For Reasons Unknown

DCI Matilda Darke, Book 1

By: Michael Wood

Narrated by: Stephanie Beattie

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Two murders. Twenty years. Now the killer is back for more....

A darkly compelling debut crime novel. The start of a brilliant series, perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Val McDermid, and James Oswald.

DCI Matilda Darke has returned to work after a nine-month absence. A shadow of her former self, she is tasked with reopening a cold case: the terrifyingly brutal murders of Miranda and Stefan Harkness. The only witness was their 11-year-old son, Jonathan, who was too deeply traumatised to speak a word.

Then a dead body is discovered, and the investigation leads back to Matilda's case. Suddenly the past and present converge, and it seems a killer may have come back for more....

©2019 Michael Wood (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Thought so but wasn’t sure…

There were some unexpected twists and turns. I appreciated the story. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

Worth a Credit

I had never heard of Michael Wood before "Reasons Unknown".
I believe there are only 3 titles to date; I will wait to purchase another after more Agatha Raisin books!
This story was a well-told tale, no huge 'McGuffins', but still quite respectable.

Average

This book was just average, but Matilda was interesting enough to purchase the next in the series. The narration was great.

3

Another fine mystery with a different twist. There is a bit
too much detailing of intraforce
bickering but it is worth whipping up some popcorm during these
scenes, the rest of the book is very good.

Interesting characters and good story

Great new series with a quirky, complex yet likable new detective. Intelligently written and well-narrated.

The beginning of a brilliant British series!

Thrilling second listen!
👏Definitely 15 stars! Author Michael Wood and narrator Stephanie Beattie are a perfect duo as they lead us on a cold case investigation. Never a dull moment and surprises all the way through. Character development is so well-done, I can envision each and every one. I’ve already bought the next one in the series, “Outside Looking In” for $7.14, a reasonably priced book, no need to waste a treasured credit (same price for this one one). I can’t say enough about how exceptional this fast-paced and exciting audiobook is; at the top of my vast Audible library list. Kudos to both Wood and Beattie! Please keep writing, Mr. Wood and continue your perfect narration, Ms. Beattie. I recently had been on an Audible loser’s streak with my choices for quite a while and am so relieved and delighted to have found this series. Highly recommended! Buy it. You won’t be sorry.👏

Great start to a series

I loved this book. It's a great introduction to the series. So many twists and turns. I listened to it on my morning walks. It kept me motivated to walk so I could find out what happened next in the book.

Kind of Medium Sort of Book

I like Stuart MacBride's books where every character is given a distinct personality and even if he tortures his heroes, the plot is amazingly entertaining. But unfortunately this author does not have MacBride's touch. The lead character is Matilde Darke. She has just returned to her Major Incident Team after a unsuccessful kidnapping case, a personal trauma, and a year off to find that her parking spot has been nicked by Acting DCI Hales who had been promoted temporarily into her place while she was recovering. She has a psychologist she doesn't trust, a drinking problem, and boatloads of anxiety. Before she can resume her leadership road she has to review a cold case that occurred 20 years ago when two parents were killed in their own home (about to be demolished) leaving two traumatized sons who grew up separately.

The plot is a bit obvious if you keep an eye out on the clues. I just had to delete a couple of clues that made me roll my eyes. If you like Stuart MacBride or Val McDermid, don't expect to find them here.

Performance isn't really inspiring either. I think that it is mostly supposed to be a Yorkshire accent but I have definitely heard it done better.

I downloaded the second book in the series mainly be cause I listed to the sample which made it sound better than it turned out to be. I'll listen to it a little later, after I've caught up with Harry Bingham's Fiona Griffith series.

DCI Darke

I really enjoyed this book. interesting plot, well developed characters, good narration. I'd recommend this.

Great!

Kept you guessing until the end! I didn’t give it a 5 because I thought the ending, and “who done it” could have been a better story. Like not a clear motive.