Flesh and Blood Audiobook By Thomas H. Cook cover art

Flesh and Blood

A Frank Clemons Mystery, Book 2

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Flesh and Blood

By: Thomas H. Cook
Narrated by: Ray Chase
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About this listen

The sleek high-rises of Park Avenue make Frank Clemons uneasy. The former Atlanta homicide detective came to New York after a sickening murder case soured him on the South, but despite the glitz and excitement of his new surroundings and the beauty of the woman he shares them with, the city makes his skin crawl.

Now a private eye, he is only at ease in the city's darker corners, among the whores, gamblers, and pimps who call Eighth Avenue home. That affinity for the socially isolated is what draws him to the case of Hannah Karlsberg, an elderly seamstress who deserved a better death than she got.

Hannah's employer hires Clemons to find the victim's next of kin so the police can release the body for burial, but as he learns about the dead woman's past, which stretches back to the Lower East Side sweatshops of the 1930s, Clemons becomes obsessed with unearthing the decades-old secret that led to her death.

©1989 1989 Thomas H. Cook. Recorded by arrangement with The Mysterious Press.com, LLC. (P)2014 HighBridge Company
Detective Fiction Historical Mystery Private Investigators Suspense Traditional Detectives City
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Critic reviews

"Rich in character, complex in plot.... Cook constructs a many-layered and shimmering tale in which the history, locale and personality build to an unsuspected, satisfying end." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Strong prose and steel-etched characters complete an enticing puzzle." ( Library Journal)
"Thomas H. Cook triumphs at teaching an old dog some new tricks." ( The New York Times)

What listeners say about Flesh and Blood

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

Fairly good story but narrator runs book

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

had a hard time getting thru book

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Had a different narrator

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He put you to sleep and made all the characters sound 100 years old

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

NO

Any additional comments?

I think on next book I would find someone that didn't sound like he was tired read my book

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

The reader just sounded too depressed

What would have made Flesh and Blood better?

If the reader , as good as his voice is ,didn't sound so depressed .He sounded like he might expire at any moment . And at times I began wishing he'd just do it and get it over with. For that reason I was unable to finish this one.

What could Thomas H. Cook have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Had Michael Sutherland read this , or had Ray Chase sound less suicidal.

Would you be willing to try another one of Ray Chase’s performances?

Possibly , he does have a pleasant voice.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Flesh and Blood?

none

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to this next one. Michael Sutherland was able to perform this character in a believable way , so you could understand his mind set without being depressing to the listener. He conveyed the essence of the book in a way that held your attention. This was not the case with the way Ray Chase portrayed the main character.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not so good

The narrator over dramatized almost the entire book. Way too theatrical. Part of the story was missing. The section between following Riviera and Frank taking some sort of canisters to the police. Feel ripped off on this one.

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

Good story, annoying narrator.

Like most of Thomas H. Cook's novels, this had mystery with attitude and character. The long meander toward the ending is more than half the fun.

Unfortunately, this reading by Ray Chase was a lot of work because I had to continually suppress my irritation at his inability to voice character. Frank Clemons was delivered in the voice of a disappointed zombie, his partner Farouk , a "giant Arab" was given the voice of a woman (if the point was that the character is gay, there are better ways...), and everyone else had vaguely stereotypical voices to indicate ethnicity, except that even Spanish characters sounded vaguely Jewish.

The reading detracted enough from my enjoyment that, although I would love to hear the third Frank Clemons novel, because Chase narrates it I'm going to buy the book instead.

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

The Past Explains the Present

Where does Flesh and Blood rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Flesh and Blood ranks high amongst other audiobooks I've listened to. Unraveling mysteries from another time and solving a present day murder - what could be better?

What other book might you compare Flesh and Blood to and why?

A comparison can be made between Flesh and Blood and Streets of Fire. Mystery and history combined to tell the story of another era.

What about Ray Chase’s performance did you like?

Ray Chase navigated brilliantly amongst so many characters, languages, dialects and accents. His portrayal of the voices of the elderly characters was particularly moving. As someone who has worked with the very old, his interpretation is accurate and vital to understanding the range of emotions that are a part of living a very long life.

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

Without giving too much away, the suicide of the young girl, that resulted from a lie, was particulary heartwrenching.

Any additional comments?

If you like history mixed in with a murder mystery, this is the book for you. The narrator expertly guides you through an array of characters at a pace that is both pleasing and easy to follow.

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1 person found this helpful