An Act of Kindness

Hakim and Arnold, Book 2

By: Barbara Nadel

Narrated by: Paul Thornley

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim run a detective agency in London's East End. But their latest case could have devastating consequences.

A new client, Nasreen, has sought Hakim's help. Recently moved to a new house, and with a baby on the way, this should be an exciting time- but Nasreen has made friends in the community that she cannot tell her husband, Abdullah, about. And when a murder takes place close to their home, Nasreen suspects that Abdullah also has something to hide.

This case is a challenge for the agency, but provides a timely warning to Mumtaz- debts spiralling, her life is in danger of spinning out of control.

Both women are on a path towards destruction, as the consequences of ignoring their instincts become ever more dangerous...

©2013 Barbara Nadel (P)2014 W.F. Howes Ltd

Great novel, great reader - appalling production

What did you love best about An Act of Kindness?

The story, the characters, the kindness of many of the characters, the diversity of the characters. I loved the many accents of Paul Thornley, who did a great job with a challenging range.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

NO NO NO. In fact, here's where I nearly went crazy! I am still struggling through the book because I love the story, BUT - can we PLEASE have a second or two PAUSE between segments? This is an all-too-common problem in Audible productions, but it seems to be especially bad with this one.

Audible production people, PLEASE - when people READ a book they get to see when there is a transition to a new section (different characters, different location). When we can only listen, we do not have that visual prompt to tell us that characters A and B have exited stage right, and characters C and D are now on stage.

The number of times I have found myself thinking "WHAT? What just happened?" And then realizing that there has been a complete scene change. Honestly, there is NO PAUSE AT ALL between sections. If anything, the pauses between sections are shorter than between sentences (when at least the reader has to occasionally breathe). So then I am totally confused for a few seconds because the characters appear to be acting out of character - only to realize that they are DIFFERENT characters! Then I have to rewind and play it again to try and figure out where the change occurred. Sometimes I have to do it three or four times. So no, not an easy listen at all.

Just a few seconds pause between sections would solve this problem. Is it a case of trying to keep the recording shorter? Or is it just appallingly bad production work, splicing together the sections slap bang next to each other, so that the poor listener is constantly confused? If that is the case, I appeal to the production editors to listen to a radio play sometime, and note how masterfully they ensure that it is crystal clear when scenes shift, and therefore don't confuse and torment their listeners.

If it wasn't for this, I would rate this book a 5 star - but as it is, I think I need to ask for my money back on the grounds that what should be a relaxing experience is actually infuriating.

Any additional comments?

Please train the production editors on how to do scene shifts. I pay a lot for my Audible books, and I expect a whole lot better than this. I expect to be entertained, not driven crazy.