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The Dead of Winter

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The Dead of Winter

By: Stuart MacBride
Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron, Greg McHugh
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

An unmissable thriller from the number one bestselling author.

Who do you trust when everyone's guilty?

Marky Bishop is dying. That's why they've given him a compassionate early release, only where can a career criminal like him go to spend his final months?

From the outside, Glenfarach looks like a quaint, sleepy, snow-dusted village, nestled deep in the heart of Cairngorms National Park, but things aren't what they seem. The place is thick with security cameras, and there's a strict nine o'clock curfew, because Glenfarach is the last safe haven for people who've served their sentences but can't be safely released into the general population.

For Detective Constable Edward Reekie, this was supposed to be a simple delivery job—drive his new boss up to HMP Grampian and collect Marky Bishop, take him to Glenfarach, then head back home again. Nothing dangerous or complicated.

So how could it all go so horribly wrong?

The weather's closing in, tensions are mounting, and time's running out—something nasty has come to Glenfarach, and Edward is standing right in its way....

©2023 Stuart MacBride (P)2023 Penguin Audio Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Crime
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I nearly stopped listening early on because of Victoria’s voice. Hated it. Also felt the fight sequences were too long. And what was the outcome of the missing safety deposit boxes? All a bit unsatisfying. Usually like this author. Very disappointed.

Poor voice personification

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Once again Stuart MacBride pulls a rabbit from the hat. Another wonderfully created anti-hero in Edward Reekie who brings along a great heaping of humour, empathy and bumbling to keep the tale whirring along. Aided by a great cast of character and its a tale with more twists and turns than the road to Glenfarach.

Beginning of a great friendship

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I really enjoyed the concept and wondered where it would lead to.
A interesting development of characters. However some of the reading didn’t work.

Will this be followed up on

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I had no real issues with the narration Bigtoria's voice was a little grating but fitted my my minds picture of her.
Love the books, love the stories bring back Laz & Roberta
DC Reekie is no Rennie but he still makes a great sidekick

I was ok with the narration.

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I tried to persevere with the narration but the shorting and breathing got to me.

Annoying narration

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I had to turn it off. The gasping and snorting and mouth noises from Greg McHugh were just too much. The voice he uses for the female DCI is so off-putting I just couldn't commit to finishing the book, once I realised there would be no respite from her for most of the book. Not one likeable character had arisen by the time I gave up - hopefully the brilliant Cathleen McCarron voices someone readers can care about, but I didn't get that far.

p.s. Attention Fiona Allen - that's not the wonderful Cathleen McCarron you are listening to, if you only made it through 2 chapters. Yes, she does appear in the alternating voices bit at the beginning, but the silly voice for the female DCI, the one that sounds like it should be the voice of a rather dim witted wombat, is done by Greg McHugh.

I wanted to love this, I really did.

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I love Stuart MacBride’s books and this one was another great novel. Probably best to read it though rather than listen to it because the narration isn’t great.

Hard to listen to Bigtoria

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I urge Stuart MacBride fans to persevere with this book: it is better than you might think, if you have listened only to a couple of chapters.
I agree that the character voice of the DI is absolutely APPALLING (sorry, Greg), but once we get into the story proper, it does become slightly more bearable, IMHO.
Some of the other characters’ voices, especially in the first chapters, are also a tad underwhelming.
However, if you can get past five or six chapters without piercing your eardrums with bamboo skewers, I feel sure you will be pleased with the story itself. It contains the trademark gore, ghastly characters, and cunning story lines we have come to expect from the MacBride. There is grim humour and whimsy (although not comparable to Logan McRae and DCI Steel), and the usual gruesome acts of revenge. The story has twists and turns, but not so many as to bring on motion sickness.
Trust this author, whom we hold in high esteem, and give this latest work a fair hearing.

This is the first book I’ve reviewed!

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Update: Thanks for the correction, Soo Jay - this review was edited to include the correct reader's name.

Stuart MacBride is my favourite author, but the narration is so bad in this book that I couldn't get through even two chapters. Greg McHugh's take on the female character is beyond bad. The character's voice is described as "posh". She doesn't even sound Scottish - the voice sounds like a character from a children's book where the character isn't human. Like a hedgehog or walrus or something.

How did the publisher's not notice this and get someone else to replace him? It's just bad management.

I'm rating the book a 3 overall (I'll update when I've read the kindle version) - and the performance as 1. I'd give it a 0 if I could.

I always pre-order MacBride books, I won't be doing that again.

First time I've ever returned a book

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Loved it, I love Stuart’s work. Yet again a great yarn. Looking forward to the next one

Loved it

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