Deceptive Cadence

The Virtuosic Spy, Book 1

By: Kathryn Guare

Narrated by: Wayne Farrell

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Conor McBride. He's even more interesting than the trouble he gets into.

A talented Irish musician reluctantly reinvents himself, disappearing into an undercover identity to search for the man who ruined his career: his own brother. On a journey from the west of Ireland to the tumultuous city of Mumbai, Conor McBride's only goal is to redeem the brother who betrayed him. But he's becoming a virtuoso of a different kind in a dangerous game where the rules keep changing - and where the allies he trusted to help him may be the people he should fear the most.

©2014 Kathryn Guare (P)2016 Kathryn Guare

Critic reviews

"This is one of those times when a narrator lifts a good book just that much higher." (Audiothing)

"…sometimes you find a true gem out among the two- and three-star books. A gem just sitting there waiting to be noticed. This book is such a gem and it is worthy of your notice. It is an international thriller with a giant soul and a great deal of introspection. If you are looking for a 'shoot 'em up', this is not your book, even though there is plenty of shooting. It is the story of two brothers, and like all families, this family is complicated. The audiobook was read by Wayne Ferrell and he was amazing. His voice drew me right in and brought this excellent text to life. He demonstrated a mastery of multiple accents and, more importantly, carried the mood of the story in his tone and pacing as he read." (DWD’s Reviews)

"...expertly narrated by Wayne Farrell. His performance brought the characters to life and added the perfect amount of drama and angst to this well-written thriller." (Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards)

And excellent reluctant spy story!

Set in 2003-2004, Conor McBride is willing to go to great lengths for his family. He was a concert violinist when he found out just how badly his older brother Thomas screwed him over. He’s since fled the country, leaving Conor to pay the government back the large debt. He also moved back to the family farm in Ireland to help his ailing mom (Brigid McBride) out. Then a mysterious man shows up offering him knowledge of where his brother is in exchange for service. Pretty soon, Conor is wrapped up in a world of deceit, drugs, corruption, and guns. And magnificent Indian food.

This was a gripping novel! Conor and his brother Thomas have some serious history between them. Conor feels that his life was ruined when he was saddled with his brother’s enormous debt, having to return from London to the family farm on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland that he never had any interest in. Years have passed and Conor grows comfortable on the farm, even though it’s a far cry from his concert violinist life. Then Frank Murdoch from MI6 shows up offering information on the whereabouts of Thomas but it’s not free. The British Intelligence Service wants something from Conor and that involves 10 hard weeks of spy camp and several long months working in some of the roughest parts of India. I was surprised when Brigid sends Conor off with her blessing, saying that Thomas needs him.

There’s very little about the spy camp. Our hero goes from fiddling cow milker to trained deadly spy in several paragraphs, tho there are a few references to his time there later in the story. Conor brought some of his own skills to table from the beginning, like his intelligence, linguistic skills, and athletic build. With that, he surpassed his instructor’s expectations. Yet he isn’t ready for everything he comes across in the field. There are some tough scenes for this fledgling spy and despite the dirty business he’s in, he never loses his humanity. He’s this wonderful mix of competence, steel nerves, and soft heart.

Most of the book takes place in India, in and around Mumbai. I definitely felt that the author had done her research. She brought the beauty and the grunge. It was a very believable setting complete with child slavery, tasty food, generous hospitality, illegal arms sales, gentle religious rites, and drug use.

There’s several female characters in this spy novel which isn’t the usual for this genre. So that was a breath of fresh air. Yet the ladies were pretty much there to comfort the men. They each have some personality and some role in the story that is more than window dressing and yet none of them ever really touch the central plot. Conor’s world of spies is a man’s world. I would have liked a bit more from the ladies. However, this little weakness of the story didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the novel. Kavita was the most prominent lady in that she provided medical care and comfort of a motherly sort to Conor when he really needed it. I really liked her calm and patience and yet she could also be insistent when needed. Radha is a 13 year old heroin addict and dancer at a pleasure house. Conor’s undercover persona brings him to this seedy side of town where he meets Radha and he wishes he could do something to permanently help her situation. They’re relationship, as fleeting as it is, pulled the emotions out of me.

Let’s chat about Sedgewick, who like Murdoch, presents a well-honed edge to the world at large. Conor in his endearing way manages to catch both men in unguarded moments, revealing something deeper. Sedgewick had a lot more page time and he’s definitely a complicated character. He’s wrestled with his demons but they left scars and he’s just a touch paranoid that those around him don’t trust him…. but he’s in the spy business. I loved this polarity about him. He works in a field that calls for deception yet craves solid relationships. I hope we get to see him again.

The McBrides have a sixth sense of a sort. It’s left pretty nebulous, something that can be chocked up to chance or a mystical element depending on how the reader wants to interpret such things. For me, I could leave it or take it. This element of the story didn’t do much for me other than keeping Brigid engaged in the storyline even when she wasn’t on the page.

The action scenes were great. There was plenty of tension throughout the tale as Conor does his best to navigate this deadly web. With each layer of lies he peeled back, I became a little more paranoid about who he could trust. Eventually, we learn about the main bad guy that everyone wants, Vasily Dragonov. Things don’t go as planned and I felt deeply for Conor by the end of the story. What an emotional ringer the guy has been through! I was engaged throughout the entire tale. Conor McBride is my new favorite spy!

I received a free copy of this book via The Audiobook Worm.

The Narration: Wayne Farrell nailed this performance. Gallic, English, Hindi, and Russian accents pepper this story and Wayne did a great job with all of them. There’s some Hindi and Gallic prayers and swearing as well which he did with gusto. His female voices were all believable and each character was distinct. He was able to portray the variety of emotions of Conor McBride and the other main characters with moving accuracy.

Just OK For Me

Since this book had so many awards, I started it with a lot of hope. It was a little disappointing after all of the awards, as I figured it was just an average book. Nothing great, nothing very bad. Just an average book.
Way too many long rambles around Ireland, India, and London. Lots of mysterious goings on that just get dull. I gave up trying to follow the story about 1/2 through, and just skimmed the rest. Vague Russians, oafish Americans, drugs, a saintly Indian woman. Wow, lots of imagination in need of harnessing and an editor who can figure out a narrative through all of the segments. But this book was just okay for me.

Wayne Farrell was outstanding with the delivery of the story and made book more enjoyable

Very good

Story had enough twists and turns to keep me engaged. Wayne Farrell did a very good job of keeping the story going and bringing the characters to life.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great

I really enjoyed this audiobook the story and the characters that made the story great and the narrator did a great job I got the book from audio boom and you let me have a code
Thank you

Great book well read!

So excited that this wonderful thriller is now on Audble. Wayne Farell makes this an exciting, on the edge of your seat listen. Guare is a masterful storyteller and the book kept me enthralled from start to finish. Hope to hear more from this team and the rest of the Virtuosic Spy series

Loved this. ..

very captivating. ...twists and turns kept our attention to the end. ..looking forward to book 2

wonderful

I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters where well developed and you felt like you moved through the story with them. I loved how the author was able to describe the places in just the perfect amount of detail so you could picture the place but where not overwelmed in detail. The story was wonderful. It was a story of brothers, mistakes and forgiveness wrapped in mystery and intrigue. I can't wait to read the next one in the series!

Amazing Audiobook! Fantastic Narrator!

When the print version of this book came out a few years ago I could not put it down! I was excited when the audiobook version came out, but a little nervous, too. I enjoy audiobooks but I'm picky about the narrators and had my own ideas about how the characters should sound - especially the main hero, Conor McBride. Well, I'm happy to say Wayne Farrell has made this into a spectacular audiobook! He has a beautiful voice and an amazing talent for accents, and the melodious Irish accent for Conor was just perfect. Aside from the tone of his voice, though, his narration sounds more like real storytelling than simply reading the book. I felt as though he were spinning the tale himself and enjoying it as much as I did. The other books in this series are just as good if not better, and I hope there will be audiobooks of those, too - with the same narrator!

Great story

I enjoy stories that are not predictable and Deceptive Cadence doesn’t disappoint. This book gave me no inclination of what would be coming. The author did a fantastic job of moving the main character through oddly different situations and characters. The last third of the audiobook required a relisten, twice. It could have been my mind wandering, but it took a couple of times before I figured out what was going on. Although this book can stand alone, I’m interested in listening to book 2 of the series.
The narrator was great. No problems at all. Hope to hear him in the next book.

I was provided this free audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review.

fantastic spy/thriller

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a fantastic spy/thriller. I very much enjoyed the characters and story created by the author. I actually started this series with book 2, and came back for this one. I'm glad I did. The narration is very well done. I'm excited to go to book 3 (because book 2 was so good too).