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  • The Roommate

  • The Cormac Reilly Series, Book 0.7
  • By: Dervla McTiernan
  • Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
  • Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (3,193 ratings)

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The Roommate cover art

The Roommate

By: Dervla McTiernan
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
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Publisher's Summary

This audio novella is a stand-alone prequel to the Cormac Reilly series. 

Twenty-two-year-old Niamh Turley thought she had problems dealing with the obnoxious principal of the school she’s teaching in as well as the anxious parents of her little charges, but when she wakes one morning to a missing roommate and a garda knocking on her door, her life spirals out of control fast.... 

©2018 Dervla McTiernan (P)2018 Dervla McTiernan

What listeners say about The Roommate

Average Customer Ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another good book

My only issue is that this book was too short. Like The Sisters it felt very short. A good short story but I like a good 11-14 hour audio book.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another brilliant storyline

I am completely addicted to Dervla's stories and the Cormac Reilly character. Aofie McMahon's narration is the best. Beautiful voice with intelligent narration. A winning match.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Unhappy when this ended.

Like all of the Dervla McTiernan books I’ve read, I really got into the story. No sooner had it started, than it finished! It ended up being a novella. It should not have been a full-priced charge and I was bitterly disappointed when it abruptly finished. I felt cheated - it could have been an excellent story but it was cut off short.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story from an excellent series.

I really enjoyed this story, and the others in this series by Dervla McTiernan.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

.........more stories please

Oh I love this writer Dervla McTiernan set I beautiful Ireland and with Aoife McMahon narrating. What could be better. If I could read these books every day I would be happy.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very Enjoyable

This was a great listen and now I’m going to go and get all the other stories from this author

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful short story

A great short story superbly narrated by Aoife McMahon. Likeable main character and well assembled story, but it is the magnificent narration that sets these books apart.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A top audio book.

Good plot and credible characterisation. Whilst a short story compared to most audio books, it had a satisfying length. I look forward to more from Dervla McTiernan (and Aoife McMahon)

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

What was the point of this book?

Well narrated, however, this book went NOWHERE. I was left feeling I wasted time listening to it. Thankfully it was free or my rating would have been 1 star.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Easy listening.

Nice introduction to Cormac Reilly. Easy to listen to novella. Kinda predictable, but that's okay.

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  • 🔥 Phx17 🔥
  • 03-07-2020

Half hour story in two and a half hour book

On the plus side, I’ve discovered a fabulous new narrator in Aofie McMahon. Her rich Irish accent goes down smooth. She could have been reading a phone book and I’d probably have enjoyed listening just as much.

On the down side, this book was a dull slog. It starts with Niamh discovering her roommate was murdered. Then, for nearly two hours, we plod along as Niamh goes to work, and experiences the people around her speculating whether she’s involved in the murder. Perhaps this was an attempt at misdirection, to hide little clues as to the real culprit, but I found my mind wandering out of sheer boredom at scenes that never truly contributed to the story.

You could listen to the first Chapter and the final half hour, and it might make for a good “the killer’s in the house with you” murder thriller. Also, as a free Audible listen clocking in under 2.5 hours, hearing the entire book wasn’t a horrible waste.

But, given that this novella is a prequel to a police procedural series involving Cormac Reilly, you’d think the introduction of this investigator would have been better written. There was zero character development for this Reilly fellow, not for his personality or his investigation skills. In the end, listening only served to convince me not to proceed any further into the series.

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74 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Kimberly
  • 04-07-2020

Excellent

Setting: Dublin, Ireland Recent history (possibly late 90s)?
Genre: Suspense
Niamh Turley, a 22 year old primary school teacher, is dragged out of sleep by insistent knocking on her door very early on a Saturday morning. It is a man, identified as Detective Garda Cormac Reilly, asking if she had heard anything, and to call if she thought of anything. About what?
This novella is about Niamh’s roommate. Her late one or her new one? And why is she being treated like a suspect? If I give any more it will spoil it, so I will just critique it.
Like most Irish authors I have read, McTiernan shows a lot of talent, and this book is a fine example of it. It must be something in the water. The characters are well developed. Most of the focus is on Niamh, of course, but even secondary characters barely touched upon have definite personalities. The dialogue is precise and to the point without losing meaning and emotion. And the plot. Oh my goodness. The plot is tight and suspenseful. Personally, I often find novellas unsatisfying because few authors can get every element needed into a complete whole. McTiernan has the talent to get all the parts of a longer work into a condensed piece of suspense.
The narrator of this audiobook, Aoife McMahon, gives an excellent performance. She differentiates well between genders and individual characters well. She puts the listener there, with Niamh, as she reads her story.

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26 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Pamela Bartlett
  • 05-07-2020

Very strange way to end a story… Not the best I’ve ever read that’s for sure

Although this was a short book I have to say that it ended very strangely and abruptly and left you with a lot of questions… Not the best I have ever read although it did keep my attention throughout, but I’m just bummed about the ending… I don’t know if I would recommend this book very highly or not

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Pam G
  • 05-07-2020

Too predictable but enjoyed anyway .

The narrator kept me interested. She was exceptional. I liked the story but the "who done it?" was obvious. I may give the next book in the series a listen.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Lindsay
  • 26-07-2020

Jarring historical inaccuracies, yet again.

This book is set in 1997. The protagonist dances with her students to Pharrell’s “Happy” and grabs a tablet on her way out of the apartment.

This is the second book I’ve read from this author that completely ignores the time at which she sets the rest of the story, like “oh, 1997 wasn’t all that long ago, the world is relatively the same”... it’s really not, and honest to god, I am really desperate for new stuff to read, but this annoys me so much that I won’t even be listening to the free audible originals from this author anymore. It’s such a shame.

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19 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Wayne
  • 08-07-2020

Excellent novella!

There are already three novels released in the Cormac Reilly series. After listening to THE ROOMMATE which is a prequel novella I'll definitely listen to the first series novel.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Jacky-Lynne
  • 07-07-2020

I would’ve given this 5 stars except for ...

I would’ve given this 5 stars except for the use of bad language, which was totally unnecessary! The story itself was very intriguing and the narrator’s PERFORMANCE
was awesome, but several F Bombs and other bad language caused me to rate the OVERALL and the STORY only 3 stars!

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17 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • E. Miller
  • 04-07-2020

Tiresome retread of the movie Single White Female

Watch the movie. It's infinitely more suspenseful. So sad because I normally like this author.

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • jmede
  • 04-07-2020

Excellent!

This author and narrator never disappoint and this short story is no exception. Cormac O’Reilly is one of my favorite characters and this serves a short introduction before reading the other books. Big thanks to Audible for offering it as a free pick!

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Nora Hubert
  • 04-07-2020

awesome book. couldn't stop listening. can't wait

Awesome book. couldn't stop listening. can't wait to read more from this author. two thumbs up

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8 people found this helpful

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  • Adrienne
  • 04-08-2020

My mistake I should've read the blurb.

This is a short story, I like the series so didn't read the summary. Feel like I've wasted a credit 😔

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • JJ
  • 13-10-2020

Too short

No substance to what could have been a great longer listen. This feels so short that I rewound it, thinking that I must have missed a bit

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4 people found this helpful

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  • Jane
  • 24-01-2021

Plot slightly too pedestrian for me

The main character had the maturity of a young teenage, rather than an adult. Her nativity became grating after a while.

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1 person found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 08-11-2023

Great story

Enjoyable suspense. A little bit different in a good way. Buzzing to listen next in the list.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Pensioner
  • 24-09-2023

Not for me.

I found it frustrating, depressing , anyone with any common sense would have called the police early on.

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  • Overall
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  • Patricia
  • 23-09-2023

Excellent novella

Good story that could easily have been a full novel, but written so well that it keeps you glued to your headphones. So nice to meet an earlier version of Cormac Reilly. I've really enjoyed all of the series I have listened to and would recommend then to all lovers of detective fiction.

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  • jamie
  • 21-08-2023

Bloody brilliant

It's an awful shame It's not a full book. I got very invested and didn't realise.

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  • Avid crime fiction reader
  • 20-08-2023

A good plot

A good introduction to a series that I am looking forward to listening to. A good plot, well written and the narrator is brilliant.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Kathryn Walsh
  • 20-08-2023

Great short, had me gripped

I’d not listened to any of Dervla McTeirnan’s work, or Aoife McMahon’s narration and i was really impressed with both. This is a great story that trots along really well. I was disappointed when it was over as I enjoyed both the story and narration.
I’ll be looking out for both in the future.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Janey Day
  • 16-08-2023

Loved this!

Never read books by this author before and will be now. Such a good story. Short but it was Included so thanks Audible

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