Bad Press: Maureen Carter 5 Stars

Bad Press: Maureen Carter 5 Stars

Tuesday, 23 August 2016

Written by: Maureen Carter

Narrated by: Clare Corbett

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins 

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:03/05/2016

Publisher: Creative Content

5 Stars

Source: Own Copy purchased from Audible

Publishers Summary

A Bev Morriss crime novel

A serial killer is targeting paedophiles in Birmingham, and crime reporter Matt Snow always gets there first - ahead of the pack and the police. Is the murderer tipping him off?

Snow isn't revealing his source - not when it's a story to die for. But is the reporter breaking the news - or making it? Through it all, Bev has an exclusive of her own...a news item she'd rather didn't get round the nick. The guv knows, but he's on sick leave. Should she let DC Mac Tyler in on the secret - or keep mum?

©2008 Maureen Carter (P)2016 Creative Content

Review

I'm not quite sure of the reason why I like the Bev Morriss series so much. I don't usually enjoy the "feisty but foolhardy" type of female protagonist so popular in crime fiction, but there is something appealing about Bev. Maybe it's all in the writing.

The opening chapter describes a man carefully performing his morning grooming ritual, he is a handsome man, always carefully dressed, yet on this morning he is taking extra care with his appearance, he has something of great importance to do today. He kisses his wife goodbye and leaves their beautiful home. 

Be careful, all is not what it seems!

When ambitious crime reporter Matt Snow took a call from the office to attend a crime scene he was so hung over that he almost refused. Only the thought that it might be the "Big Story" that would propel him to fame and fortune got him out of bed.

Little did Matt know what he was in for.

Matt was first at the scene, there were none of the blue lights or any of the police activity he had expected to see, just him and the dead man who, it transpired, was a paedophile. Two patrolling police constables spotted Matt with the body.

More paedophiles were murdered and Matt was always first on the scene, yet he insisted his information came from an anonymous caller. Despite his protestations the police believe he is involved. 

Yet much as she herself dislikes Matt she can't see him as a serial killer and so does a little more poking around on the side. She makes friends with another reporter at Matts newspaper, this reporter is happy to give Bev as much information on Matt as she can find. Information that leads to a very strange world.

Bev has her own private worries to deal with, confiding only in her friend Frankie and "the Guv" D.S. Byford who is on sick leave. Both are, in their own ways, trying to help Bev who,  living up to her reputation, is being as difficult as ever. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, it has a fast moving plot, interestingly drawn characters and a great ending.

Narrator

Narrated by Clare Corbett, a noted actress of screen stage and radio. Clare is a very polished narrator with a lovely, easy to listen to voice. however, in my opinion Clares' weakness is the male voice, they aren't believable and I found it difficult to differentiate between some of them, particularly the ones with the Birmingham accent.

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Dead Old: Book 2 Bev Morriss series

Dead Old: Book 2 Bev Morriss series

Friday, 20 November 2015

 

Written by: Maureen Carter

Narrated by: Clare Corbett

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:12-01-14

Publisher: Creative Content

Available from Audible

5 STAR REVIEW

Publishers Summary

From the author of Working Girls - A new Bev Morriss crime noveI.

Flowers are the language of love, what does it mean when a retired, elderly doctor is found dead with a bunch of daffodils callously thrust down her throat?

Murder squad detectives believe Sophia Carrington is the latest victim of a gang of teenagers who have been preying on the old and vulnerable. But Detective Sergeant Bev Morriss reads the message differently...

Squaring up against a vindictive new boss and out of line with most of her colleagues, Bev is convinced the bizarre bouquet carries a far more personal message. Just how personal, she has no idea – until the killing gets closer to home.

©2005 Maureen Carter (P)2014 Creative Content

My Review

Back in May 2015 I reviewed the wonderfully entertaining "Working Girls", the first book in Maureen Carters D.S. Bev Morriss series. Dead Old is the second, I enjoyed the first book so much that I was a bit hesitant to start listening, I feared I'd be disappointed. I needn't have worried, this is a great story.

The book begins with Bev being called out to a case, she is not happy as it's supposedly her day off but there's no one else available. Suffering the effects of a night of heavy drinking with her friends, landing a murder investigation is the last thing she wants.

Arriving on the scene of the crime only serves to make her hangover feel much worse, an old lady lay dead, the bunch of daffodils pushed down her throat proving that this was no accident. At first glance Sophia Carrington appears to be a bag lady, but she is, in fact, a retired doctor.

There are some dark and disturbing aspects to the plot and normally I don't find this good reading but Maureen Carter lightens it with little sprinkles of humour. I also enjoy her ability to describe her characters so well, especially Bev's mum, described as "Delia with a Dyson". Bev is temporarily living with her mother and it's driving Bev mad, when a junior colleague arrives to drive her to work, Bevs mum runs out with a packed lunch for her- in a pink Barbie lunch box! It's little touches like this that improve the readers relationship with the characters.

Another aspect of this particular story is that of the authors ability to convey the human condition such as the invisibility of the elderly, and of how it must feel to go almost unnoticed and disregarded.

I look forward to book three.

Narrator

I hadn't noticed that this book has a different narrator to the first and it was quite a shock to hear something I hadn't expected. I really dislike a change of narrator in a series, all those characters I had come to know now have different voices, completely different voices at that! However, about half way through I got used to Clare, who is a well respected and polished narrator of many books.

Once I adapted to a new reader I thoroughly enjoyed her narration, her voice is easy on the ear, very pleasant, and the pace and rhythm perfect.

The only negative is that her voice just lacked a bit of that "badass" edge, but that's merely an opinion and certainly won't stop me from listening to more of her excellent work.

This is a high quality production with not one noticeable edit, which makes it a first rate product.

Audiobook provided by Creative Content in return for an honest review

 

 

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