Collusion

By: Stuart Neville

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

From the LA Times Book Award-winning author of The Ghosts of Belfast, Stuart Neville, comes the exciting sequel: Collusion

Collusion returns listeners to Belfast, where a new mystery haunts its underbelly. Jack Lennon is a Detective Inspector trying to track down his former lover, Marie McKenna, and their daughter, but his superiors tell him to back off. Bull O'Kane is a bitter old man who will stop at nothing for vengeance. The Traveller is an assassin without pity or remorse, who stalks Belfast, tying up loose ends. Forced into the center of it all is former IRA paramilitary Gerry Fegan, who must confront his past - and The Traveller - for the fight of his life.

The early reviews for Collusion are just as strong as those for The Ghosts of Belfast. And Gerard Doyle's narration complements Neville's taut, sinister, smart, and suspenseful story perfectly. Collusion is a feast for thriller fans.

©2010 Stuart Neville (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Irish author Neville follows his stunning debut with an even more powerful tale of revenge, violence, and redemption. Neville rides the perfect Celtic storm in an action-packed, cerebral thriller." ( Publishers Weekly)
"James Ellroy and Val McDermid were among admirers of Stuart Neville's corpse-filled debut [ The Ghosts of Belfast], and his follow-up Collusion is another mesmerising Belfast blood bath. The Traveller and O'Kane are memorably grotesque creations, and Neville's violent showdowns rival those in Jacobean revenge plays." ( Sunday Times)
" Collusion is a gripping thriller that transcends its genre through an unflinching examination of how 40 years of internecine strife has left unhealed scars that resonate in all levels of life in the North today." ( Irish Independent)

"As it lurches toward its bloody conclusion, the chapters of Collusion shrink, the world contracts, and, ultimately, all that remains is survival. The question Mr. Neville raises with singularly artful drama is whether survival is enough to keep one going." ( Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

"Doyle’s performance of Lennon’s grit and vulnerabilities gives credibility to both, and his portrayals of the brutal villains are downright terrifying." ( AudioFile)

Love Gerard Doyle Reading

Great follow up to The Ghosts of Belfast which was fantastic. I love the way the little girl Ellen has 'the gift' but in a different context than Fegan. Sorry it had to end. Definitely these 2 books are worth a 2nd and 3rd read

Falls far short of the first book

What would have made Collusion better?

In the first book, there was a mystery about whether the ghosts were real or just a madman's delusion which gave an interesting spin to a very violent story -- I enjoyed it a great deal and bought this (foolishly) without reading reviews. This sequel was just a long tedious slog through the squalid lives of characters I never want to "meet" again. How to make it better? Come up with another interesting original idea instead of wringing the last drops of bile from a story whose best part was already told.

Would you ever listen to anything by Stuart Neville again?

Not without reading a lot of glowing reviews beforehand. He clearly has talent but ths was awful.

First Book Great This One Stupid

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series. I barely made it past one hour in this book. Why. We start out with our expert assassin going to kill someone. He carries a .44 caliber pistol, one of the loudest handguns in the world. He likes it because as an assassin if he has to point it in a crowded bar people will be intimidated. So off he goes to do the first assassination in the book. When he gets there the home owner's dog is barking so he shots it with the .44. Then he kicks in doors to make entry to the owner's bedroom. At the door he is shot at but the subject in the room with a SHOTGUN. He blows a hole in the door where the assassin is standing but MISSES the assassin. The assassin makes three shots into the darkened room and hits the target. Oh then he decides he wants the shotgun of the target to take with him. At this point I don't not feel anyone could make a practiced assassin be anymore stupid and gave up on the book.

WHERE'S THE STORY?

I did not find a compelling story line. There was no character development and I was lost. Not my type of story.