Abbott's Best Yet?

The Sixth Window is appropriately the sixth installment in the DCI Tom Douglas series and for me this series is simply getting better and better. Abbott is obviously far from the only writer producing these very human and grounded thrillers but she's an important author for me because she opened my eyes to them. I had always enjoyed more action-packed books but these offer something I find just as exciting in a more subtle fashion.

Once again without any great body count or extremely violent scenes Abbott has shown her craft in weaving personal relationships with serious crime. In the early parts of the book I did wonder if she had lost her touch a little, the story developing appeared a bit too obvious. But as the book progressed and new layers and twists were introduced I stopped guessing and just let those twists lead me where they would to an ending which I found very satisfying but which doesn't quite seem to finish the entire story. It actually feels set up in a way reminiscent of how Stranger Child paved the way for Nowhere Child. Time will tell on that one.

The narration from Rachel Atkins is spot on and I very much enjoyed her performance throughout.

To sum it up this is a story from a writer who is finely honing her craft and who is capable of engendering tension and excitement in her readers in a subtle and intelligent fashion. Using very contemporary themes that are made harrowing through emotion and commentary rather than gory description. Whether this really is the best in the series in all aspects may be questionable but I do believe that it's the one I have most enjoyed.

35 people found this helpful

love this series but ....

Rachel Abbott has great characters in DCI Tom Douglas and his side kick Becky. However, in this book I felt that their role could have been greater.

The teenage insecurity of Scarlett, and the twisting story of love, jealousy​ and deceptions of those close to her mother, Natalie sometimes became annoying.

Having said that, I enjoyed the vast majority of the story and will be buying the next installment as soon as it is published.

4 people found this helpful

The Sixth Window

I was really disappointed with this novel for many reasons. One was that the central character of DCI Tom Douglas didn't seem to synchronise with Abbott's earlier books. The narration was far too quiet, the regional accents sounded false and the dialogue, stilted.

I obtained a refund on this particular purchase.

4 people found this helpful

Brilliant

Really enjoyed this book as I did the previous ones in the series! My only criticism would be the narrator who although perfectly acceptable is not the same as the previous book and it's quite off putting hearing the same characters but with a different voice!!

8 people found this helpful

Enjoyable...

The Sixth Window is another good story from the DCI Tom Douglas series. Having listened to a few from Rachel Abbott, this lived up to the quality and engagement I expected.
A solid story, decent plot line and some interesting twists and turns.
Well narrated by Rachel Atkins.

7 people found this helpful

Loved it!

Loved the story, the characters, the pace and the narration. I've read all the books in this series and this book was right up there with the rest. Great book!

7 people found this helpful

Good story, bad narration

I enjoyed the story, kept me gripped & Tom Douglas is a likeable character. The narrator almost spoilt it for me. The voice is too slow and the 'male' voices not good. I also found the hysterical teenage voices really irritating. It helped for me to increase the speed to 1.25 level.

13 people found this helpful

Unfortunate change of narrator, pretty poor plot

I love this author,'s earlier books but can't recommend this one. It was nothing more than a pot boiler and not up to standard at all. Mummsie in style. About as psychological as 'Where's Spot?' and extremely annoying. Totally unbelievable. Almost as if she'd written it on automatic pilot or not at all. My attention kept wandering. The change in narrator was very disappointing. The book is set in Manchester and the narrator doesn't even seem to have bothered to watch a couple of episodes of Coronation street, just uses a kind of 'stock norther common' for dialogue, which was jarring and pretty poor. Nowhere even approximately Mancunian and she had many different areas to choose from. It was a bit like listening to Rebus read by a Geordie. All of this made listening to the story even more difficult. Not good. This is audible. Which means you have to listen. Which means that the narrator is really important. However, I don't think anyone could have improved this dull and predictable story. I tried to listen, kept flicking back to try to listen to the huge chunks my mind just wandered away from watching everything from torrential rain to the bird feeder. It ended whilst I was ironing and to be honest, I couldnt be bothered flicking back to find out how.

2 people found this helpful

I like Rachel Abbott but this is not her best

The narrator was fine but the story was not one of Rachel Abbott's best. I think most of the story was based on the female's character's actions because she saw something on her live in partner's computer but I don't think anybody would react the way she did and therefore it was a bit of downhill afterwards. This woman was very 'over-reactive' and this spoilt most of the story.

5 people found this helpful

Another Amazing Abbott Listen!

Would you listen to The Sixth Window again? Why?

No but that's because I think its tricky to re-read mysteries when you already know every twist and turn and not a reflection on my feelings towards the book because I loved it!! However, if you did listen to it again, there would definitely be another depth to it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I particularly like Becky after listening to her in all of Abbott's books. I think she is very believable and likeable and very well written.

Which character – as performed by Rachel Atkins – was your favourite?

She is an incredible narrator. Atkins can make any character seem realistic from a man to a teenage girl.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I finished it much too quickly as I do all Abbott's books. I definitely feel it could've and should've been much longer because I like Becky and Tom so much as characters I want to hear more about them and the stories are so cleverly written that I don't want them to end!

Any additional comments?

It seems Abbott can't write (and audible create) these book quickly enough for me! Already looking forward to Abbott's next book!

2 people found this helpful