Nightshade

A Jack Nightingale Supernatural Thriller, Book 4

By: Stephen Leather

Narrated by: Paul Thornley

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

When a murdered young girl miraculously returns to life saying she's spoken to God, it's clear that sinister forces are at play. And when those who speak to her inexplicably commit suicide shortly afterwards, Nightingale is called in. He discovers a demon has possessed the girl's body…and the only way to banish it is to kill her.

And that's not all he has to deal with. After a farmer kills eight people before turning the gun on himself, the press label him as a Satanist. But when his brother visits Nightingale claiming his sibling has been set up, it seems there might be more to the case. Can Nightingale discover the real reason for the murderous rampage and keep himself out of danger?

©2013 Stephen Leather (P)2013 Isis Publishing Ltd

Horrible new narrator to this series

Ralph Lister used to read this series and he was brilliant. He did the voices and read in an engaging way. This new guy for this book reads in a clipped boring tone that is really making me want to not finish this book :( I may return the, and read them myself on kindle.

Horrible. Why didn't the author leave well enough alone.

Pretty good thriller

I enjoyed the first three books in the Nightingale series better than this one. But this one was also pretty good and had some neat ideas in it. It is kind of a reboot from the first three books where Nightingale gets to live his life over again and is once again faced by a demon, however in this book it is a shade that he is dealing with. A young girl is kidnapped and abused to the point of being killed opening her up for and evil entity to move into her body with an evil agenda. What Nightingale must have to do to confront her is a horrible thing to even think about. Mrs. Stedman remakes an appearance to help guide Mr. Nightingale along. Jenny is also present in this book but has a very minor rule which kind of disappointed me. Paul Thornley does a very good job with the narration however his voice tends to go into a monotone at times and made me start to drift off. But overall he did A good job bringing the characters to life.

Enjoyable

I enjoy all his work, I feel the stories are different and not a typical bore.

Stephen, You disappointed me this time.

Stephen,.. so sad I could not give this one 5 stars like I have to all of your past books..
I like my monsters in the forms of demons, witches,etc.
NOT the human kind of pedophiles, and shooters of school children,.. shame on you for this one … revolting.

Always delivers

What did you love best about Nightshade?

I love the intrigue, the mystery and jack. I was very excited when this new book was released and I wasn't disappointed. Paul has the perfect voice.

Which scene was your favorite?

spoiler

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

spoiler

Double Troubles

Book 4 in the series; the plot 'progresses' from the end of Nightmare. A series that very much has to be consumed in proper sequence. It deals with the concurrent investigations into the aftermath of a School spree killing with Satanic overtones in the Berwick area and the aftermath of a child abduction. In neither case are things as they seem.

The Good:
Two interesting investigations; the Berwick thread in particular was fascinating and very topical in it's underlying subject matter. It also played with pre-conceptions nicely.with a couple of red herrings suitably strewn about

The narration was good and especially when the narrator was doing the 'supernatural' voices quite creepy.

There is a real sense of menace and unease in the Child Abduction investigation.

Very good use of the prologue in creating suspense as to how the dots are going to be filled in.

The Bad
After the equivalent of a plot car hitting a wall ending of Nightmare; the 'progress' was actually less jarring than I'd expected. There is however yet another mini 'Deus Ex' at the end.

The 'Demon Summoning/Dealing' element that played a major part in the first three was a lot lot less than in previous novels and what there was seemed forced in rather than for any real purpose.

The two investigations seemed super glued together into the one book. I appreciate there is doubtless a contrast between what was actually happening as opposed to appearing to in each but at times it felt like each was being slightly compressed. It felt more like soup and a sandwich than a steak and chips .

Overall
There's perhaps an element of the story arc and narrative stumbling in a state of concussed shock after the way Nightmare ended but it seemed the weakest of the four so far. The 'Wow' factor of the first three is absent. That said however taken on it's own the investigations are interesting and for a fan of the series well worth a listen; hopefully a pause for breath before a stronger Book 5.

A welcome return to form

I have listened to all the Jack Nightingale stories and enjoyed them all, except the third one which resorted to a deus ex machina ending which was irritating and lazy....Anyway this book is a welcome return to black magic and Jack's fairly dumb decisions.

Well written and well narrated its a fun, no brain needed, horror lite book that I will almost certainly listen to again.

children graphic violence and sexual abuse

well written and narrated but horrendous to hear. repeatedly children are shot in face..and terrified, one story line has 9 year old girl held captive and abused .. and the same girl stabbed in both eyes and heart. has put me off getting another book by same author.

Could not finish this book

Would you try another book written by Stephen Leather or narrated by Paul Thornley?

No I would not

What could Stephen Leather have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

In my opinion the abuse and death of the children could have been less graphic and to be honest the abduction and what follows was far too horrific to listen to and I cannot finish this book. The normalisation of what was happening made me feel ill and I shall not read anymore of this authors work.

Would you be willing to try another one of Paul Thornley’s performances?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Nightshade?

As stated the whole graphic child abduction and what follows didn't need to be in the book. This book seems completely different to the others in its content and darkness and is a far poorer book for it. I have read all the other Jack Nightingale books and really enjoyed them for their supernatural/crime genre, but this is a step to far for me.

Nightshade

This was a good story, however at times it seemed a little far fetched. But all in all enjoyable listen !

Disturbing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It's was a good book however, way to Indepth the scenes of child abuse , so much so I was repulsed and had to stop listening , I skipped over some as it was just not the kind of reading I wanted . But the rest of the book did give a good read . I think a very disturbed mind has thought up some of the depictions.

Did Paul Thornley do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

No he cannot give enough change on characters therefore a lot sounded the same . The female characterisation was just to similar not each other.

Another good read

I thoroughly enjoy Jack Nightingale's character and have looked forward to this book.
So much so that I couldn't put it down till the end.
Once again the author draw's you in to a web of intrigue that has you reaching for the book at the slightest opportunity.
In my opinion not quite as good as the first book's but still a worthy addition that leave's you wanting more.
Recommended.

Brilliant, compulsive listening

From the first minute I switched on this audiobook, I couldn't stop listening. The subject matter is disturbing so be warned as it involves child murder and abuse, but Paul Thornley is a brilliant narrator and he makes all the difference, as he has done with the previous books in this series. Maybe the storyline is rather far-fetched, but you're living it with Jack Nightingale the whole time and wondering what's coming next. If you enjoyed the previous Nightingale books, you'll not be disappointed with this one.

Found the subject matter a bit too difficult.

I've really enjoyed the other Jack Nightingale book and eagerly downloaded the latest. As usual, it's engagingly written and I like the protagonists but the subject matter made it difficult for me to truly enjoy it. It's very well read and the narrator does a great job with the different accents in the story. I listened to the end and was quite glad when I got there.

Scaringly good

I was gripped from the first syllable that Paul Thornley uttered right until the end when Audible hoped I had enjoyed the recording. I thought that there were only going to be three Jack Nightingale books so was delighted when this one appeared..

Stephen Leather weaves his magic into the story it twists and turns all the time and at times I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

A Farmer in Berwick walks into a school and shoots eight children and a teacher, then turns the gun on himself what drove him to do it ..?

This book kept spinning around in my head for days after I had finished it. Can't recommend it highly enough- one of the best books I've listened to this year.