A Place to Bury Strangers

Atticus Priest Series, Book 2

By: Mark Dawson

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

A breathtaking, twisty adventure, A Place to Bury Strangers is the second Atticus Priest mystery. 

A dog walker finds a human bone on lonely Salisbury Plain. DCI Mackenzie Jones investigates the grisly discovery but cannot explain how it ended up there. She contacts disgraced ex-detective Atticus Priest and the two of them trace the bone to a graveyard in the nearby village of Imber. But the village was abandoned after it was purchased by the Ministry of Defence to train the army, so why have bodies been buried in the graveyard since the church was closed?

At the same time, Atticus is approached by a single dad who needs his help to track down his missing daughter. Atticus takes on the case and finds himself battling a London gang who are selling their drugs in Salisbury and a host of witnesses who don't seem to be telling him the truth.

Atticus and Mack deal with the fiendishly complex case and unpick a conspiracy that cuts to the heart of the English establishment - while dealing with their own feelings for one another.

©2020 Unputdownable Limited (P)2021 Tantor

First rate!!

I am hooked on Atticus Priest and wish that #3 was already written. Full of twists and surprises but nothing that doesn’t fit reasonably into the story. Wonderful characters plus the ever-perfect Simon Vance.

Good, but missing a little something..

I do like Atticus and Mack but the one bad thing about mysteries written about London is that the hero is always getting his ass kicked. It looks like if the police can't have guns they would at least learn how to fight. And, though Atticus was fired from the police force, he still helps the police. BUT there's no reason he has to have a flask of whiskey with him all the time and smoking joints. It's not saying much for an ex-cop, since that was why he was fired to begin with.

He's good at solving crimes, though. Like this one that was just full of dead bodies. And it was somewhat of a cliffy but it really didn't leaving you hanging or with unanswered questions.

Some fade-to-black sex and a little bit of swearing.

As for the narration: Simon Vance did a fantastic job on the voices and the emotions.

A place to bury this book

I'm in the minority, but I just don't care for this series. The narrator is superb, but the story is stupid. There is not much real substance to the story. The professional and personal relationship between Mack and Atticus feels forced and contrived. I find it hard to believe a policewoman of Mack's rank has to call her disgraced former cop drug addict alcoholic lover for advice or help every time she needs to make a work decision. She's a helpless lush, all she does in this book is ask for advice on how to do her job and drink multiple bottles of wine each day and shots of alcohol while on duty. Mack is selfish, she admits that she prefers committing adultery over keeping custody of her children. Nice, I'm sure the kids would love to know that. It's also ridiculous and unrealistic to believe the police department would hire Atticus as a consultant. I gave the series a second chance with book #2, but I will not continue to book #3.

Another fabulous addition to the series

I think I like book 2 even better than the first one. Fascinating story, that really sets up book 3 without leaving loose ends. Love it, and can't wait for the next one.

Hooray for a great narrator!!!

Excellent narrator.

There was so much potential with this story, but Atticus and Mack's ridiculous story ruined it. I like Atticus, but Mack is an irresponsible selfish mother that didn't add anything worth following in this book. I wish the author would focus more on Atticus cases and pair him with someone that wants to do the work. She's a useless DCI that needs others to do her job for her. She doesn't care about her kids one bit. I understand that the job is demanding, but there's something called vacation and/or leave. She could have taken a leave to spend time with her kids and guide them through the divorce. Instead, she decided that Atticus was more important and ended up in the same spot as before.

Great Great Great!

I love this series. Atticus is brilliant, sexy and a bit broken...a woman's dream. I can't wait for the next installment. Narration was perfect.

Great Read

Especially good for those readers who like to put things together themselves. The characters are relatable faults and all. Especially for one who has taught many children on the spectrum.

No ending

Was great but there was no ending so now you’re waiting for the next book.

Atticus

Great listen great characters hoping for another soon. Lots of humor but serious too enjoy

Kept My Attention

I think this one was better than book 1. Great suspense, ready for 3.

Not as gripping as book 1

The narrator looses a star for the VERY POOR rendering of any accents that aren’t English! (He’s not that great on regional accents either)! Suffice it to say that switching between an attempt at a Jamaican accent and just about managing what sounds like a South African accent for someone who hails from Ghana is pretty poor! I’m not sure that a ‘hint of a brummie’ accent sounds even remotely like an Australian one! 😳

Another complex case from an initially innocuous beginning, but the thing is - there really isn’t a conclusion! And the tale ends on a ‘to be continued…’ note! 😳 And if, like me, you’re reading it long before book 3 comes out, that’s not a good feeling… a good story, but weaker than the debut.

I still read it in one day though - but not because I was driven to, more because it was an interesting read…

Page turner

I just love Atticus, he reminds me of my brother, who is no longer with us.
I need more.

Great!

Another good book expertly read by Simon Vance which makes it fantastic, Only problem is that the next one is not out yet (July 2022) I'm hoping it won't be long.

I need MORE!

I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next installment! Brilliant! Definitely worth the credit!

Really good listen

Enjoyed this book a lot and it was a great story.
Well performed by the narrator.