Funeral for a Friend: A Jonathan Stride Novel

The Jonathan Stride Series, 10

By: Brian Freeman

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

“You’re safe, Stride. I found the body at the Deeps. I buried him.”

Jonathan Stride’s best friend, Steve Garske, makes a shocking deathbed confession: He protected Stride by covering up a murder. Hours later, the police dig up Steve’s yard and find a body with a bullet hole in its skull.

Stride is pretty sure he knows who it is. Seven years ago, an out-of-town reporter disappeared while investigating anonymous allegations of rape against a prominent politician. Back then, the police believed that the reporter drowned at a dangerous swimming hole called the Deeps...but the discovery of the body changes everything. Now Stride’s partner, Maggie Bei, is forced to ask Stride an uncomfortable question: Did you kill him?

Stride is obviously hiding things. He was the last person to see the reporter alive. And he admits lying to Maggie about that meeting but won’t tell her why. With suspicion in the murder pointing at him, Stride finds himself off the case and on leave from the Duluth Police.

His only ally in clearing his name is his wife, Serena, who retraces the reporter’s investigation into the explosive allegations. The clues all point to a hot Duluth summer years earlier that everyone in town would prefer to forget.

Someone was willing to kill rather than let those long-ago secrets come out, and the suspect with the strongest motive...is Stride.

©2020 Brian Freeman (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Good Addition To The Series

Brian Freeman doesn't disappoint. I've read every Stride novel and each one is a carefully woven story with vivid characters. One would almost expect to see them on the streets of Duluth today. This story was amazing. You can't help but love Stride and the people around him for all their individual character strengths and flaws. Funeral for a Friend had me from the first pages with all the twists and turns and left me emotional at the end. I love how the experiences of Stride's past were interspersed yet you don't need to have read prior books in the series for it to make sense. Thank you for another epic story telling. I look forward to the next one.

Joe Barrett was good with the delivery of the story

Love the series

I used 3 months to finish all Jonathan Stride series from 2005 to date. I love the author always has a quick turnaround and surprise at the very end. But what makes the series and the book special are the emotional growth of Jonathan Stride and people around him. It’s not just a detective novel that focusing on solving crime but also about a person growing out of pain of loss and understanding love.

love the stride series

Finished it 3 days. The story was great with some surprising twists but some predictable ones too. Overall, very much enjoyed

Excellent as always!

Brian Freeman is my favorite author and Joe Barrett my favorite male narrator. Always a winning combination. The Jonathan Stride series gets better with each book! You'll love this one!

great story

this book was fantastic all the way around good performance good to keep us on the edge of your seat the whole time just an awesome book overall

Outstanding

I love this series! I just found out that I missed a couple and there's one more after this one. I intend to finish them all. These characters have become like family to me. Joe Barrett is also the best narrator ever!

Three for one

Well-written and good plotting with 3 Mysteries to resolve. Maybe a bit too Greek drama-like at the conclusion.

Narrator ruined it for me

The narrator’s voice is too gruff and I had a hard time visualizing the characters.

I hope this isn’t the end of Jonathan…

I discovered the series via an Audible promo and got the first book free. I immediately fell victim to the story and made my way through the series over a few months. This current release was a great listen start to finish. I never expected myself to get so involved and care about the characters. I liked getting to see each character develop over time; not just being side pieces with an honourable mention.

It sounds like Jonathan may be nearing retirement but I hope Mr Freeman gets him to make another appearance in the future.

Last book and it was oh so good

What a great final book to the series. I am so sad it's over and I want more so badly. Here we see Jonathan lose a very dear friend, someone we have gotten to know well throughout the series. On his death bed he utters words to Stride that leave him confused and in deep trouble. Being the honest guy he is, he turns the death bed confession over to his partner and is suspended while a murder investigation takes place..... with Stride as the prime suspect! It's a roller coaster of events, so many questions, so many players.... and a lot of dead people who can't spill their secrets! SO good! Please let me see Stride again in the future! I really do love him and this series! Narrator did a great job!