Half Moon Chambers

By: Harper Fox

Narrated by: Tim Gilbert

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A cop and a recovering addict - no chance for romance there.

Yet Vince, a street-hardened narcotics officer, is having to reassess his life. Six months ago, he hit rock-bottom. A bullet brought him down, and his beloved partner Jack betrayed him. Badly disabled and in constant pain, Vince is flying a desk these days, and it doesn't suit him at all. His world is looking grim when he meets Rowan Clyde, sole surviving witness to a vicious drugs-related killing.

Rowan doesn't want to talk. He's vulnerable, trying to hold his own life together in the wake of a crippling addiction. Vince should have no time for him, and Rowan certainly shouldn't trust a cop with an agenda to get him onto the witness stand at any cost.

Yet despite their differences, there's an instant pull of attraction between these two damaged men. Their new bond is put to the ultimate test on the tough streets of Newcastle during a dark northern winter, as each turns out to hold the keys to the other's survival - and to his destruction.

©2012 Harper Fox (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Sublime in every way

I spent and enthralling several hours caught up in Rowan and Vince's conflicted Newcastle world. This is one of my favorite books by Harper Fox. It's a lovely combination of sensuousness, grit, heartbreak, and determination - full of tense action, and much love. The audio performance by Tim Gilbert is nothing short of brilliant. Gripping, raw, and profoundly nuanced. Tim voiced both Vince and Rowan to perfection. I couldn't have given them better intonations in my head. He takes a gorgeously written story to new heights. It makes for an unforgettable experience -yet one I want to experience all over again.

Beautiful story, fabulous performance!!

My goodness what a treat! This book just hit all the sweet spots, law enforcement, hurt/comfort, wonderful writing and a hard fought HEA. Harper Fox is just a master writer. If you don't mind her use of the slang of Northern England, which can be a little hard to decipher for an American listener, her stories are magnificent. Tim Gilbert is a perfect narrator for this love story, and it is definitely a love story. The MCs are very complex and finding and loving each other is a struggle due to their own internal demons, as well as some external ones. Tackling something like addiction is always a tricky subject, but I think she does it beautifully and honestly. And again, Mr. Gilbert puts in a truly magnificent performance. Highly recommend!

Gloriously flawed characters bring truth to this gritty romance!

Harper Fox evokes a sense of place like no other. In this gritty romance she takes us to the rough underbelly of Newcastle, England during a dreary winter. For me, her settings are as impactful as her deeply flawed characters. The combination of the three blew me away in this book.

Here she teams up a physically broken copper deep in depression and on the verge of addiction, with an unwilling witness to a murder. He also happens to be a recovering heroin addict. I LOVED these two together. They were so thoroughly imperfect and that made them real. They fought these huge battles within themselves. Battles they feared to fight, battles they sometimes lost, battles they sometimes simply gave in to. But isn’t that life? Life isn’t pretty and perfect and rosy. Sometimes life is one day at a time, knowing that tomorrow you may very likely be the reason of your own downfall.

Yet what makes this a romance is that these two very real characters have each other; and if one falls the other will be there to pick the other man up. I SIMPLY LOVED SEEING THESE MEN GROW STRONGER TOGETHER.

The audiobook version was amazingly narrated by Tim Gilbert with a spot on northern accent (not that I would be able to tell if it was off, lol!).

Not for Me

The romance was too awkwardly mushy for the voice the narrator used for the main character. Some of the writing just made me cringe. I like Harper Fox usually, but this was just not it for me. The casual way addiction was handled, too, was just not my cup of tea. One second Rowan is an addict and then it just doesn't really matter anymore after he detoxes the second time. There was a little pink bow on everything toward the end, too. It's a no from me.

Really good

I really enjoyed this book. What a beautiful love story. I love the narrator Tim Gilbert. What a treasure I’ve passed many times and never chose it. I’m so glad I did. So worth it.

A good book, but not for me

I suspect this is a very good book, but the realities of drug addiction and that violent world were too gritty and. harsh for me to enjoy this story. It’s not full of violence by any means, but what there was I had to fast forward through. If you are made of a bit sterner stuff, go for it!

Exquisite narration

I really enjoyed this audio. For my taste a bit too much of a focus on the plot and mystery, and not quite so much on the relationship between MCs. Tim Gilbert could narrate the phonebook, as they say, and I’d be happy to listen. It’s a good story enjoy it.

Nice story

I like this genre and this was a good one. Nice and sweet with a litle bit of suspence. Took me a time to start it but listened too it in 1 day. Always a good sign for me…

Vince and Rowan…

Great redemption story…really enjoyed. I appreciated how the author depicted Vince’s and Rowan’s struggles/stories…had a very real feel to it! The narrator did a good job, but his rasp wasn’t giving me 29 yr old hot shot detective. Outside of that really enjoyed!

Painful Present

Shot in the back and left to bleed out copper Vince tries to come to grips with his new pain filled reality while piecing together his memory against the story his partner tells of that night. Something doesn't fit.
Back at work on limited duty he's sent to question a witness to a murder who doesn't want to talk but whose touch ignites a fire in Vince he thought he'd lost. Unfortunately the sexy witness is a recovering addict and Vince has zero tolerance. Poignant and painful journey for these tortured men.

Riveting

Loved it. I was totally captured by the story & the characters. Really well read, and I have to admit that my tear ducts overflowed on one occasion. Love Harper Fox, this is one of her best.

Another Fox favourite....

Such a dark, gritty and realistic Tyneside drama. Tim Gilbert's excellent narration together with very convincing Geordie accent. Another wonderful story from Harper Fox. 4.5 stars from me.

Amazing and one of Fox's best

This is one of my favourites by Harper! The language, the plot, the angst, the relationship. There is just enough of everything. Every character is important, every character is well developed. Its amazing!
What is it about? Vince is a cop with strong beliefs about addicts due to his experiences with his own brother. After being injured in the course of duty he is not a broken man who meets Rowan, a painting restorer at a local gallery. They hit it off because Rowan is charming, kind and enigmatic and Vince slowly finds himself reassessing his views on life and everything else. There is also an underlying drug-ring plot with genuinely suspenseful moments. At the climax of the book Harper made it look so believable that the only person Vince trusted implicitly betrayed him that I honestly didn't know how it was going to play out. The relationships with Vince's ex and Rowan are believable and complex. I listened to this one on audible in one go and honestly had no remarks, unlike some of the other works of Fox's.

Romantic, emotional thriller

Plenty of thrills, yet made me cry. Hard baked, but tender and funny too. Brilliant narration brings it alive.

I enjoyed this book very much

It is a fantastic book, with a fantastic narrator. Already listened to it for the second time

I'm always a sucker for a grey cop novel

Good plot and written in that lovely way that britts write crime, all grey and bleary. Add some romance and I'm in. Points off for the narration, he does a good job but sounds way older than the 29 years the main character is supposed to be.

Love fear and terror

All the above are covered in this traumatic story with love thrown in for good measure in this story of a policeman's love for an artist, I'll leave the rest for you to read or listen to, enjoy the narrator accent.

Enjoyable Story

The story and characters  are engaging and the narrator has very distinctive voices for each character, always a plus for me.

Amazing 5 stars for all aspects.

Beautiful love story as always from Harper fox. Getting a real feel for the gritty cop from Newcastle. Running straight bang into a hot and steamy rendezvous between two characters.

I really enjoyed the detective aspect of this story as well as the romantic dance of the beloved!

Finally what a brilliant performance from Tim Gilbert I could listen to him all day!