Into the Thinnest of Air

An Ishmael Jones Mystery

By: Simon R. Green

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

Dinner at an ancient Cornish inn leads to one baffling disappearance after another in the fifth intriguing Ishmael Jones mystery. 

“It’s just a nice weekend, in a nice country inn. Nothing bad is going to happen....”

Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny are attending the re-opening of Tyrone’s Castle, an ancient Cornish inn originally built by smugglers. Over dinner that night, the guests entertain one another with ghost stories inspired by local legends and superstitions. But it would appear that the curse of Tyrone’s Castle has struck for real when one of their number disappears into thin air. And then another....

Is the inn really subject to an ancient curse? Sceptical of ghost stories, Ishmael believes the key to the mystery lies in the present rather than the past. But with no bodies, no evidence, and no clues to go on, how can he prove it?

©2017 Simon R. Green (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

weak story

love the main characters, but WAY too long and the finale was disapointing to say the least

Ishmael visits smugglers inn with a history

Into the Thinnest of Air
(Ishmael Jones #5)
by Simon R. Green
This book takes Ishmael and Penny on a "quiet" night out to an opening to a refurbished inn with a history. It was a smugglers inn and a site of a mass murder. Things don't end up being as quiet as the couple expected. People start disappearing. Pretty good story. I did figure out part of the story right away but not the who! I still enjoyed it a great deal!
Good narration.

So dumb, so run off the mill "mystery thriller".

struggled to finish. don't waste your time. the mystery is definitely not worth the read. starts out promising becomes painfully slow and boring in the middle and turns out to be total disaster in the end. no novelty completely unimaginative writing.

the most interesting and captivating horror story

this is no doubt the best horror book I've ever listened to so far. I really couldn't put this down. the story was so well written and the plot was beautifully and tactfully tied at the end of the book. I'm so glad I decided to give this book a chance 😍😍😍

love the dry humor

interesting story, maybe not an entirely surprising ending, but gripping listening during most of it.

I’ve discovered a new favorite series

One of the most unique books I’ve had the pleasure to listen. I thoroughly enjoyed this most unusual mystery. I am definitely a fan of this author. I am familiar with narrator Gildart Jackson and again his vocal presentation is phenomenal. Author Simon R. Green gave us some jaw-dropping moments! Wow! Highly recommended! Epic, I say. EPIC!
✍🏻👏⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👏✍🏻

Don't think too hard. Enjoy the ride.

Don't start the series here. Just don't.

If you enjoyed the previous books, this one is a good continuation of the series. I agree with the reviewers that the plot is unusually thin, and I kept waiting for some sort of plot twist that would make the otherwise fairly obvious conclusion turn on its ear in some sort of exciting way. Never happened.

There's a certain type of mystery story (also applies to some heist stories and so on), where everything is carefully crafted and actually works, but which rely so heavily on all of the other characters being exactly where they had to be at exactly the right moments, not pay attention to things that seriously, at least one person should have noticed, and frankly, acting like idiots in the face of obvious danger. So much so that there's no way the villain could possibly plan what happens or make it happen on cue at the necessary times to make things work out. Looking BACK, sure, it all works. But from any point in the middle of the story looking forward, it's flatly impossible.

Sometimes the author can get away with it, especially if the characters have no reason to behave otherwise (though, really, please.) But when your main character has superhuman senses and an established level of paranoia about everything, which is the joy of Ishmael Jones, it really strains credulity to the breaking point. The first mysterious disappearance might come as a surprise. The rest? What was he, napping?

So, it you're engaging these books - especially this one - with the idea of experiencing an intricately plotted believable mystery, you're likely to throw something against the wall when it's over. Of all of the books so far in the series (including the ones that come after this one), this is probably last in the list.

But oh, the ride. If you enjoyed the previous books for the characters, and if you enjoy the "mystery" of trying to figure out whether there's a supernatural element in this particular story or not - one of the things I love about the series, since THAT is always up for grabs and always DOES have those twists and turns and clues in both directions - then this one is a pretty serviceable entry in the series.

I enjoyed it. I recommend it. But it won't hurt the continuity of the rest of the series if you skip it, either.

Not up to usual standards

I usually love the Ishmael Jones stories but a 5 yr old could have figured this one out.

Slooow and tedious

Avoid this one. It’s a locked room mystery with the listener locked in with the guests at a newly refurbished inn. With the exception of Ishmael Jones and Penny, it’s a group of singularly unpleasant ‘friends’ who disappear, one by one, over the course of the interminable evening. At the end there’s a lame, improbable explanation for it all. Unfortunately it’s not worth the time it took to get there.

Thoroughly enjoyable

Unlike the previous reviewer I enjoyed this novel as much as I’ve enjoyed the others in the Ishmael Jones series. If you can’t relate to the main character being an alien then there’s no point in reading or listening to the series but I love the idea of Ishmael and Penny solving mysteries set in large country residences with secret passages - it makes a change from all the grimly realistic police procedural audiobooks I mainly buy. The narration by Gildart Jackson may not be to everyone’s taste but I think his gorgeous voice suits this series perfectly.

Great series

I love this series it’s quirky with wonderful characters but this particular episode did not grab me. It’s like Ishmael was having a bad day at the office with his perceptive abilities and I’m sure that would never happen. Will definitely continue with the series as it’s now a firm favourite.