin E Green this was a truly outstanding audio experience - and a great start to a new series. The mix of cosy, mysterious, super natural and classic noir elements made for an original and different story, the narration brought it to life and the cover art isn’t shabby either. Can’t wait to try the next one!

What a gem

Where do I start with this little gem, it definitely isn’t your average British based detective/ murder mystery, well it is but it really isn’t. Ok let’s slow down and start at the beginning, I loved the idea of this , it’s something a little bit different, the characters and the settings and of course the story. first off I loved the haunting cover, it said so much without using any words, so whoever did the artwork I take my hat off to you sir/madam. I absolutely loved the lead character from the very start, endearing and very rarely sober, John Hardy I salute you, maybe the only man who’s demons are are drunk as he is . At first I thought it was just going to be a quick mysterious open and shut detective story and at only 4 hours and 52 minutes in length, I was amazed at how much tension and intrigue and drama they managed to squeeze into this book. The setting of the coast of Lancashire is well described and sounds like a place well worth a visit, All the elements are in this for a anyone who loves a-bit of everything, murder, love , a hint of paranormal, but maybe not?. The narrator for this fine mix is Kevin E Green, a new name on this blog but I want to hear more, cause he told the story in such an eloquent manner, from simply reading to scene setting, good job Kevin. So if you haven’t already figured out, this has a little something for everyone and it’s short enough that if you want something quick it has that too, so go give it a listen.

Mysterious and evocative.

I seem to be on a run of sea oriented books lately, which is perfect as I spent today bobbing about on a boat in decidedly dodgy, unpredictable weather. I'm not good on boats, so I had my audiobook playing to distract myself - none other than The Man by the Sea. It wasn't difficult to picture the steep rugged cliffs and wild bays, as I bobbed about under dark skies. Although this is only 214 pages, or 4hrs, 52 mins on audio, I didn't feel short-changed. It was long enough to get totally involved with PI Slim and his client Emma, and her concerns that her husband has been seeing another woman. Emma's husband, Ted, is leaving work early every Friday and she wants to know why. Slim discovers that Ted is spending his Friday afternoons at the foot of the cliffs of Cramer Cove on the Lancashire coast, reading aloud from an old book. As his investigations proceed, Slim suspects that there may be a connection between Ted's behaviour and several unexplained deaths that have occurred in the area. He even starts to consider the possibility of a ghost in their midst. There are a lot of possibilities woven into this mystery and some fabulous descriptions of the area around the cliffs. I loved the supernatural element of the narrative, which makes everyone second-guess themselves. Slim receives help from an elderly police officer who had been involved in the earlier deaths and I think he was probably my favourite character. Unlike other reviewers, I wasn't such a fan of Slim; his excessive drinking struck me as rather cliche for a struggling PA. Excellent narration by Kevin E Green, who manages both male and female voices effortlessly and I am looking forward to The Clockmaker's Secret, the second book in the Slim Hardy Mystery series, read by the same narrator.