Ash: Prequel to Psychopaths and Sinners

By: Jack L. Pyke

Narrated by: Dan Calley

Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

“You up for that, hm, Ash? A lesson from an old soul to youth? From me...to you?” (Raif)

Ash Thomas and his gameplay with other men is vicious, cruel. Better to f--k someone over than be the one who’s on the floor, f--ked up, right? But his latest cruelties are about to catch the eye of the Wraith, someone who’s been brought up to play professionally in the shadows. For Ash, beauty and rage aren’t the kind of sins to win him any favours anymore. Life lessons never did come easy, especially when they’re about to walk in off the darkened streets, bringing a hangman with bloodied footprints in its wake.

Ash: Prequel to Psychopaths and Sinners - Don't...,Book 4.5

©2019 Jack L. Pyke (P)2019 Jack L. Pyke

Confused

Jack and Dan are awesome storytelling both in writing and narrating since I have listen to the previous audiobooks of this series that why I am confused with audiobook. This audible does not follow the storyline of BDSM club set as with Jack and Grey. This one is totally vanilla with all new characters and no tie into the previous audiobooks of the Don't series. Not saying it not good just saying it not what expected.
Hope that make sense!!

The Cuckoo train has left the station!

4.5 Blue Roses
4 Blue Flames

Narrator Dan Calley caught the proverbial psychopath characteristic ball and ran with it. OMG, I can not decide if I’m mental or moonstruck! We are back onto the cuckoo train and the f@#ker has left the station!

Reviewing this book without spoiling the fun and tension. Let’s just say I was sad, horrified, unhinged, touched, bonkers and finally left frustrated and mentally drained. I have the inclination to tap my heals and fly away.

This audiobook was nominated for audiobook of the month. (Jan 2020)
This series is a must listen, in small amounts to preserve your sanity!
Happy Listening

interesting

good and interesting.. narrator did a good job with the personalities and emotions.. the author did a good job with writing this story. i liked it

Wow

Ash and Raif are such an unlikely pair, but have a real connection. I liked them as a couple because they fit. This tale leaves more questions than answers. I had empathy for Ash, because he's a young man who has to grow up the hard way and his dad- ??!! wth? His dad made me sick. Murders continue and tragedy strikes close to home and leaves a sad ending. Looking forward to more answers. I voluntarily listened to this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job.

Fluttermouses, Butterflies and Wraiths

Being a faithful fan of the Don’t series, I nabbed this one as soon as it came out. I quickly realized these were new characters and I wouldn’t be seeing Jack, Jan, and Gray. Okay, I’m easily able to adapt. Something new. Great. As long as I got a mindf-k, I knew I’d be happy.

I was not disappointed.

Ash is a great character. He’s not got his stuff together. He’s barely able to hold onto his auto parts job (mostly thanks to his supervisor and close mate Johnny). He’s got a f-k buddy with Chase, another mate. He’s living with his father and that’s a whole other level of dysfunction.

He gets in trouble at work and is punished by being assigned to housesit for his boss. Now, I knew he wasn’t going to sit quietly for the weekend and behave – that would be completely out of character. Did I envision the amount of trouble he could get in during a few scant hours on a Saturday night? Nope. Was I on the edge of my seat the whole time? Yep.

Being young and impressionable, Ash is an interesting character. Cynical at times? For sure. Open to new experiences? Absolutely. He’s planning a backpacking trip with Johnny and Chase. An opportunity to get away from his hum-drum life.

On his adventures the night of housesitting, he meets an enigmatic older stranger. A man who never shares much about himself. Ash has no reason to trust the man and yet he does. There’s no logical reason for him to be attracted to Raif, and yet he is. There’s no rational reason for him to keep unlocking his door at night, and yet he does.

When tragedy strikes, my heart broke. I didn’t see it coming and was shocked. Does it set up the next book? Brilliantly. There is no happy ending in this book, but there is a promise of more. More of Ash and more of Raif. More of the mystery. More mindf-ks.

I can’t wait.

Dan Calley is the narrator for this series and he’s a brilliant choice. His deep and resonant voice works for these men who range from working class to white collar. There’s a wide range and Calley handles all of them really well. Here’s hoping the wait isn’t too long for the next book in the series.

From the Ashes...

Wow.. Just no other word, I make no secret of the fact I am a HUGE Jack L Pyke fan, so hearing her books come to life is beyond amazing. Ash might be shorter than the others in the Don't universe, but it slots in perfectly.

Juggling multiple accents from the West Midlands is not an easy task, but Dan Calley nailed it. There was no confusion about who was who,as they all had their own distinctive traits which made it easy to follow and for someone not native to that area, it's a challenge and one he rose to.

I can't wait for all these to be out so I can have a massive Don't audio marathon!

as good as the ebook

The story is always 4 or 5 stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English. It took me a little bit, to come into the narrator, but at the end, it worked. I only have to take a few breaks between. I'm just not yet finish with the book, but I listen enough to give a review.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:

5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening.
it's like a B

Dark, gritty and powerful

The whole Don’t series is amazing, a complex and convoluted thriller with a very dirty side (in every sense of the word).

It can be hard to read in parts, Jack L Pyke doesn’t gloss over gore, torture or mental and physical impacts, but the graphic nature, and the protagonist’s reactions, are what bring the characters so vividly to life. I am in love with Gray, Jack and Jan, and my heart soars and breaks for them as their stories are revealed. Their world can be a brutal place, but with flashes of light, humour and tough love, the relationships between them and with the other characters are carefully and skilfully created, built and moulded by the oh-so-talented author.

They’re not in this book, though. This is a prequel to book 5 in the Don’t series and introduces some new characters with their back stories. It is as dark, gritty and powerful as the earlier books, and just as painful in places - especially the cliffhanger ending. Despite the new characters, it’s not a stand-alone, I strongly recommend you read the first part of the series first so you can go straight into book 5.

‘Ash’ happens to be based in the area of the UK where I was brought up, The accents are spot on, and Ash supports what used to be my local football team (lol).

Which brings me neatly to Dan Calley. That voice ❤️. Dan’s narration of each of the books brings the characters to life. His ability to differentiate the characters through their various voices and accents is simply first class, and he is entirely consistent, even across books.

If you’re into light and fluffy, low angst and pretty love making - this series isn’t for you. But if you want to be challenged, educated, informed, have your emotions dragged over a rollercoaster and feel as though you are almost in the room with these characters, give Jack L Pyke, Dan Calley and the Don’t series some serious time (and effort) - you won’t be sorry.