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The Ruins

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About this listen

When Adam Kussgarten's twin brother is found gunned down just yards from his flat, Adam is drawn out of his solitary, dream-like life into a neon-lit world of forgery, deceit, and violence.

The Ruins is the story of twin brothers - Adam and Brandon - who haven't spoken for decades, When Brandon is found gunned down just streets from Adam's flat, Brandon's girlfriend enlists Adam to find out what he was doing there and who killed him. Shy, stuttering Adam finds himself caught up in his brother's world of deception, violence, and forgery. As things turn increasingly dark and his entanglements with his brother's family grow, he's faced with a choice of whether to dive deeper into Brandon's world and risk losing himself, or turn his back on his future.

©2020 Mat Osman (P)2021 Repeater Crime Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction
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First time I've listened to an Audible novel, and This was a great place to start. I'm sure I missed some of the music and drug taking references but I was still drawn into the narrative and not excluded by them . I could distinguish between the narrative threads easily and was gripped. Can't wait for Mat Osmans next one.

Great place to start.

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Absolutely loved it. Gave me vibes of Iain Banks at points, Rupert Thomson at others; whilst retaining it's own unique DNA. Even if that DNA is 'shared' if you know what I mean ; )

Recommended listening

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Wonderful story telling, Matt has an amazing talent for words. I'm keen for much more.

Matt is a star in the making

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This is a gorgeous, quirky novel with a murder mystery set in London amid musicians and the music industry. The narrative voice is centred on the more introverted of a set of identical twins whose brother, the frontman in a 90s guitar band, has been murdered in the street by masked gunmen.

I loved the glimpses into the intricate and creative world of miniature model world-making and the warmth of the burgeoning romance between the victim’s wife and his shy, socially awkward twin brother is the underlying force of the narrative.

The prose is full of description which adds to the story’s richness and the writer delivers it in a calm, sensitive voice which suits the pace of the twisting threads, twists and turns which you have to get your head around to uncover the full- fabric of the murder plot.

Music plays throughout the book and the soundtrack is beautifully evoked - so it might appeal more to someone who loves their bands and the lore of bands, more than to someone who is not interested in music. However, the story is well worth the effort of listening even if you don’t know anything about The Smiths, The Beach Boys, or Suede.

I never wanted this book to end

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I struggled with the narration on this book especially with the story flipping frequently between key characters.
I often found myself lost as to who’s perspective I was listening to which made it somewhat confusing for me to follow at times.
As promising a writer Mat may be if he doesn’t let someone else narrate I may be inclined to let any future books pass me by.

I struggled

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