Shadow of the Serpent Audiobook By David Ashton cover art

Shadow of the Serpent

An Inspector McLevy Mystery 1

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Shadow of the Serpent

By: David Ashton
Narrated by: David Ashton
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London had Sherlock Holmes. The dark alleys of Edinburgh had Inspector McLevy.

Known as the father of forensics and a likely influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, real-life police inspector James McLevy is here reinvented by David Ashton in a thrilling mystery - the first in a series - set in dark, violent Victorian Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, 1880. Election fever grips the city. But while the rich and educated argue about politics, in the dank wynds of the docks it's a struggle just to stay alive. When a prostitute is brutally murdered, disturbing memories from 30 years ago are stirred in Inspector McLevy, who is soon lured into a murky world of politics, perversion and deception - and the shadow of the serpent.

©2016 David Ashton (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Crime England Exciting
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Narrator (also the author) sounds as if he has had extensive Shakespearean dramatic training. I’ m sure he would be very effective reading Hamlet or Alice in Wonderland. It’s a lot of work to follow his dramatic pauses and trailing off of sentences. Not something for the casual listener.

Hope I can make it through the reader to the story!

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I would have given this book a 3 1/2 stars just to be fair, as it just wasn't the book for me and I want to be fair. I might try it again in a few months and perhaps it will fit me better then, I will let you know then.

Another 3 1/2 Star

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I usually listen to audio books to relax, but getting into this one was not relaxing. There was far too much time spent on politics (both the national kind and within the police department) making work to remember a lot of the historical detail. Personally, I had trouble getting through it.

The reader has a fairly thick Scottish accent which is hard to get used to, it would lend atmosphere to the story, but he also seems to be a bit overdramatic and it's distracting to hear him breathing and licking his lips.

Too much work!

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What would have made Shadow of the Serpent better?

Somebody else reading it. He is overly dramatic and I can hear him licking his lips and swallowing, which is really distracting. The performance is too much, much like the typical over enthusiastic thespian.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shadow of the Serpent?

I`m really disappointed as the story seems really quite good and well written, but I cant listen to anymore of this. I might read the book though - fingers crossed that I don`t have that voice in my head when I do.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of David Ashton?

Anybody!

Really struggling to finish this!

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The author is a Scottish actor and his throaty whispers and heavy accent greatly enhance the story once the ear adjusts to them. It's a dark, Jack the Ripper type story but with enough difference to make it compelling drama. I was driven to look up the facts about the two great historical figures in the novel and the book became a learning experience as well.

Dark drama

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