His Bloody Project

Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae

By: Graeme Macrae Burnet

Narrated by: Antony Ferguson

The year is 1869. A brutal triple murder in a remote community in the Scottish highlands leads to the arrest of a young man by the name of Roderick Macrae. A memoir written by the accused makes it clear that he is guilty, but it falls to the country's finest legal and psychiatric minds to uncover what drove him to commit such merciless acts of violence. Was he mad? Only the persuasive powers of his advocate stand between Macrae and the gallows.

Graeme Macrae Burnet tells an irresistible and original story about the provisional nature of truth, even when the facts seem clear. His Bloody Project is a mesmerizing literary thriller set in an unforgiving landscape where the exercise of power is arbitrary.

©2016 Graeme MaCrae Burnet (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Interesting

Excellent performance rendering many voices and accents redering characters. If you read this as an intellectual costruct which reveals the author's extensive research, you won't be disappointed.
Tiny quibble with the glossary definition of stirk, but perhaps a part of Scotland where bovine sex denomination is reversed.

A tragedy

From the start, it is predetermined that this will be a tragic story. Although the narration is fine, the format of the book is better read than listened to.

Excellent Everything!

Would you listen to His Bloody Project again? Why?

Yes - it was fascinating in terms of history and the legal aspects. The "footnotes" were wonderfully well done. Thanks for including them!

What did you like best about this story?

How it all worked together - the history, the style, the plot, the characters, the structure, etc.

Have you listened to any of Antony Ferguson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't think so but I might look for them now though.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I chuckled a time or two - mostly it made me think and wonder.

Any additional comments?

I loved the footnotes included - thank you.

if you enjoy pointless, depressing stories, read!

great narrator! wish he hadn't been, I wouldn't have wasted so much time. definitely regret.

Superbly written and executed!

This book was a 2016 Man Booker Prize winner, which speaks volumes right there about the quality of the writing. I didn’t know what to expect here but, after perhaps a somewhat slow
Introduction, I became completely taken in and mesmerized by the story and the subject matter. The narrator, with his beautiful Scottish brogue, contributes mightily to the overall experience.

This is by no means a happy story, as you can already surmise by the title and cover art; in fact, again pretty obviously, it is quite the opposite: dark, humorless, and very, very gloomy.

I would also like to warn listeners that, a bit well into the story, a great deal of bloody and very disturbing violence does occur. This occurrence, while disturbing, is endemic to the story and vitally necessary for the full impact of the story as it moves forward. Having stated this warning, I would definitely urge listeners to embark on this journey anyway so as not to miss out on one of the most important and memorable pieces of literature I have had the honor of engaging with in quite some time.