The Woodcutter

By: Reginald Hill

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Wolf Hadda's life was a fairytale - successful businessman and adored husband. But a knock on the door one morning ends it all. Universally reviled, thrown into prison, Wolf retreats into silence. Seven years later Wolf begins to talk to the prison psychiatrist and receives parole to return home. But there's a mysterious period in Wolf's past when he was known as the Woodcutter. Now the Woodcutter is back, looking for truth and revenge...

©2010 Reginald Hill (P)2010 WF Howes Ltd

Great story Reginald Hill at his best.

A wonderfully intricate and well crafted story. Well read by Jonathan Keeble. Would recommend it highly.

Great read, joy to listen

My first ever review, inspired by this book. Had this in my library for months before listening. It was much much better than I expected, one of my favorite books. Couldn't put it down. Now a fan of Reginald Hill & have downloaded others.

Predictable, but still a good read....

I feel that this story has been told before, different authors, different characters, but a common premise. However, the strength of the main and supporting characters still makes the read worthwhile.

Loved it

excellent story, kept me locked in. well presented. I will look for more by the author.

Excellent Read

Great story, Reginald Hill draws you and and keeps you there to the end. Narrator very good also. A 'must have'.

Definitely Hooked me

This is one of those books I can't say I truly liked but it hooked me early and I couldn't stop listening. I just do not like the English accent, I know it was appropriate. It was mostly well delivered. Well written story but these are not people you can like but this is a book you can enjoy.

Story left you waiting

What did you like best about The Woodcutter? What did you like least?

I liked the development of the downward spiral the character slipped down. You got a true sense of his beliefs of what his life was like and how good he thought he had it. It was a slap of reality that slowly hit and stung worse and worse with every event that passed. The action was very well thought out and exciting.

Only disappointment was the ending. The main character went through A LOT for it all to end up very predictably. It was basically exactly what the character thought from the beginning....the twist of the James Bond-esq group was interesting, but not intimidating enough to seem like a concern. And the very beginning made the main character out to be of almost super hero like abilities, but it never really panned out. Other than that, a really great listen!

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

Excellent male character voices and accents. The female voices seemed to sound all the same aside from one, but the male voices were excellent. I was really able to envision the characters engaging with each other

Was The Woodcutter worth the listening time?

Yes

Loved this book

Would you consider the audio edition of The Woodcutter to be better than the print version?

N/A

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Edge of my seat? Not quite that extreme. It kept me very interested. I looked forward to getting in the car to continue the story.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Keeble – was your favorite?

Hard to say. He did an amazing job creating distinctions between characters without being over the top.

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

14 hours? Come on.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful book. Just enough drama mixed with good character development that is missing in so many books. Some of the characters I absolutely despised (good writing). Some I disliked. Others I cheered for.

Peasantly Surprised

If you could sum up The Woodcutter in three words, what would they be?

Great revenge story

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The story was never dull. The only problem I had was how the police handled some of the investigation of the ex-wife, but over-all I loved it. I wasn't sure what to expect. Very pleasant surprise.

Which scene was your favorite?

Hard to choose only one.

Spell Binding

My initial concern was the length of the story, and could I make it to the end if I started. However I didn't want it to stop. The story was Spell Binding.