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Killing State cover art

Killing State

By: Judith O'Reilly
Narrated by: Nick Holbek
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Summary

The bullet in his brain isn't the problem. She is. 

Michael North is a hero, with a bullet in the brain to prove it. A bullet which has rewired his neural pathways and heightened his sense of intuition. A bullet which is driving him mad. 

Working for an extra-governmental agency called The Board, North knows one thing for sure. He is very good at killing very bad guys. But what happens when a hero is ordered to kill a good woman rather than a bad man? Because it turns out that rising political star, Honor Jones, MP, can't stop asking the right questions about the wrong people. He should follow orders. Shouldn't he? 

©2018 Judith O’Reilly (P)2019 Head of Zeus

Critic reviews

"...fast-paced, packed with action, and introduces a series hero to watch." (Mick Herron)

"Terrific...highly recommended." (Lee Child)

"High-octane... Great debut." (Sunday Times Crime Club)

What listeners say about Killing State

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Beautifully told

A gripping story with interesting characters. The twists and turns of the plot keep you listening and the narrative is vividly told. Well read with convincing voices.

1 person found this helpful

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entertaining adventure

I listened to this to run too. Narration was good but some of the female voices took a bit of time for me to adjust to. I chose it because its set in London and I feel more could have been done to describe the city. The start and middle were good, standard on the run stuff. I thought the ending was a bit disappointing and could have explained more about the organisation & motives.
perfectly fine to accompany my running.

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gripping

gripping from start to finish beautifully crafted destined to become a classic in its genre. im a bit of a spoken book fanatic I've had nearly 100 so far but this bookstands out.

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A little slow to start but develops well

Initially I struggled with the fact that the narrator sounds like David Mitchell, but once I'd adjusted to this, and his knack for accents, this is a well read thriller. It could do with a bit of editing and starts a little slowly, but builds into quite an engrossing listen.

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Pace-filled Assassin Thriller with Outstanding Narration

An assassin is given the impossible task: kill the woman he loves or his team will kill him. North is a likeable, blunt hero and easy to route for, but the characters that make this book glow are the friends Honour and, especially, Peggy. Their relationship is the beating heart of this action-filled thriller and I was with Honour every determined step of her way to find the missing Peggy. The structure and time/perspective shifts in the book are cleverly and seamlessly used. I can easily forgive the sheer amount of action and recovery that takes place in such a short time period in the book, because O’Reilly isn’t just a master of pace but of writing description too - a skill not always guaranteed in action thrillers. (The “white rind” of the moon is a line that sticks with me still.) The ending I won’t give away but it was a satisfying close to a solid, enjoyable thriller and reminded me why I had that Jack Bauer phase all those years ago.
I must not forget to mention that the narration was outstanding. Any audiobook read by Nick Holbeck I’ll be sure to pick up.

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  • Willa Z.
  • 26-07-19

Twist and Turns

This novel covers just of a weeks timeline, but my how things can change in a week. There were parts that were very graphic, but it was part of the lives being portrayed and it passed quickly enough. The story had lots of twists and turns, and sometimes it was hard to keep straight how all the characters were related, but then the story would press on. A great listen.