Blood Moon

A Robert Payne Mystery, Book 1

By: Ed Gorman

Narrated by: Mark Douglas Nelson

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

Former FBI agent and psychological profiler Robert Payne is on the trail of a serial killer. A 12 year old girl has been murdered and mutilated, and the detective assigned to the case wound up dead. Now Nora Conners, the girl's wealthy mother, has hired Payne to solve the murder and bring closure. After narrowing his search to three men, a televangelist, a honey salesman, and an art teacher, all living in the small Iowa town of New Hope, Payne begins to narrow the field, posing as a journalist.

That's just the start. As the daughter of one of the suspects joins the list of victim, and the woman who hired him is murdered, Payne finds himself on a race to solve the case before he himself is implicated.

Taut, suspenseful, and filled with the quirky details and character flaws that are the hallmark of Ed Gorman's fiction, Blood Moon is a wonderful introduction to a very memorable character. Be sure to follow his adventures through the other three Robert Payne novels, Hawk Moon, Voodoo Moon, and Harlot's Moon.

©1994 Ed Gorman (P)2012 David N. Wilson

A good writer, a great narrator, but. . .

If you can't handle books that include gruesome things involving puppies and children, you may want to avoid this one.

The main storyline is an ex FBI agent investigating a case - the character is likable and the investigation is intriguing and the narrator has an appropriate style and pleasant voice.

The back story is in prison and gets pretty ugly. I skipped over most of these scenes without losing the plot line of the main story.

Eventually of course the two storylines merge and it gets pretty sickening toward the end. By then I was caught up in the plot enough that I stuck it out but I had to remove the earbuds off and on.

I might try some more of the Robert Payne series as Ed Gorman is an excellent writer. The dialogue is believable and the story flows nicely.

a rather stupid story with barely there narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I'd change pretty much everything. The hero starts o'k but by the end he is blindly walking into such glaringly obvious traps that one starts wondering how that guy had managed to survive and even become a private detective.
The setting (especially the end) is so melodramatically bad - it becomes morbidly funny. I kept expecting Jaws to appear, gnashing his iron teeth :) Poor puppies, rats, underground cellars, dropping guns, girls killed by dozens (all the while poor reader wonders what was the real FBI doing while dozens and dozens of kids kept dissapearing, unfortunately the author is not bound by such realistic concerns).
I do not mind gory when gory is necessary but this was excessive, over the top and mostly not needed. O'K, we know the main villain is a sadistic SOB after the first puppy - how many more explicit sadistic scenes does a reader need?

Would you ever listen to anything by Ed Gorman again?

Most definitely not.

What about Mark Douglas Nelson’s performance did you like?

Nothing. But I would be sorry for anybody who had to narrate such trash.

Could you see Blood Moon being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Please, don't.

Any additional comments?

Feel like reading about Dr.Lecter - need a dose of elegant smarts LOL

Tried to be too clever

This book had some good ideas and a strong main character. I found that the twists and turns were contrived and not very well executed.

Protagonist Wimp

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No.

Would you be willing to try another book from Ed Gorman? Why or why not?

No.

What three words best describe Mark Douglas Nelson’s performance?

Fit the nature of the main character.

Could you see Blood Moon being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

no

Any additional comments?

The lack of professionalism and weak nature of the protagonist was off putting. There were scenes in the book, that just did not ring true, and I am one who usually gives the author slack in this department. The dialogue did not seem authentic.

Unnecessarily Gruesome

Would you try another book from Ed Gorman and/or Mark Douglas Nelson?

No

What was most disappointing about Ed Gorman’s story?

I like a good detective story, and don't mind blood and violence, but this was beyond the pale. Several scenes involving puppies were way too much for me, and what I believe was the final denouement was just unnecessarily disgusting. I will not finish this book.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was boring.

Sick content - bad narration

The reader leaves MUCH to be desired... and as some have pointed out some of the material is extremely disturbing, in this case I feel having had the narration so droll it made it a little less disgusting to "hear" not less disgusting as context. you may feel it's jumping all over the place and really it is... it SOMEWHAT comes together in the end. I don't recommend on any level.

Incoherent and unbelievable story

Decent narration but incoherent and totally unbelievable story. Primitive writing. Dialogs at the sixth grade level. I will never read anything else by this "author"

Good.

Robert takes over a case of a young girl having been murder. The mother gives him a big check to find the killer. More secrets are found in this sleepy Iowa town, of a serial killer, kidnapping. A plot that keeps you on the toes to the end. Enjoyed the audio with good narration. Given audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

Great book; tedious listen.

This was not a performance. It was simply someone reading a book. If the story hadn't been so good I would not have stuck with it. No character inflections or emotion what so ever. Too bad.

Gory

Not what I expected or hoped for. Too much graphic content; not enough suspense and detective lines. Hard to invest in the main character.

Good

I was given this free review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Good listen

Ok, enjoyable enough, not brilliant.

Over the last few months I've become acquainted with some of Ed Gorman's works. I've enjoyed my encounters thus far without being blown away - Nightmare Child and Murder on the Aisle, I enjoyed with reservations and now Blood Moon. For a while I thought this was the one that would knock me off my chair. Alas.

It's an interesting set-up. Ex-FBI man, Robert Payne is employed to try and identify a killer which his former friend and nearly business partner has whittled down to three suspects. His friend is now dead. (Murdered?) Soon his employer is. Payne works undercover to try and catch the killer.

I liked it, but just felt there were a few too many twists as we get to the climax of the book. It was almost as if the author was trying more to outwit the reader, with revelation upon revelation, shock after shock, as opposed to bringing the story to a cohesive and credible conclusion.

I'm not usually a massive of the serial killer type thriller anyway, with probably the exception of John Sandford's early work. Gorman hasn't really done anything as such to disabuse me of my reading inclinations.

Interesting small town setting, credible main character though I did get frustrated at his refusal to reveal his true identity to the small town cop he was getting close to. It irritated me after a while. The jig was up, she's onto you, ergo stop being a tool.

Plenty of unlikable sorts in here....... a creepy, corrupt TV evangelist, a floosy type hanger-on, a dodgy drifter also part of the pastor's posse, his alcoholic wife, and his dead client's estranged father, as well as some peripheral characters who get drawn into blackmail and victimhood.

Overall probably a 3 from 5. Maybe 3.5 at a push. I think the ending just shaved it down half a mark. I'm interested in trying more from Gorman and more from this series, so in that respect it hasn't put me off. I think some books you read and enjoy and they kind of act as fillers until the next truly impressive book falls into your hands.

Read - (listened to) December, 2020
Published - 1994
Page count - 320 (8 hrs 36 mins)
Source - Audible purchase
Format - Audible