London Calling cover art

London Calling

Inspector Carlyle, Novel 1

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London Calling

By: James Craig
Narrated by: Joe Jameson
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About this listen

Can you win an election and cover up murder at the same time? When Inspector John Carlyle finds a body in a luxury London hotel room he begins a journey through the murky world of the British ruling classes which leads all the way to the top. In the middle of a General Election, a murderer is stalking the man poised to be the next Prime Minister.

With power almost in his grasp, Edgar Carlton will not stand idly by while his birthright is threatened. Operating in a world where right and wrong don't exist and the pursuit of power is everything, Carlyle has to find the killer before Carlton takes the law into his own hands.

©2011 James Craig (P)2013 Audible Ltd Crime Crime Thrillers International Mystery & Crime Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Fiction Thriller Murder

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Critic reviews

"In this hard-bitten political thriller, the author skillfully portrays Carlyle as a good cop who genuinely struggles with the problems of his job and his lifestyle. Mr. Craig, a former journalist, writes with brutal candor about crimes as vicious as crimes can get.... It says something about the author's capacity for the darkest of humor when his description of a corpse superglued to a car can evoke a chuckle from the reader as police try to detach the body." ( Washington Times)
"As the title of James Craig's London Calling suggests, The Clash should be the soundtrack for this close to pitch-perfect debut introducing Inspector John Carlyle." ( Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
"Craig lards his familiar tale of revenge served cold with enough expository detail for a primer on politics and enough personal background about his hero to insure that his debut mystery won't be his last." ( Kirkus Reviews)
All stars
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London Calling is definitely NOT your run of the mill crime novel, Inspector Carlyle is a plodder, a square peg in a round hole, he's not very nice, complacent and impotent to the powers that be who surround him.
I found his inner monologues and observations wry, crude, witty, strangely insightful and honest, also very cynical. This point of view was refreshing and the rude tongue in cheek dark humour had me chuckling.
It does meander and jumps between every mundane thought he thinks to titbits of of London historical facts that entertained.
The politics and very real social hard truths are inescapable and strips bare the nastier side and selfishness of human nature, it kind of left me rather depressed, but still morbidly fascinated as sadly even though amplified in the novel is sad but true.

Some might be uncomfortable with our murderers point of view as they are graphic and I could not help but grimace and twinge in sympathy.
What was new for me is that I could empathise with the murderer I wanted the protagonists all to suffer, just maybe not in the way the murderer wanted.

I'm in two minds about this début that even though I found the subject matter distasteful it will stay with me for a long time,..

Gritty..

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The over descriptive scenes of of some of the sexual acts were unnecessary and quite offensive. I am no prude but it almost made me give up, if not throw up!

Disappointing

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I look forward to coming across a new author and enjoy political crime, but this one did not make it. Carlyle himself comes over quite well as do some of the Cambridge educated politicians, but the violence was too graphic and the sex was there to shock but just became repetitive. Seemed like a copy and paste job after a while.
His method of showing why Carlyle is isolated as a detective by time-hopping, worked well, but I don't think I will be following this series

Disappointing debut

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

Although I quite enjoyed the book and liked the character of the policeman, I really felt that the posh, privileged, boys from a private school and university who had their circle of underlings beholden to them - enough to do whatever is asked, even when they are all adults, a bit hackneyed.

Would you recommend London Calling to your friends? Why or why not?

It was an OK read and I enjoyed it and would recommend as a light, holiday-type read.

Did Joe Jameson do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

Yes, the reading was good, his accent, tone and intonation really matched each character and mad when come alive

Could you see London Calling being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

Yes, I can, but it would be like so many others...... I haven't bothered to cast it In my mind, which I usually do with most books.

Rather two dimensional and stereotypical

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What did you like best about London Calling? What did you like least?

I like the protagonist and the setting of the story. Some of the portrayals of crimes were rather off putting, particularly the rape scene.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I had guessed the ending quite early.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The scenes depicting Carlyle at his work, which is most of the book.

Any additional comments?

London Calling is a solid detective story with a likeable protagonist and interesting plot twists.

A detective story set in the world of politics

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Although it was a reasonably good story I would not have bought it or listened to it if I had been warned of its graphic sexual scenes

Rather pornographic

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What disappointed you about London Calling?

The novel claims to give an account of class in modern England but fails to notice that class is no longer an issue but for a few alienated journos. The failure to notice that gentlemens' clubs all now admit women is but a small sample of how poorly it was researched.

Has London Calling put you off other books in this genre?

Detective fiction has become the de rigeur form of the modern novel. If handled well it can do a lot. If handled with all the aplomb of a comic for eleven year old boys it cannot and can never please.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator did his best to make the novel sound like a boys' own comic but his failure to check out how to pronounce words like Pakenham made his reading sound even more trivial than the book itself.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None whatsoever.

Any additional comments?

Why do you publish so poor a writer?

Drivel, poorly read and dreadfully constructed

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Awful waste if hours I will never get back... And it gets worse ratjer than better towards the end.
It won't let me review with no stars,!!

Awful

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nice easy listen for when Im driving to and from work......enjoyed it very much.....so will listen to more from this author.

nice easy listen

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Would you try another book written by James Craig or narrated by Joe Jameson?

No to author. Yes to narrater

What was most disappointing about James Craig’s story?

Pathetic

Which character – as performed by Joe Jameson – was your favourite?

Dom

What character would you cut from London Calling?

All others.

Any additional comments?

Upset at wasting my time and money

Pathic

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