Eventually …. I lost the will to live

I’m sure this is just right for some listeners. For me it was a wearying plod leading eventually to despair. Two and a half hours from the end I just felt beaten and bored to exhaustion. One thing that surprised me somewhat was the frequent errors in the text, simple errors relating to the setting of the story in the first decades of the 20th century. I’m surprised the errors made it past the editor. Examples include: a catholic mass conducted in English (should be Latin); references to a ‘national curriculum’, not in Scotland then or since; description of a named building being blackened by air pollution ten years after the construction of the building; references to current forensic techniques not available in 1930’s or for many years later. These are a very few, I’m sure other listeners will find others.

1 person found this helpful

Really enjoyable and Authentic

I have totally been absorbed in this book - although set in the 1930’s the problems faced by the police then easily transfer to modern times thus proving nothing is new. The characterisations and the ‘air’ of 1930’s poverty are excellent. A big shoutout to Angus King whose storytelling and narration was excellent

1 person found this helpful

First World War

Really loved this book so real and sad .How war is a terrible thing the story was really good couldn’t stop listening to it The Narration was brilliant

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Rich characters and story that loses impetus in the end.

This is a super exciting story, based in Glasgow of the 1930s. It surprised me that it attracted so many accolades as it seemed to struggle towards the end, losing sight of the general genre and reverting to pseudo sci-fi or ghost story. Much of the research was sound but there were glaring mistakes too. UK courts do not and never have used gavels; the offering of a hand and the English phrase “ peace be with you” would never have been heard in a catholic service of that era. Better research by the author could have made this more believable. There were points in the story, especially towards the end when the pornography of violence got out of control. There were loose ends left untied, and it seemed very disjointed at the end. Narration was marvellous, well done Angus King.

A very engaging read- looking forward to more from Dreghorn.

I really enjoyed the book- often sitting in my car after I’d arrived home to find out what was happening next.
An exciting debut for Inspector Dreghorn- I was disappointed I couldn’t just jump straight into the next book. Here’s hoping I won’t have long to wait.

Great Story.

This story is just what I like. Murder and mystery set in history. With some historical Scottish references.
The story centres around the end of the first world war and a couple of decades after into the 1930s. I like the comradeship of the two main police characters. Set in Glasgow, the narrator has the various accents down to a fine art - well done.
Next is to check out what other stories the author has done. well done as well.