The Woodcutter

By: Reginald Hill

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

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

One of my favorite Reginald Hill books!

I always expect quality from Reginald Hill, and have loved every book he's ever written.

The Woodcutter surpassed even my high expectations with an engaging story, great characters and a study in justice that leaves a lasting impression. To me, Hill's greatest talent is to remain completely invisible as the story unfolds. Too often I read stories that, while interesting and thought-provoking, feel like a message from a writer on his soapbox. The Woodcutter is filled with moral ambiguity, and leaves the reader with much to contemplate, but, at least for me, my reaction was to events and aspects of Hill's characters. Not once during the entire book did I feel the presence of Hill's hand as the story progresses through bad acts committed by good people and surprising kindness from some "bad guys." There is suspense throughout, but it didn't feel dark ... occasional humor and never forcing the pace of action keeps the tragic elements of the story from overwhelming the reader. Highly recommended!

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf!

Even if you read all of the "Best Sellers", the Man Bookers, the Edgars, the Hugos, the Pulitzers, Staff Favs, and the readers suggestions in your constant pursuit of good and/or entertaining reading material, this award winner's latest book may have sneaked by you--and what an epic MISS. Thanks to consistently high marks by Audible reviewers, I was schooled, and spent 16 engaging hours hanging on to a rollicking, smart, psychological thriller where the big bad wolf is the heroic axe-wielding woodsman, and sets out to prove that unconventional fact. It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the breakneck pace, and I would've been thoroughly satisfied with a nicely tied up ending at about the 12 hour point, but neither little personal gripe diminishes the experience. My first Reginald Hill--and from what I've heard from other readers, one of his best. A great choice...Thanks-previous reviewers.

a great pleasure

People who are already familiar with Reginald Hill won't need to be told what they already know: that he is a master storyteller, mixing a suspense story with deep insights into the human psyche and a powerful ability to make the landscapes come alive. The Woodcutter is thoroughly enjoyable, and at a lenght of 15+ hours it really draws you into the cleverly plotted story. Enjoy!

WoW!!

I haven't written a review for a long time, because the audios I have chosen haven't been all that noteworthy.
This book is the exception, prompting me to write a review.
First off, I had never heard of this author. (shame on me)
Second, I only purchased this on the good reviews, and the storyline intriqued me.
It is the first book since Game of Thrones, that I absolutely did NOT want to stop listening to. (btw, game of thrones is a completely different genre, however, both the writing, storyline, and readers are excellent!)
This is a book that I am glad I listened to, rather than buy the hard copy to read.
The reader was exceptional. I could picture this entire book in my head as he read along.
I researched this author, and found that sadly, he had passed on last year I believe.
The literary world has lost a wonderful writer.
Fortunately for me, I listened to this one.

Reginald Hill's not just about Dalziel and Pascoe

Sadly, Reginald Hill died recently and it's hard to believe there will be no more of his wonderful writing to enjoy. I'd always read every title in his Dalziel/Pascoe police procedural series as it was published. But I wasn't as thorough in my reading of his non-series books. I decided that I should turn to The Woodcutter, his last book, to say goodbye to Hill----and I'm so glad I did.

Wolf Hadda is the son of a woodsman who falls in love with Imogen, the daughter of the local lord. Just as in mythology, she agrees to accept him if he performs three impossible tasks. He leaves and returns a few years later, rich and accomplished, and wins his bride. Sound like a fairy tale? Well, it is, at first. But it all comes crashing down when Wolf is accused and convicted of appalling personal and professional crimes.

Abandoned by his wife, friends and business colleagues, Wolf has nothing to do but spend his long years in prison plotting how to get out, find out who engineered his downfall, and exact a fitting revenge. As with a good fairy tale, there is more to the story than the superficial story line.

This is a melange of epic myth, mystery, thriller, love story and just flat-out virtuoso storytelling. Reginald Hill has always had a way with characterization; of drawing a full-fledged person with just a few words. His Wolf Hadda is a larger-than-life personality and it's a joy to read about his dealings with those in his life, from his prison psychiatrist, Alva Ozigbo, to his cockney lawyer, to his second-in-command at his company, and so many more.

A completely engrossing tale by a masterful storyteller, whose like we won't be seeing again.

Jonathan Keeble's narration is terrific. It requires him to voice both men and women and accents from Cumbrian to received pronunciation to Cockney. He does it all quite well, especially Wolf Hadda's gravelly Cumbrian.