Mister Slaughter

A Matthew Corbett Novel, Book 3

By: Robert R. McCammon

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

The world of Colonial America comes vibrantly to life in this masterful new historical thriller by Robert McCammon. The latest entry in the popular Matthew Corbett series, which began with Speaks the Nightbird and continued in The Queen of Bedlam, Mister Slaughter opens in the emerging metropolis of New York City in 1702, and proceeds to take both Matthew and the reader on an unforgettable journey of horror, violence, and personal discovery.

The journey begins when Matthew, now an apprentice problem solver for the London-based Herrald Agency, accepts an unusual and hazardous commission. Together with his colleague, Hudson Greathouse, he agrees to escort the notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter from an asylum outside Philadelphia to the docks of New York. Along the way, Slaughter makes his captors a surprising - and extremely tempting - offer. Their response to this offer will alter the course of the novel, setting in motion a series of astonishing, ultimately catastrophic events.

Mister Slaughter is at once a classic portrait of an archetypal serial killer and an exquisitely detailed account of a fledgling nation still in the process of inventing itself. Suspenseful, illuminating, never less than compulsively readable, it is, by any measure, an extraordinary achievement, the largest accomplishment to date from one of our most gifted - and necessary - writers.

©2010 Robert McCammon (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Another McCammon masterpiece

Great read! Great characters, story well developed and moves at a good pace. Can’t wait for the next episode!

McCammon doesn’t waste a word

I was a little worried that since this is where the books in the series start to get short (not 800-900 pages) that the pacing was going to suffer. But McCammon proves that he delivers regardless of page count. He truly doesn’t waste a word.

This book has very bright highs and dark lows as far as tone. McCammon does a wonderful job of meandering into prose and poems within Matthew’s head that transport you. There’s also some things that might be hard to listen to for a lot of people but even so, it’s written so well and not gratuitously at all that it’s worth the 5 out of 5.

The audio performance is also done very well and never took me out of the experience.

This book in the series really solidifies it as one of my favorites

One of the best series ever!!!!

Love this series. The author is an amazing storyteller, and the narrator is superb. My only complaint is that there are not enough books in this series I hated for it to end.

I started skipping ahead

There are many interesting parts of this novel. There are also parts that forced me to poke the 'skip forward' button repeatedly.

Two notes:
Matthew constantly gets his ass kicked and is then improbably rescued by a third party.
Matthew's injuries would incapacitate the strongest soldier for months.

Work a little harder on plot and character; less on sensationalism and gore.

A strong close and a decent opening

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Despite or perhaps because of the sometimes overlong descriptive passages, I felt compelled to listen to all three books of the current McCammon series. Mister Slaughter is designed to close the New York chapter of Matthew Corbet's detective career, put his pending love life (but not his sex life) on hold and launch him into new territory, emotionally, socially and professionally.Mister Slaughter continues the series' creepy fascination with lusty, violent and faceless sex as well as the detailed descriptions of the infliction and receipt of pain and suffering. As a reviewer of the first book notes, this is not a series you want children, including teenagers, to over hear while you might thrill in the sordid details.

What other book might you compare Mister Slaughter to and why?

I might actually compare this book to MacBeth. Flowing descriptive phrasing, the character's desire to understand himself through violence and conflict (absent the obsession with a mother figure) serve to keep the reader engaged through McCammon's internal dialogue and occasionally over-wrought prose.

Which character – as performed by Edoardo Ballerini – was your favorite?

Sky Walker, the Native American whose sad life poignantly reflects the past two hundred and fifty years of destruction of the North American Indians was beautifully interpreted by Edoardo Ballerini.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The book is best heard over a few days, but not too many. There are a lot of characters, many twists and turns all of which require some time to absorb.

I couldn’t stop listening

Actually, I got hooked with the first book, Speaks the Nightbird. I love watching Matthew mature - and am looking forward to seeing how the horrific events in this book shape him in future installments.
MILD SPOILER:


One warning. I found the first two books great reads with some disturbing content, but nothing to heinous. Mr. Slaughter is a deeply disturbing character and I found myself in tears a few times.

Excellent performance, plot with may twists

What made the experience of listening to Mister Slaughter the most enjoyable?

The performance and the complex story line create an audible book that is difficult to stop listing to. The story occurs in the early 1700s and the glimpse of life in early colonial America adds to the appeal.

Have you listened to any of Edoardo Ballerini’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the 3rd book in the series I listened to and the performance in all three is excellent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! And I could not wait to come back to it.

.Matthew

The book was great!!!! I haven't listened to many audible but this has now been changed. Edoardo Ballerini was believable. Listen you won't be sorry.

Like Harry Potter, for grown ups

I enjoyed this installment better than The Queen of Bedlam - mainly because it had a faster pace and more compelling characters. First there's Slaughter, who is a lot like Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs, but with more idiosyncrasies. Despite being a complete psychopath, he has gentlemanly and debonair mannerisms, as well as dry sense of humor that can be entertaining at times.

Then there's Walker, the Native American who "walks between two worlds." Walker is more or less the foil to Slaughter's character - serious, noble-hearted, and wise.

I also liked that Matthew has some humbling experiences that force him to reevaluate his values and acknowledge that he's a "mere mortal" like everyone else. As I noted in my review of the a Queen of Bedlam, he had been getting a bit full of himself.

There was one aspect of story that I was a bit disappointed in, because though it was meant to be a shocking twist to the plot, I had totally predicted how it would play out by the beginning. And my guess is that it was fairly obvious to other readers as well. That said, I found the rest of the plot to be interesting and unpredictable.

I'm now completely addicted to the series. It's like Harry Potter - for adults who like historical fiction, as well as mystery / crime novels. Major props to Eduardo Ballerini for his stellar performance as narrator. He nailed the voices of the new characters, particularly Slaughter.

Excellent series

Book 3 of the Matthew Corbett series. Not as good as book 1 & 2. I thought the author spent too much time on certain subjects but all in all it is still a good read. I am looking forward to book 4.