
The Taste of Wormwood
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.81
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Seán Barrett
-
By:
-
Keith McCarthy
About this listen
Arthur Meadows has just returned home in his HGV from a long trip to southwest Europe, supposedly bringing back a consignment of cloth, yet is actually bringing back something far more deadly. Meanwhile, a young Asian couple are murdered in their small house in the middle of Gloucester, the killings done with ruthless efficiency. Beverley Wharton, now Chief Inspector, does not relish the investigation of the murders because she does not get on with her new sergeant, and because the pathologist Charles Sydenham would not have been her first choice. That honour would have gone to John Eisenmenger, but he has own problems trying to work out why Arthur Meadows has died so unexpectedly.…
©2012 Keith McCarthy (P)2013 Isis Publishing LtdRelated to this topic
-
A Feast of Carrion
- By: Keith McCarthy
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
St Benjamin's Medical School is the greatest of its kind, any death occurring within its walls would have created ripples within the academic world, but the death of Nikki Exner is far from being ordinary. Raped, and then grotesquely executed, her theatrical murder horrifies everyone. John Eisenmenger, a former forensic pathologist, finds himself dragged unwillingly into the case. Teaming up with solicitor Helena Flemming, Eisenmenger sets out to discover what really did happen to Nikki Exner.
-
-
excellent book
- By Yves on 06-27-09
By: Keith McCarthy
-
No Name Lane
- By: Howard Linskey
- Narrated by: David Leon
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The hunt for a serial killer unearths an unsolved cold case from over 60 years ago. Young girls are being abducted and murdered in the Northeast. Out of favour detective constable Ian Bradshaw struggles to find any leads - and fears that the only thing this investigation will unravel is himself. Journalist Tom Carney is suspended by his London tabloid and returns to his home village in County Durham. Helen Norton is the reporter who replaced Tom on the local newspaper. Together they are drawn into a case that will change their lives forever.
-
-
A Lot to Like, but Weak Narration
- By Carole T. on 07-18-16
By: Howard Linskey
-
Red Ribbons
- Dr. Kate Pearson, Book 1
- By: Louise Phillips
- Narrated by: Caroline Morahan
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A missing schoolgirl is found buried in the Dublin Mountains, hands clasped together in prayer, two red ribbons in her hair. Twenty-four hours later, a second schoolgirl is found in a shallow grave - her body identically arranged. The hunt for the killer is on. The police call in criminal psychologist Kate Pearson to get inside the mind of the murderer before he strikes again. But the more Kate discovers about the killings, the more it all feels terrifyingly familiar.
-
-
A true psychological thriller
- By BARBARA WAGONER on 12-24-16
By: Louise Phillips
-
The Coroner
- By: M. R. Hall
- Narrated by: Sian Thomas
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When lawyer Jenny Cooper is appointed Severn Vale District Coroner, she's hoping for a quiet life and space to recover from a traumatic divorce, but the office she inherits from the recently deceased Harry Marshall contains neglected files hiding dark secrets and a trail of buried evidence. Could the tragic death in custody of a young boy be linked to the apparent suicide of a teenage prostitute and the fate of Marshall himself?
-
-
Best book of the year, so far.
- By karen on 05-11-13
By: M. R. Hall
-
The Last Straw
- DCI Warren Jone, Book 1
- By: Paul Gitsham
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Professor Alan Tunbridge is discovered in his office with his throat slashed, the suspects start queuing up. The brilliant but unpleasant microbiologist had a genius for making enemies. For Warren Jones, newly appointed Detective Chief Inspector to the Middlesbury force, a high-profile murder is the ideal opportunity. He’s determined to run a thorough and professional investigation but political pressure to resolve the case quickly and tensions in the office and at home make life anything but easy.
-
-
Really like this series
- By wisconsinclark on 01-05-19
By: Paul Gitsham
-
Down Cemetery Road
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl disappears in the aftermath, Sarah Tucker becomes obsessed with finding her. Accustomed to dull chores in a childless household and hosting her husband’s wearisome business clients for dinner, Sarah suddenly finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew, as her investigation reveals that people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead.
-
-
A bit of a slog....
- By rhl60 on 01-26-24
By: Mick Herron
-
A Feast of Carrion
- By: Keith McCarthy
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
St Benjamin's Medical School is the greatest of its kind, any death occurring within its walls would have created ripples within the academic world, but the death of Nikki Exner is far from being ordinary. Raped, and then grotesquely executed, her theatrical murder horrifies everyone. John Eisenmenger, a former forensic pathologist, finds himself dragged unwillingly into the case. Teaming up with solicitor Helena Flemming, Eisenmenger sets out to discover what really did happen to Nikki Exner.
-
-
excellent book
- By Yves on 06-27-09
By: Keith McCarthy
-
No Name Lane
- By: Howard Linskey
- Narrated by: David Leon
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The hunt for a serial killer unearths an unsolved cold case from over 60 years ago. Young girls are being abducted and murdered in the Northeast. Out of favour detective constable Ian Bradshaw struggles to find any leads - and fears that the only thing this investigation will unravel is himself. Journalist Tom Carney is suspended by his London tabloid and returns to his home village in County Durham. Helen Norton is the reporter who replaced Tom on the local newspaper. Together they are drawn into a case that will change their lives forever.
-
-
A Lot to Like, but Weak Narration
- By Carole T. on 07-18-16
By: Howard Linskey
-
Red Ribbons
- Dr. Kate Pearson, Book 1
- By: Louise Phillips
- Narrated by: Caroline Morahan
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A missing schoolgirl is found buried in the Dublin Mountains, hands clasped together in prayer, two red ribbons in her hair. Twenty-four hours later, a second schoolgirl is found in a shallow grave - her body identically arranged. The hunt for the killer is on. The police call in criminal psychologist Kate Pearson to get inside the mind of the murderer before he strikes again. But the more Kate discovers about the killings, the more it all feels terrifyingly familiar.
-
-
A true psychological thriller
- By BARBARA WAGONER on 12-24-16
By: Louise Phillips
-
The Coroner
- By: M. R. Hall
- Narrated by: Sian Thomas
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When lawyer Jenny Cooper is appointed Severn Vale District Coroner, she's hoping for a quiet life and space to recover from a traumatic divorce, but the office she inherits from the recently deceased Harry Marshall contains neglected files hiding dark secrets and a trail of buried evidence. Could the tragic death in custody of a young boy be linked to the apparent suicide of a teenage prostitute and the fate of Marshall himself?
-
-
Best book of the year, so far.
- By karen on 05-11-13
By: M. R. Hall
-
The Last Straw
- DCI Warren Jone, Book 1
- By: Paul Gitsham
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Professor Alan Tunbridge is discovered in his office with his throat slashed, the suspects start queuing up. The brilliant but unpleasant microbiologist had a genius for making enemies. For Warren Jones, newly appointed Detective Chief Inspector to the Middlesbury force, a high-profile murder is the ideal opportunity. He’s determined to run a thorough and professional investigation but political pressure to resolve the case quickly and tensions in the office and at home make life anything but easy.
-
-
Really like this series
- By wisconsinclark on 01-05-19
By: Paul Gitsham
-
Down Cemetery Road
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl disappears in the aftermath, Sarah Tucker becomes obsessed with finding her. Accustomed to dull chores in a childless household and hosting her husband’s wearisome business clients for dinner, Sarah suddenly finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew, as her investigation reveals that people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead.
-
-
A bit of a slog....
- By rhl60 on 01-26-24
By: Mick Herron
-
Snowblind
- By: Ragnar Jónasson, Quentin Bates - translator
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed, elderly writer falls to his death in the local theater, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one and secrets and lies are a way of life. Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts as Ari is thrust ever deeper into his own darkness - blinded by snow and with a killer on the loose.
-
-
Unexpected and different
- By green ice cream garden on 10-12-17
By: Ragnar Jónasson, and others
-
Jar City
- By: Arnaldur Indridason
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gold Dagger Award winner Arnaldur Indridason’s novels featuring Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson became international sensations on their way to selling millions of copies worldwide. The debut of morose detective Sveinsson finds the inspector and his team delving into the murder of a retiree with horrifying secrets.
-
-
Cerebral Police Procedural
- By Aaron on 09-14-13
-
After Anna
- By: Alex Lake
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A girl is missing. Five years old, taken from outside her school. She has vanished, traceless. The police are at a loss; her parents are beyond grief. Their daughter is lost forever, perhaps dead, perhaps enslaved. But the biggest mystery is yet to come: one week after she was abducted, their daughter is returned. She has no memory of where she has been. And this, for her mother, is just the beginning of the nightmare.
-
-
My feedback..2 overall
- By Haneet on 09-05-16
By: Alex Lake
-
Blood Atonement
- By: Dan Waddell
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A body is discovered with her throat cut and her daughter believed missing. DCI Foster quickly sees parallels with the disappearance of a teenager three years earlier. With hopes fading, he calls on genealogist Nigel Barnes to piece together the links between the families of the two girls. The trail leads back to 1890, and a young couple fleeing a terrible crime in their past....
-
-
Superb
- By Madeleine on 04-13-10
By: Dan Waddell
-
Mystery Man
- By: Colin Bateman
- Narrated by: Stephen Armstrong
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He’s the Man With No Name and the owner of No Alibis, a mystery bookshop in Belfast. But when a detective agency next door goes bust, the agency’s clients start calling into his shop asking him to solve their cases. It’s not as if there’s any danger involved. It’s an easy way to sell books to his gullible customers and Alison, the beautiful girl in the jewellery shop across the road, will surely be impressed. Except she’s not – because she can see the bigger picture.
-
-
Mystery, humor & literary nuances - GREAT
- By Toby on 09-06-13
By: Colin Bateman
-
Perfect Remains
- DI Callanach, Book 1
- By: Helen Fields
- Narrated by: Robin Laing
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a remote Highland mountain, the body of Elaine Buxton is burning. All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing. In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness…. Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team.
-
-
A great disappointment
- By Amazon Customer on 12-20-19
By: Helen Fields
-
The Echo
- By: Minette Walters
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author Minette Walters captivates mystery aficionados throughout the world with her evocative, multi-layered novels, which have been translated into 22 languages. In The Echo she spins a finely-wrought web of secrets and betrayals, love and guilt that entangles everyone who touches it. A homeless man has been found dead of starvation—huddled next to a food-filled freezer—in a London socialite’s garage.
-
-
Cumbersome, dull and not worth the time
- By Celia on 04-08-14
By: Minette Walters
-
Hero: A Simon Serrailler Short Story
- By: Susan Hill
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Simon Serrailler was a rookie constable with the Met, he did something reckless in the course of a night's work which caused a man's death. But his act was praised by his colleagues, and he was called a hero. Years later, now a detective chief superintendent who has been badly injured in the course of duty, he receives a medal for bravery at Buckingham Palace while recollecting that fateful night of his early career, when chance disguised itself as bravery.
-
-
This 'story' makes no sense to me
- By Pamela Donaldson on 05-10-17
By: Susan Hill
-
Two Little Girls
- A Novel
- By: Laura Jarratt
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis, Ana Clements
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lizzie’s car crashes with her two daughters inside, she faces a terrible choice. And when she recovers from her injuries, she must deal with the impact of that tragedy and the police investigation into it. As Lizzie and her family struggle to come to terms with the events of that night, things take an even darker turn. What exactly happened on that remote country road? Who is responsible? And can the family get through this together…or will the truth finally tear them apart?
-
-
Ugh
- By Beth on 05-07-22
By: Laura Jarratt
-
Falling Off Air
- By: Catherine Sampson
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Robin Ballantyne's life is finally coming together. After learning she was pregnant with twins and being abandoned by her irresponsible boyfriend, Adam, she's settling into life as a single mother. But one night, after putting the children to bed, she hears an argument and suddenly, a body falls past her window. Running outside, she finds the body of Paula Carmichael, a renowned activist.
-
-
Rich, developed and unusual
- By Hannah Coale on 02-02-05
-
A Fatal Obsession
- Ryder and Loveday, Book 1
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Stephanie Racine
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Oxford, 1960. There's a murderer on the loose, and two unlikely heroes are poised to solve the case. Meet Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday - smart, enthusiastic and always underestimated. In the hope of getting her out of the way, Trudy’s senior officer assigns her to help coroner Clement Ryder as he re-opens the case of a young woman's death. She can't believe her luck – she is actually going to be working on a real murder case.
-
-
Just didn't buy it
- By Marie on 12-04-19
By: Faith Martin
-
Left for Dead
- A Maeve Kerrigan Novella
- By: Jane Casey
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes
- Length: 2 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A violent rapist is attacking women, leaving them for dead on south London streets. When young policewoman Maeve Kerrigan responds to a domestic disturbance, she's horrified to stumble across the latest victim. But as a new recruit - and a female to boot - she'll have to face down not only her own nerves but rampant sexism from her colleagues if she wants to be taken seriously enough to even assist on the case.
-
-
Waste of time & $
- By Mary Ann on 12-11-16
By: Jane Casey
What listeners say about The Taste of Wormwood
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RAMON
- 07-24-13
Refreshingly Original Storytelling
This is a police procedural where whodunnit is not as important as why dunning. I was not sure if I was going to enjoy it, but I soon got hooke and appreciated the plot twists and characters with there real life hangups and problems in addition to the stress of solving murders. A well crafted and well executed book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Calliope
- 02-15-14
not sure I buy the reasoning but still a good book
I enjoy the character-driven story and the myriad of motivations of the characters' actions and reactions. I find this more true in British mysteries (vs. American), and this book doesn't lag in that regard. Internal politics, sexism, and racial profiling are rife in the police force, and this book includes all of it as a part of all the police-force characters, which I appreciate.
The actual plot involves human trafficking, smuggling, domestic terrorism, and revenge and is interesting but not really what the book is about -- it's the motivation for all of those things that make up the bulk of the book. Why the characters got involved in all of those will end up being the key to solving the crimes and preventing catastrophe. I'm not sure I buy the ultimately-revealed motivations, and that was the weak part of the book - but that only affected the final few chapters. Still, it means this is a book that won't stay with me for long, but it was enjoyable while it lasted.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kathryn
- 05-18-13
Mystery + strange illness
Where does The Taste of Wormwood rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Love the unspoken interpersonal tension among the characters. Gripping story develops through different characters' points of view. I can't stop listening to this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Susan
- 01-23-13
Brilliant!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Absolutely recommended! It is a gripping story, one of those ones you don't want to put down.
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed the suspense and utter surprise at the twists in the story.
Have you listened to any of Seán Barrett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No I haven't.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
At one stage I almost didn't want to listen because I could guess what terrible things were going to be said - but I couldn't tear myself away from the grimness of the story being told. I found myself thinking "Oh my god".
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sires
- 11-26-13
Excellent Procedural Eisenmenger and Wharton
Forensic pathologist John Eisenmenger and Chief Inspector Beverly Wharton are drawn into a puzzling case from two separate directions. Eisenmenger was looking into the unexpected demise of a lorry driver back from a trip to Europe. Chief Inspector Wharton had the murder of a husband and wife that she was trying to solve.
I wasn't terribly impressed with the first Eisenmenger book I listened to, but somewhere between 2006's A World Full of Weeping and this book, something good happened. This isn't a whodunit, the main question is why was it done and McCarthy does an outstanding job of putting the reader into the heads of various characters. In fact, when the book was over and the current situation resolved I immediately checked his web site to see if there was a new Eisenmenger book on the horizon (unfortunately not).. I'm really interested in where he is taking his two main characters next.
Seán Barrett does a good job with this one. No complaints about the narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stephen
- 05-04-16
McCarthy medical thriller
Excellent medical thriller with attention grabbing suspense all the way through. The only problem with this series is more is needed. Very much liked narrator
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Susan
- 08-06-15
How I spent my summer, part 3
...now I found Keith McCarthy...all his books are voiced by Sean Barrett. (insert smile emoji here). Listened to all but two...and the only reason I didn't listen to them is because they are not offered by Audible (hint!).
So there you have it. Good listens, but have OED or Google handy. Several words to look up. "Abattoir" anyone?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful