Cast Iron

By: Peter May

Narrated by: Peter Forbes

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Girl in the Lake 

In 1989, a killer dumped the body of 20-year-old Lucie Martin into a picturesque lake in the west of France. Fourteen years later, during a summer heat wave, a drought exposed her remains. 

The Man on the Case 

No one was ever convicted of her murder. But now, forensic expert Enzo Macleod is reviewing this stone-cold case - the toughest of those he has been challenged to solve. 

The Skeleton in the Closet 

Yet when Enzo finds a flaw in the original evidence surrounding Lucie's murder, he opens a Pandora's box that not only raises old ghosts but endangers his entire family. 

©2017 Peter May (P)2017 Quercus Editions Limited

Critic Reviews

"A rip-roaring thriller... thoroughly enjoyable." (Mail on Sunday)

"A masterly plot twister." (Sunday Herald)

Enzo Rides Again!

I think one thing that is cast in iron is that if Peter May releases an audio book with Peter Forbes narrating I am not going to regret buying it. This one takes another step to proving the rule. I would say it is actually one of the best of this particular series. McLeod's increasingly complex personal life develops apace as does the thriller of a story that his investigations bring him into. He's a great character to follow with his lack of tact and impatience with rules and procedures.

We get all the usual quality of Peter May's writing including finely described European locations and deep, multi-faceted characters plus twists and turns along the way. The depth of research that goes into this writing is self-evident. Peter Forbes as I have said previously is incredibly well suited as a narrator to May's writing and characters. In a series that in my view was never quite as consistently excellent as say the Lewis trilogy this book is a highlight.

28 of 33 people found this review helpful

A good series conclusion

Loved the Enzo Macleod series, this is the final book, it's just a shame books 2 & 3 aren't available in Audible as some of the relevant storyline & flow is missing. However this doesn't distract too much from this edge of the seat thriller it just would have been nice to have things fall into place with a better understanding of the actions & incidents that had obviously preceeded in the earlier two books. Peter May is one of my favourite authors. I haven't been disappointed once reading his books & now intend to go on to his China series. Once again Peter Forbes narration is superb with all his voice characterisations spot on. Thoroughly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not wholly successful as a stand alone book

I hadn’t realised that this was the final part of a series in which forensic scientist Enszo Macleod investigates a sequence six cold cases. While this book is mainly concerned with finding the perpetrator of the sixth and final murder victim previous cases are alluded to and I kept feeling that I was missing the significance of several back-stories. The book has many characters who have evidently figured in earlier books but meeting so many of them for the first time made the narrative confusing at times.

Actual detection and forensic science play only a small part in the narrative which is more about the life and loves of Enzo: a surprising number of the females had had a relationship with him. There’s too much unnecessary description of what even minor characters look like and what they are wearing; and every female character gets an attractiveness assessment.

It’s a complicated and long-winded story that finally reveals who killed the final victim and why. I don’t think the narrative built up the evidence satisfactorily and the denouement is perfunctory. I might have enjoyed the journey to get there more if I had read the previous five books. I don't think I’ll bother as some of the conclusions of earlier stories are referred to in this final book.

Having read a number of the author’s books I think that the Lewis trilogy is by far the best as the books have gripping stories combined with a powerful evocation of the atmosphere of the Outer Herbrides, whereas, Cast Iron, set in France didn’t create any sense of the atmosphere of the country.

Peter Forbes is an excellent narrator whose gift for creating different voices helped keep track of the different characters.

16 of 23 people found this review helpful

A great 'page ' turner

A compelling download. The story moves with pace and style. My only real criticism being the length of time between the publication of this and the prequels. Many books have come between and I couldn't recall some of the characters and incidents. To fully enjoy this book I wish I had listened again to the previous Enzo books. Not a stand alone book but exciting and beautifully performed.

10 of 15 people found this review helpful

loved every minute

What a fantastic book the way Peter May ends this trilogy is brilliant. loved it.

great

very predictable for anyone knowing peter mays books. but he is a great story teller and the series is great

Very predictable series

I read the first in the Enzo Macleod series and thought it was ok but decided to continue with the rest of the series as I enjoyed the Lewis Trilogy so much. However this series was such a disappointment. I had pretty much guessed the whole outcome after book 3 and as for Enzo, besides the fact he’s so irresistible to all women 🤦🏻‍♀️he can never seem to seem to see the obvious. Very disappointing series and quite demeaning to women.

Brilliant conclusion to a terrific series!

The Enzo Files has been a real joy. The only one that was a little less
pleasurable was the penultimate one which was not narrated by Peter Forbes - a superb narrator for this author's work.

Cast Iron: Enzo Macleod 6

Excellent Story with no loose ends. Gripping to last sentence
Perfectly narrated by Peter Forbes

French tour de force!

Really enjoyed this intriguing ending to Enzo’s adventures. Lots of twists and turns, plenty of action , some brutality.