Another great Detective Inspector Drake mystery

A great well plotted and well written novel with convincing characters. Fast paced and enjoyable brought to life by Richard Elfyn’s superb narration. Highly recommended.

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Very good thriller

This is a cracking thriller, with a very good story and excellent Welsh narrator. This is an excellent series long may it continue. Highly recommended.

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Excellent engaging read.

Another very engaging book by the Author. A great insight into the minutiae of small village life and its undercurrents. Excellent

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Superb

This is the third DI Drake book, and I think it’s my favourite so far. This time DI Drake has more than his share of problems. He is still grieving for the death of his father, his marriage appears to be on the rocks and his OCD is getting worse. Then on top of this there is a serial killer on the loose on Anglesey and DI Drake is the officer in charge.

Once again Stephen Puleston delivers an exciting page-turner with a cracking plot and fantastic characters. I enjoyed Drake's development in this book. When I read the first book in the series I wasn’t sure I liked him very much, but he has definitely grown on me. The plot is quite intricate and there’s quite a big cast of characters to get your head around but it’s a real page-turner. Nd of course the setting of Anglesey plays a big part in the book. This is a cracking police procedural and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

I listened to the Audible version, which once again was narrated superbly by Richard Elfyn.

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Road trip.

I listen to audio books in my car. So gripped am I by this story I find I am making unnecessary journeys in order to continue listening. I like Stephen’s style as he slowly unravels his stories. It makes you want to continue listening. The narrator is excellent. I particularly like his skill in producing a variety of accents, very accurate. Living on Anglesey I know the locations, this helps bring the stories to life. The stories are interesting, taut plot lines, believable characters and unexpected twists. Keep them coming. I must fill the car with petrol............

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Great series getting ever better and beautiful narration

This is the third instalment in this series and - despite loving it from the start - my absolute favourite so far. Basically the series is just getting better and better - the characters are developing, the cases are getting trickier and Drake is getting more layered.
I have listened to Richard Elfyn’s beautiful Welsh lilt from the beginning and thus his voice is now synonymous with Ian Drake for me - I love his narration and the different voices and accents he gives the characters, adding a wonderful sense of place to the already very atmospheric writing by Stephen Puleston.
One of my favourite series on audio - I can’t wait for the next one!

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Fantastic just listen to it.

I am a newby to Stephen Puleston (this is my second audio book of his). All I can say is I am hooked both on the lovely Welsh narration and the story. What a story. Loved the location - it was so good recognising places from going to North Wales to see inlaws.

The narration was just so suited.

Please just listen if you like crime and British settings and also find more by this narrator.

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Another excellent story

The third Inspector Drake book finds him with worsening OCD following the death of his father and his marriage under threat as his wife loses patience with his issues. When Ed Mostyn is found dead on the beach Inspector Ian Drake and his colleague Caren Waits are assigned the case. Ed has refused to sell a small piece of land to developers who are intending to build a Nuclear Power Plant, stopping his immediate neighbours from selling their much larger areas of land for substantial sums. Is this the motive? Another body is discovered, that of a young woman, and the town’s dark secrets start to emerge. Another excellent story with fantastic narration from Richard Elfyn.

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First Class Police Procedural.

Stephen Puleston’s Inspector Ian Drake is a firm favourite of mine and has been right from the start of Brass In Pocket, book one of this series. Each book is written with the same skill and attention to detail. This time Drake is investigating a murder that has taken place on a beach, hence the title. Drake finds a lot of people know a lot about each other in the tight Anglesey community where the crime takes place. As old secrets are revealed another body turns up. That’s not all that Drake has to deal with though as he grieves for his late father who recently passed away. Then there’s his compulsive ‘routines’ which are causing him problems. Working long hours on the case also starts to affect his home life. Stephen Puleston takes each of these threads and weaves them into a compelling story that digs its hooks in and refuses to let go until the end.
Richard Elfyn returns to narrate this third Drake story and once again does his usual first class job. His reading simply could not be bettered as he gives each character a distinctive ‘voice’ as he reads them. His accent adds to the atmosphere of the story and its setting and his command of the Welsh names and words is perfect for the book. A great story with a great narrator.

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Murder in Anglesey.

I think I'm going to start this review by mentioning the audiobook narrator, Richard Elfyn, because he made such light work of all the Welsh place names and characters, which would have been so totally mispronounced if I'd been reading. Unless you are Welsh, this is definitely a book to listen to. My husband is Welsh and our daughter-in-law is Welsh speaking, which added to the setting for me.

This is the fourth Inspector Drake novel I've listened to and I'm getting quite found of the crotchety old grump. In earlier books his OCD annoyed me a bit, but I can't help respecting that he's now recognised the problem and is making a valiant attempt to control it. The author also makes less reference to his issues, which helps. He is missing his father, who was sick in the last book and has now died, and his wife is losing patience with him. So he is under a lot of personal stress when this latest case drops onto his lap.

A body is found on the beach impaled by a garden fork and Drake and Ceren, his sidekick, are called to the scene. This is only the first victim, however, and Drake must sift through a plethora of conflicting evidence to identify murderer and motive. There is a plan to build a nuclear power plant in the area and townsfolk vary in their response to this; some are set to gain financially, while others are set against it for a variety of reasons. Evidence of a pedophile ring comes to light, implicating some powerful people and Drake must step carefully.
All of this is complicated by an irritating, pushy journalist and a leak from 'inside'.

This is a series that is maturing as it progresses and I shall certainly continue to follow Inspector Drake. For me, there were rather too many characters and I got confused, with the Welsh names adding to this, but for more experienced mystery lovers this would be a great read.

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2 people found this helpful