Long Time Dead Audiobook By T. M. Payne cover art

Long Time Dead

Detective Sheridan Holler, Book 1

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Long Time Dead

By: T. M. Payne
Narrated by: Heather Bleasdale
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A cold case that’s no longer cold. A suspect who’s been murdered. A silenced witness.

"A brilliant debut."—Steve Cavanagh

"True fans of Val McDermid will love Payne's writing.”—A. J. West

"One of the most exciting new voices in crime fiction."—Kia Abdullah

DI Sheridan Holler is used to solving crimes on Liverpool’s streets, but after a decayed corpse turns up in a cemetery, she finds herself reopening not one but two cold cases. Seven years earlier, two women were gunned down and the only suspect, small-time drug dealer John Lively, was never seen again. Case closed. Until the body in the cemetery is identified as his.

Holler needs to work out if Lively was killed out of revenge, or was just a victim of the criminal world he inhabited. When shocking evidence is revealed about the murder weapon, Holler’s cold case starts to look hopeless once more.

But defeat is not an option. Driven by the unsolved and traumatic murder of her brother when they were children, DI Holler’s pursuit of justice is relentless. As old wounds are reopened, the police close in on the killer, but the threat of them striking again is all too real. Can DI Holler put the pieces of the puzzle together before anyone else winds up dead?

©2024 by T M Payne. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Crime Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedurals Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Exciting Murder Cold Case

Critic reviews

“Worth every interminable minute it takes to wind down.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A brilliant debut.”—Steve Cavanagh

“An excellent crime novel, full of humor and pathos as well as utterly realistic action. A stunning debut.”—Elly Griffiths
Unexpected Twists • Engaging Characters • Great Pacing • Addictive Storytelling • Refreshing Approach • Clever Plotting
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I really enjoyed this book. The ending had a lot of twists I didn't see coming. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

Great Start to a New Series

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What a pleasant surprise. I was hesitant about listening to this book because recently I’ve not particularly enjoyed UK crime stories. This was well written, kept me up and had great twists and turns. Plus there are more in the series. Real characters that grow on you and you start to care about. The narration was also great. I’m excited to follow this author from here on.

A Surprise

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Lots of twists and turns. At first it seems there are many excess characters; however TM Payne wraps everything up methodically. Exceptional surprise at the end. Hope to read more TM Payne books

Lots of twists

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This book was easy listening and well plotted. It was well detailed and I liked that it was all wrapped up while leaving enough to make you want to read the next in series.

Enjoyable

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This book is a refreshing take on police procedurals. it feels current and relevant to the world today. I love the characters introduced in this first book and cannot wait to see how their stories evolve.

Refreshing Take on a Beloved Genre

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Great characters. I felt like I knew them. I cannot wait for the next book.

I liked it so much I listened to it twice in a row.

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[Note: I have reviewed over 100 books--but I only comment ones I really like.] If a police procedural is too much fun or has too much humor, it becomes a parody or camp-ish. (Think and Janet Evanovich, whose Stephanie Plum is both funny and a good time.) Make it too serious or dark and reading (or listening) can become tedious. So it was with great enjoyment that I found myself addicted to this book. I know that it is a overused cliche...but I really could not put this book down. It has many classical elements (a buddy team of two women, mysterious personal back stories, and two or three interlaced mysteries.) But what it also has is great pacing, dialogue and supporting cast members. The characters all have dimensions--they are not just walk-ons in stereotypical roles. I also enjoyed the performance. I hope this will be a series and that the next one will be arriving soon.

Clever and Fun Police Procedural

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I normally don’t like stories told out of order, but I enjoyed this. Next I couldn’t take the breathing of the narrator during the police interactions at the PD. Next I can’t stand all the extra romantic interests and then in this the lesbian angle and just the need of a strong officer to just sleep with someone she didn’t know. If this was a heterosexual romance this would have been criticized. Stick to the police procedural and not all the extras!

Decent Read

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One and only for me on this author and narrator. For brevity's sake, this wasn't a wise buy.

Narrator's Breathing Dominates

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This book is a mess. So much time is wasted on introducing a bloated cast and their issues that all the real action takes place towards the end, and even that is ruined by the author’s need to relate the case from seemingly everybody’s point of view. Tedious doesn’t begin to describe the last hour. I’m rating it average just because the author has a chance to improve with discipline and a decent editor.

A decent premise done badly

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