• The Diggers Rest Hotel

  • Charlie Berlin, Book 1
  • By: Geoffrey McGeachin
  • Narrated by: Peter Byrne
  • Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (787 ratings)

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The Diggers Rest Hotel  By  cover art

The Diggers Rest Hotel

By: Geoffrey McGeachin
Narrated by: Peter Byrne
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Editorial reviews

After World War II, young police detective Charlie Berlin fights off post-traumatic stress disorder. While on a murder investigation, he stops at the Diggers Rest Hotel. The body of a young girl appears in the back alley, and Berlin must tear apart this small-town world to get to the bottom of this heinous crime. Australian actor Peter Byrne embodies this tough but self-doubting detective. His serious tone suits postwar Australian themes. Fans of this engaging audiobook will be glad to know that it is the first of the Charlie Berlin mysteries.

Publisher's summary

In 1947, two years after witnessing the death of a young Jewish woman in Poland, Charlie Berlin has rejoined the police force a different man. Sent to investigate a spate of robberies in rural Victoria, he soon discovers that World War II has changed even the most ordinary of places and people. When Berlin travels to Albury-Wodonga to track down the gang behind the robberies, he suspects he's a problem cop being set up to fail.

Taking a room at the Diggers Rest Hotel in Wodonga, he sets about solving a case that no one else can - with the help of feisty, ambitious journalist Rebecca Green and rookie constable Rob Roberts, the only cop in town he can trust. Then the decapitated body of a young girl turns up in a back alley, and Berlin's investigations lead him ever further through layers of small-town fears, secrets and despair.The first Charlie Berlin mystery takes us into a world of secret alliances and loyalties - and a society dealing with the effects of a war that changed men forever.

©2010 Geoffrey McGeachin (P)2010 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

What listeners say about The Diggers Rest Hotel

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Won the Austrailian Crime Writers Award for 2011

Geoffrey McGeachin won the Ned Kelly award for this story.

I found the story of a pilot from WW11 returning to the Victorian Police Force interesting.
The story line is different, could it be original?

Just how Charlie Berlin trod the line as a policeman from Melbourne investigating a series of crimes, and, could engage the respect and interest of some of the townspeople and still get his job done was very well portrayed.

This is not a fast and furious romp like McGeachin's earlier stories. The humour is there though, coming as far more natural, where most people know most things about most people in the town. The book. while not a comedy does explore Berlin re entering life. He gets the job done too.
I expect this story to linger in my mind for a long time and well worth a second listen.

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49 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

What made the experience of listening to The Diggers Rest Hotel the most enjoyable?

Back to the old days

Narrator does a good job with the story and it potrays life in country Victoria and the laid back Australian way

A few twists and turns along the way to the plot and the story itself makes for a great listen

Recommended

Who was your favorite character and why?

Charlie - down to earth, common sense and willing to take people as he sees them

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

Yes - but with over 8 hours a good listen when commuting

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Couldn't finish it

I listened for about 2 hours before requesting a return so I feel I gave it a fair shot. This story just didn't grip me. Also, the narrator doesn't come across as a storyteller, more like a movie announcer. He was good, just not the right fit for this story in my opinion.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Australian Who Done It - set in 1947

What did you love best about The Diggers Rest Hotel?

Two years after witnessing the death of a young Jewish woman in Poland, Charlie Berlin rejoined the police force a different man. PTSD has him swimming in whiskey and he's n the ropes with his boss. Sent to investigate a spate of robberies in rural Victoria, he soon discovers that World War II has changed even the most ordinary of places and people.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the relationship between Charlie and Rebecca. And Geoff's humor.

What does Peter Byrne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A strong Oz accent - LOL! Peter's voice and accent breath life into the tale from down under/

If you could rename The Diggers Rest Hotel, what would you call it?

Murder Motel

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very Australian

An engrossing and entertaining Aussie thilller and detective story whitch was strangely satisfying. Sort of an adult Biggles book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

The Diggers Rest Hotel (no apostrophe.)

As a fan of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd- I was hoping to find something similar here in McGeachin's work. The elements seemed to be there, detective after a great war (this one set after WWII, instead of Todd's books, which are set after WWI), Detective Berlin even seems to have a touch of PTSD as does Todd's Rutledge. But there is where the similarities ended.

The mysteries here weren't hard to figure out. They were pretty straight forward, actually. I found myself waiting for the lightbulb to flash in Berlin's head far too early in the book. When everything did finally come together for DC Berlin, it was done so anti-climatically I couldn't summon the energy to care.

The book had potential, but I felt like the author spent too much time focusing on irrelevant things to make the story grab me in any significant way. McGeachin really, really wants you to know that the people of Australia were extremely racist. This is interesting, but it was frustrating that it seemed to be the actual focus of the book. That would have been fine if the book had been described as a study into the racist minds of Australian people. But it's not, it's described as a detective novel.

I just expected more, you know, detecting.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Definitely worth your listening time

Excellent! This novel is set in a rural area of Australia just after WWII. Charlie Berlin was the bomber pilot who is shot down and sent to a concentration camp in Poland. Eventually he returns to his job as a detective. He has terrible nightmares and daymares, but he perseveres in his investigation first of bank robberies and then of a murder. The cast of characters is great, the sense of place is great and the plot interesting. The narrator has a distinctive voice for each major character and does an excellent job. Well worth your reading/listening time.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Better than I expected!

I'm not normally a fan of stories heavily focused on war - and the memories of WW 2 are essential to this story and the characters. But the story was intriguing and well-told and the narration was outstanding. I'll definitely read more in this series. Great characters and something a bit different from all the routine mysteries out there - well worth a listen!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

I am so tired of tolerating casual bigotry

So yes this is supposed to be a period piece, and it may reflect the times but I do not want to hear a casual reference about “nigger brown” shoes or how she must be a lesbian because she wears pants. If you want to write about it the author has to have some acknowledgement that that level of ignorance is just not acceptable. I returned it cause I won’t pay for hatred.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Like a made-for- TV movie.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Originality

Which scene was your favorite?

None

Any additional comments?

Plot was weak; characters flat; themes are tired, worn out, and could have been written with more skill.

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1 person found this helpful