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  • Desolate Sands

  • Detective Alec Ramsay, Book 5
  • By: Conrad Jones
  • Narrated by: Mil Nicholson
  • Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)
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Desolate Sands cover art

Desolate Sands

By: Conrad Jones
Narrated by: Mil Nicholson
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Summary

When well-known community activist, Lacey Taylor goes missing whilst walking her dog, the police are at a loss to find any evidence as to where she is. A local man finds the collar, which belonged to her dog near Crosby Beach, home of the eerie Iron Men statues (Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place') and DI Annie Jones calls in the canine units to aid the search. What they find shocks even the most hardened detectives on her Major Investigation Team.

©2014 Conrad Jones (P)2014 Conrad Jones

What listeners say about Desolate Sands

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dark and Gruesome - just how I like them!

What a fantastic story writer Conrad Jones is, this book has lots of twists and turns and moves along at a good pace. There is some gruesome violence - so if you like your books dark, you'll love this!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • VK
  • 01-02-21

Another Great Thriller from Conrad Jones

Conrad Jones is one of my favourite writers but keeping that aside this book kept me listening far into the night and most of the day!
The book starts of ,as usual, with an explosive plot. A girl goes missing while walking her dog near the Iron Men statues on Crosby Beach. A local man finds her dog’s collar and comes forward. Detective Alec Ramsay is in charge of the case and when other bodies are found buried the layers of this very cleverly thought out plot start to unfold.
It is not often that I just surrender to the twists and turns of plots without trying to guess but this author allows me to listen without thought and enjoy the rollercoaster ride.
Yes it is a gritty and sometimes an uncomfortable read but it really is a great plot.
Definitely one I would recommend

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great read but be warned don’t try it at bedtime!

This is a twisted thriller with a big lot that sends you shooting off in all different directions & keeps you guess until the end. Highly recommended

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

He has done it again

Conrad Jones does it again but be prepared this is a particularly gruesome one (which I love not sure what that says about me). It’s an exciting audio with great narration and full of twists and turns at all times. This does not disappoint.

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

Great book

This is a first for me for this author and won’t be my last, a great storyline that was well written and flowed well. This book had it all, it was gorey in explanations but I enjoy this kind of read, but also had me chuckling at times. The backstory of characters was enough to follow the story and though part of a series could be read/listened to as a stand alone. The narrator was ok but being female carrying off male characters was a little difficult as majority of the characters are male. But overall it didn’t effect the quality of the book.

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

An emotional book

I say emotional because I feel as though I have been turned in a washing machine emotionally. Disgust, horror, sadness tinted with a little happiness. I loved it. It held me throughout. Reading some chapters before sleep is not recommended. It did not deter me. I shall never look at pictures of the statues on Crosby in the same way again.
Brilliant,

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • TG
  • 11-12-19

Twists and turns

A fantastic roller coaster of a book with many twists and turns and has you hooked quickly and eager to know more and more. Some really great characters and I thoroughly enjoyed this listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The best in the series .... so far!

Oh my! Conrad Jones has excelled himself this time! I've read several of his books and loved them all, but this is definitely one of the best. What a twisted mind Mr Jones has. The way the poor victims died gave me the creeps!

The storyline is so cleverly constructed, and the characterisation is brilliant. I loved the setting of Crosby beach and the Iron Men. I haven't visited this area (even though I lived in Liverpool for a few months several years ago) but now I really want to visit.

If you like well crafted thrillers with plenty of gore then this is a must read!

I listened to the book on Audible, and was slightly disappointed by the narrator who mis-pronounced some words, but that didn't spoil an excellent book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

gripped

Desolate Sands is a gripping story with several twists and a few surprises right to the end all in all a very good read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent novel shame about the narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of Desolate Sands to be better than the print version?

Not remotely

Who was your favorite character and why?

Annie Jones, she's a great character who bounces back from adversity

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The only thing I liked about the performance (in terms of narration) was that it was NOT narrated by Paul Holbrook, I disliked the fact that it was narrated by Mil Nicholson who, did at least attempt a British accent (unlike Paul Holbrook in earlier novels) , but still sounded stiff and stilted, the pronunciation of many words and phrases was distinctly off-putting she sounds like an old lady out of puff after running for a bus who then has to re-adjust her dentures when she stops for breath

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were several moments that made me stop and think but nothing that particularly moved me, although I was extremely impressed with the way the story continued well after the point that I felt certain would be the End. I was delighted to discover that there were another 2 hours to go after what I had imagined would be the finale. Mil's narration was pretty bad but not bad enough to distract from what is, at the end of the day, a rather brilliant storyline.

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent addition to the Alec Ramsey series, if you enjoyed The Child Taker and Criminally Insane you will love this (although, to be clear, it does NOT feature Tank)

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