Beneath the Surface

An Inspector Tom Reynolds Mystery

By: Jo Spain

Narrated by: Nicholas Camm

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

They say politics is cutthroat - but as Inspector Tom Reynolds is about to discover, nothing rocks the boat more than a personal vendetta.

Late at night, two powerful men meet in a secret location to discuss a long nurtured plan about to come to fruition. One is desperate to know there is nothing standing in their way - the other assures him everything is taken care of. Hours later, high-ranking government official Ryan Finnegan is brutally slain in the most secure building in Ireland - seat of parliament Leinster House. Inspector Tom Reynolds and his team are called in to uncover the truth behind the murder.

At first, all the evidence hints at a politically motivated crime, until a surprise discovery takes the investigation in a dramatically different direction. Suddenly the motive for murder becomes a lot more personal...but who benefits the most from Ryan's death?

©2016 Jo Spain (P)2022 Scribd Audio

Interesting story; wrong narrator choice

Kept thinking I liked the story premise, yet wishing I picked this one as a “reader”; NOT a Audible.
While Truly like narrator’s voice; his manner of reading does nothing to differentiate between characters(of which there are many), add the unfamiliarity of your average reader of Irish Govt. terminology, and whole thing became a garbled mess.
In my opinion, writer should simplify Garda and Govt. structure and if needs be; get narrator who is able to give Individual voice to characters.
Story is overall interesting.

Hum....

I almost gave up on this book after only a few chapters. Not attention grabbing at all, and I yearned for something interesting. Also, I still didn't care for the narrator for the second time. Will skip to the next book that has a different narrator, in the hopes that the plot, and storyline will also improve.

Very Bad and Disappointing

I was excited to see Jo Spain finally available on Audible. I'd heard many good things about her.

I must say I was unimpressed,

First off the narrator is torture on the ears. Sloppy diction, loud breathing, raspy voice. They must have rushed these books to audio and hired the local Bobby from down the street to read it. Horrible.

The writing is a solid Bad, It could be middling, but it is marred by the ever present "Tom sighed." "Tom swallowed." "Tom took a deep breath." "He but his lip while he thought about it." "She shook her head." I've listened to so many bad books if I hear a "swallow" within the first ten pages I know it's a clunker.

Her characterization is good and she is good at writing dialogue. She cannot write action, and the plot and pacing were terrible. This aims to be a "police procedural" but the only investigating that ever takes place is interviewing people. It reminded me of the first half hour of your typical Law and Order episode. Interview, interview, interview, interview, Duh duh DUH.

The hero detective is modeled on Hercule Poirot I think. Low key and unassuming but in the end the little gray cells produce a brilliant deduction. After all the interviewing that is.

Despite the bad writing and plot, this was turning out to be OK read, until the solution to the Whodunnit.


SPOILER ALERT




The ending was a misogynistic disappointment. A woman crazed from wanting a baby lol! "The solution was there all along," says the great detective, Forget allll the political intrigue which has taken up 99% of our time. The great brain figures out it's just a case of female hysteria (his wife suffers from the same condition of course.)

This was just an awful book.