In This Bright Future

DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 5

De: Peter Grainger

Narrado por: Gildart Jackson

Two weeks of rest and recuperation - that's what the doctor ordered. Detective Sergeant DC Smith could listen to some music, make some of his own, and maybe even catch up on his reading; he is almost looking forward to it. And then there is a knock on the door. It's only his next-door neighbor, but it is the beginning of a sequence of events that will bring him face to face with some of the darkest episodes and the most dangerous people from his own past. This is Smith's fifth investigation, but this time it's personal.

©2016 Peter Grainger (P)2017 Tantor

Best novel in a marvelous detective series!

Detective thrillers do not get better than In the Bright Future! This is Book 5 in the English detective DC Smith series. Smith is on forced leave and he goes to Northern Ireland and deals with people from his past. Gildart Jackson does his usual wonderful job of narration.

If you like the mystery/thriller genre, this is a must listen novel. It's definitely one of the best of the year.

DC Smith is addicting - and this is the best yet!

Peter Grainger's DC Smith series is most similar in feel to Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache's series. Both series are about crimes and detection, but also about issues of politics, family, immigration, love, aging, revenge, death, etc. Both detectives spend time thinking, not just acting or reacting. Both have a strong moral compass. Both are interesting people, and we are compelled to keep reading to know them better.

"In This Bright Future" is the best yet in the series. So good in both performance and story that I just gave up trying to do anything else until I had listened to the end. Hauntingly told entwined stories of life and death in Belfast from the Troubles and today.

Invested in DC Smith

I love this series. The stories are always interesting and I never predict the endings. They are a gentleman’s murder...a detective novel without needing to be gory. The narration is perfect, and I get more invested in these characters with every book.

A Solid Entry in a Wonderful Series

This is Good; short of Absolutely Great because, on the whole, it reads/listens a bit like an amalgamation of an awful lot of books about The Troubles. Adrian McKinty is the MASTER of this field, and this doesn't live up to him - it's just a bit thin, and there is a plot hole - and another rather clich-ed mechanism. DC is as wonderful as ever, but I didn't feel this did him as much justice as the others in the generally Very good series. It's still worth a listen, as this series is so much better than a lot out there - it's just not one of the absolute best. Narration is as excellent as ever - and it is 'narration' Audible - not 'performance'. Don't be pretentious.

There are not enough stars for this book!

Unfortunately, I am not able to write a review that would give you any idea of how wonderful this book is! It is so rich and full of descriptions and characters and settings and and relationships and interactions. I don’t know that much about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. But this book has interested me in learning more about what happened there. I listened to the book all in one sitting because it was just fascinating and meaningful.

Best so far

I’m a bit fan of Jessy Stone and the pacing is similar. This has been the best one so far. What a treat. Well done all.

Reading all the DC Smith books.

Another excellent DC book. Great narration. Not as good as others in the series but it fills in the back story

the best in this series so far

as always, I enjoy the narrator of the series. he manages to capture the inflection of the wit so well. I have now listened to the first four in the series, and I find this one to be the best of all, largely because there's so much character development.

Poetic, tragic, but very much worth reading

I hardly know where to start, what to say. There are so many layers/threads in Peter Grainger's 5th DC Smith book. DC Smith, David, goes back to Ireland to help a family find the body of a young man studying to be a doctor, murdered before his bright future could manifest. Grainger poetically but brutally writes the story of this investigation so tightly wound in the terrible ripple effect of the war in Ireland on the lives of families; lost lives, so many lost opportunities that my heart hurts, really hurts. Grainger also reveals the resilience and strength of families, offering hope of a bright future for the younger generation who both support their family and strive for success and greater opportunity. The reader gets more insight into Smith's mind and character through the investigation that takes him back to his past when he was a young soldier in Ireland, where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman whose Irish family accepted him into their home. Smith made friends whom he admired, one of those was Bran, the brother of the woman he loved, the same Bran who was murdered 30 years before and his body made to disappear. This story highlights the complicated tangle of politics, terrorism, and war between the IRA and the British. The schism of religious differences between the Catholics and the Protestants seems incredibly tragic and petty in hindsight, yet we (collectively on this planet) have not learned from the tragedies of war and continue wreaking devastation on our fellow humans. This story brings focus to the importance of being grateful for the life we are graced with; the importance of integrity and rational thinking.
Grainger's style is both poetic and concise. He takes the reader into Smith's thoughts and memories and experiences as they occur. I will share one tiny example of Grainger's style by quoting what Smith sees when he walks into the enormous foyer of Starmont Castle, now the seat of government in northern Ireland. Smith's investigation has led him to this building to talk to a man who was one of the IRA rebel leaders, a man currently holding office as the Minister of Justice. Some irony there, as you will know when you read this book. Here is what Smith thinks in his mind, "There is, of course, something about marble; it is stone with the authority of beauty, and it lends its own sense of permanence to the laws that are made within it, in legislative assemblies across the world..."
This series is truly fantastic, thought provoking, humorous in the understated 'English' way, intellectual, and often deeply moving. I'm going to take a walk when I finish this review, because as Smith notes, a long walk can clear the mind. I won't be able to pick up another book of any kind until I digest and sort the myriad of feelings this story has evoked.
Gildart Jackson is an exceptional narrator. He voices the nuances of Smith's inner diaglogue beautifully; poetic when appropriate, stark when rational, haunting and sad at times when reflecting on his own life and the lives of others, authoritative when addressing people in policeman mode. You get the idea. Jackson is absolutely perfect for DC Smith.

I worked extra just so I could listen! FANTASTIC!

I restrict myself to only listening to audiobooks while I work, hence, if there is a book I just can't put down, I keep working! This is one of those books! Loved getting a glimpse of DC's back story, and the insight into Ireland in the 80's. Excellent, just excellent!