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A Silent Death
- Narrated by: Peter Forbes
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
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A Silent Death
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Summary
The scorching new thriller from the million-selling author of The Blackhouse, Coffin Road and I'll Keep You Safe.
A silent vow.
Spain, 2020. When expat fugitive Jack Cleland watches his girlfriend die, gunned down in a pursuit involving officer Cristina Sanchez Pradell, he promises to exact his revenge by destroying the policewoman.
A silent life.
Cristina's aunt Ana has been deaf-blind for the entirety of her adult life: the victim of a rare condition named Usher Syndrome. Ana is the centre of Cristina's world - and of Cleland's cruel plan.
A silent death.
John Mackenzie - an ingenious yet irascible Glaswegian investigator - is seconded to aid the Spanish authorities in their manhunt. He alone can silence Cleland before the fugitive has the last, bloody, word.
Peter May's latest best seller unites a strong, independent Spaniard with a socially inept Scotsman; a senseless vendetta with a sense-deprived victim; and a red-hot Costa Del Sol with an ice-cold killer.
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What listeners love about A Silent Death
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 11-01-20
May - A Force That Is With Us!
I've been a fan of May's books as long as I have been a member of Audible. His Lewis Trilogy is one of the finest series I have read. For me the quality of his writing moves him more to the literary end of the genre but that never does much in my opinion unless the story is good. This one is, I believe, a stand-alone but it has the key ingredients that make for an excellent Peter May novel.
He always gives a fantastic sense of the setting, it's not just a background to him, it's a living breathing thing in its own right. His portrayal of the islands in the Lewis trilogy was utterly compelling and here we get the Spanish tourist coastlands but they are experienced as a native through local characters, not as a tourist with a grittier, more realistic edge as a result.
He also produces fine characters, with real depth and compelling backstories. The lead here is John Mackenzie, a social misfit Scot with troubles of his own, hardly a new idea but he genuinely made me smile with some of his awkwardness. The character that absolutely captured my heart and the real star though is Ana. A victim of Usher's Syndrome, so tragically deaf and blind since birth. The way that May takes us into her world, a plain poor girl with such huge difficulties is just perfect and she absolutely stole the show for me.
Despite all that I think what will make or break this story for a lot of people will be the villain, and expat fugitive called Jack Cleland. His behaviour is key to how the book develops and if the credibility of the story is balanced finely on anything it's the things that he does and the way he reacts. Obviously I won't give spoilers but all I can say is that I did buy it!
To bring this to Audible May teams up with old partner in crime Peter Forbes who is obviously perfect for the Scottish lead but also rides smoothly over all the Spanish names and terms. I can't vouch for his Spanish accent as French and German were the only languages that my school tried and failed desperately to get me to learn but it worked well for me and seemed very smooth.
So, another top quality release from Peter May, I can imagine people having problems with it surrounding the Cleland character and one or two other things but with the quality of writing, sense of place and especially the beautiful Ana I still won't hesitate to recommend it!
66 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David M
- 10-01-20
The author has a way with words
This is my first book by this author. What struck me immediately was the quality of the writing. The author seems to love the process of writing and is not simply aiming to get the story out. We get wonderful descriptions of scenes, using alliteration and (I confess), words that I had to look up!
In outline our main character is John MacKenzie from the British police, who gets sent to Spain to bring back the captured criminal Jack Cleeland. Unfortunately the prisoner escapes from the Spanish police before he can be handed over, so John Mackenzie ends up assisting the Spanish police to find and re-capture him.
This is much more than just a police investigation, we delve into the personal lives of both John Mackenzie and some of the Spanish police. John Mackenzie for example is brilliant academically but socially awkward and likely on the autistic spectrum. Interestingly, quite a bit of the story is told from the perspective of "Anna" who is deaf-blind. That really was a feat of writing on behalf of the author. I wonder if he has some special insight into the world of the deaf-blind.
A good suspense thriller angle too, as we're aware of people being under threat, perhaps more than they realise themselves and we feel for them as we sit metaphorically on the edge of our seats.
It doesn't quite make 5 stars for me simply because I'm not that fond of police investigations - although it is a very good police investigation, and good descriptions of life in Spain. Peter Forbes narrates really well, so good that I was hardly aware of him.
22 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Roger
- 25-08-20
Unremitting misery
I am a fan of Peter May, but this story is just full of misery from beginning to end. I won’t list the long list of horrendous situations experienced by many characters in this novel. And it wasn’t helped by Peter Forbes’ doleful voice. I was so relieved to have reached the end.
I know that May’s stories all have a dark side, but this goes way over the top. I will be very particular about any future audiobooks from this author.
20 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Karen Weller
- 20-01-20
Superb read
Gripping. I could not stop listening. One of the best books Peter May has written. Very well narrated.
18 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. Madeleine Empson
- 20-01-20
One of the best!
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the detective elements of this story, i found it more emotive than the previous stories. I liked this new aspect. Peter has an amazing descriptive ability, enhanced by the narrative skill of the other Peter, that brought the characters to life and tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.
As usual this book left me looking forward to more of the same.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kirstine
- 11-02-20
Atmospheric and gripping
The author is adept at creating the atmosphere and place through illuminating descriptions of the landscape and weather. His characters seem like real people with day-to-day problems and not all the honourable characters are likeable, notably Christina, the police detective at the centre of the story . I enjoyed and was gripped by the story. I marginally prefer the Lewis Trilogy but that's mainly because the location are familiar to me.
The narrator is excellent. I don't speak Spanish but his renditions sounded authentic.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Liz
- 18-01-20
Peter May continues to deliver
Excellent story beautifully narrated by Peter Forbes. Lovers of Peter May’s work will not be disappointed.
Characters are clearly defined and recognisable. Expect the usual twists and turns. Regular visitors to southern Spain and Gibraltar will identify with the places and atmosphere. Enjoy!
8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sandy Moncrieff
- 15-01-20
Andalusian adventures
Yet another superb story from Peter May, expertly delivered by Peter Forbes.
Using his knowledge of scottish pschye combined with an understanding of the expat underworld made an excellent story.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Minnou BH
- 14-01-20
Wonderful book great narrator
Looking forward to the next one Thank you Mr May. Till next time. Going to reread all you other books .
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-01-20
An excellent book
Always look forward to the next Peter May novel. As usual this was as good as all the others. Peter Forbes adds to the excitement. Many thanks Peter.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Arthur
- 25-05-21
Good story Great Narrator
These are good, action-packed stories with engaging characters and well crafted descriptions of locales and characters. But the best thing is the narrator! Peter Forbes is amazing!
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lyn
- 27-06-20
Great story
This is one of my favorite Peter May stories. His character development is just excellent. I felt I knew all of these very unusual but special people in this great mystery!
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Ann
- 28-03-23
Ineptitude Abounds
Even Peter Forbes’ superb narration cannot elevate this story above 2 stars. An arrogant, condescending, and very unlikeable British investigator is sent to southern Spain to bring back a British fugitive from Spanish custody. But, alas, the fugitive escapes from Spanish control before he can be handed over to the British investigator, and the inept (can you say “racism”?) Spanish policia ask the British investigator to help the inept Spanish female cop (can you say “sexism”?) re-capture the fugitive. All of the characters in this story are merely 2-dimensional, and it’s very hard to care about any of them or what happens next. There is a fitting portrayal of a deaf-and-blind woman who unwittingly gets caught up in the search for the fugitive, but she plays only a small part in the story, so don’t waste your time and money.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- wisconsinclark
- 24-10-22
Seriously nasty villain
I had mixed emotions about buying this book. Really like Peter May, but reviews were mixed. Then I bought it on sale. The writing is terrific, but the story is a real downer. I don't expect mysteries to be uplifting, but this one left me feeling sad.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Whispera
- 21-01-22
One of Peter May's Best
And the narrator is excellent as usual. His characters are almost always great, and he introduces u to places where perhaps you've never been, this time Spain, with its "warts and all".
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Cindy
- 21-05-20
Implausible
Too many holes in the plot, stupid police decisions! No police protection when a family is threatened by a maniac?