Preacher Prophet Beast

The Tyack & Frayne Mysteries, Book 7

By: Harper Fox

Narrated by: Tim Gilbert

Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

This is the seventh book in the Tyack & Frayne Mystery series.

Lee would gladly trade all his psychic gifts for a chance at ordinary life with his husband and his little girl. Three years into their marriage, they're settled in their new home - but the House of Joy can't shield them from an oncoming threat with the power to uproot their whole world.

Lee can't define it further, and even his beloved Gideon can't unmask a monster with no face at all. Gideon is mired in problems and secrets of his own as he struggles to adjust to his new rank and the complexities of plainclothes police work with CID, and for once the devoted Tyack-Frayne partnership is failing to communicate.

Turbulent times in the world at large reach deep into the Bodmin heartland, and the village of Dark is without its guardian constable. More than Lee and Gideon can possibly know has been depending upon their rapport, and as the summer rises towards the longest day, a new and unfathomable kind of Beast is afoot on the moors....

©2017 Harper Fox (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

A bit of a mess, but good narration.

Hmm I don't know... This book was just too much but also not enough at the same time. And I kind of want to say: "What a bloody mess"

I love this series, and each and every book up to this one has been a great and wonderful read. So after finishing this one I'm a bit disappointed. I would say this was by far my least favourite instalment in this series to date. It felt lacking on so many levels. I missed the wonderful atmospheric feel that Fox created in her other books, and that creepy and haunted feeling to Dark and the people in the village was missing. It kind of felt like any old paranormal book, and that's not something we've come to expect from this series. It lacked the feelings that made it unique, and nothing can portray this more than the first line the first book and this;

Once Upon a Haunted Moor:

"That sound – you feel it before you hear it, a kind of low vibration in your bones."

Preacher, Prophet, Beast:

"My name is Lee Tyack-Frayne".


A bit of a difference, isn’t it?

I also felt like that wonderful connection between Lee and Gideon was missing. In this book they felt just like any old married couple with a toddler, no muss no fuss. We are not used to that. Ok, so Tamsyn does have some rather unusual powers and ones that come into play in this book, but still it's just not enough. Lee and Gideon have been this...force of nature almost, their connection as real and tangible as anything you can see and touch. Part of a whole. But this time around it was lacking everything that made them special. I do appreciate that they had a bit of ups and downs and not always lovey-dovey, but I still didn't feel them like I used to.

These books have also been very intimate of a sort. They take place in Dark and some of the surrounding small towns and villages. The rest of the world just didn't matter, it wasn't all that important to the people here. So for all intents and purposes the rest of the world didn’t exist. Yet suddenly Brexit and Trump and the instabilities in the world are being discussed more than once. And Ok, these things are important and the impact factors in the world are high. But nothing can touch Dark or Bodmin Moor, so this was just so unnecessary. It just doesn’t have a place in this series.

Let’s move on to the plot shall we. I have to admit I am so very confused about it. There was just soo much going on. Both new and old threats, ones we’ve long thought were done with, come out to play, threatening the lives of Dark and the people we’ve come to love. Add in ominous visions by Lee, and the mysteries surrounding Tamsyn, the village of Dark might never be the same again. The plot went in a million different directions and not many of them made much sense or were easy to follow. So much so that if you didn't pay 100% attention to the story for every second you'd be confused. And if you’d ask me I probably won't be able to tell you much more than maybe just the general idea of the book, no details and not on my life will I be able to re-tell how everything was connected and what really happened. And I literally finished listening to this book not 10 minutes ago.

So would I recommend this book?

I honestly don't know. In part I think that depends a bit on where the next book starts off, how much it will build on what happened in this one. And judging by the previous books, you are probably going to need to read it for reference if nothing else. But I would say, if you are like me and often have other things on the go while listening to audiobooks, you should read this book and not listen to it. Not that the audio is bad, Tim Gilbert is still a great narrator for this series. There's just so much going on that I think you'll benefit from reading instead of listening. Where you can just take a second and think about everything that happens, or go back to re-read a section before moving on. Hopefully you won't be as confused as I'm feeling right now – feeling like you need to go back to the beginning just to find out what was really going on.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes Reviews.

Whirlwind

Deciding what to keep and what to share with others must be a form of insanity. This one was intense and so much so that even I feel like the axis of my world has changed or perhaps that is just living in 2020.

Hard to follow

I usually like this author’s stories but this one was very hard to follow- especially when the character voices crossed over into each other.

Emotional

I have really enjoyed this series, but Preacher, Prophet, Beast was a rollercoaster ride of emotions for me. I wonder if this is the last in the series? It felt kind of like that with multiple characters making an appearance. I really disliked all the political commentary. I get enough of that in the news. This book also had a lot more weirdness. Im not entirely sure if I understand everything that happened. I’ll hopefully pick up more when I listen to it again. I was crying and sick at heart at one point. Then things turned around and there was a relatively happy ending. Whew! Tim Gilbert did a fantastic job with the character voices. My only complaint was that sometimes Lees voice sounded like Gideon’s, but it was like he would catch himself using the wrong voice and moderate it back to Lee’s softer tone.

A thoroughly enjoyable series

I just finished this audible and really, the entire series one by one. I find the characters well developed and charming. The narrator is a bit dry, but it works for the story. Altogether worth listening or reading the entire series.

Creepy Ghouls!

Not sure if John Tregear is more a ghost or a ghoul, but what a creepy character! Harper Fox's Tyack & Frayne mysteries continues with Preacher, Prophet, Beast.

Lots of chilling stuff in this one, and as everyone seems to mention, it's a complex story, but Tim Gilbert's nicely performed narration helped me follow along.

Love it!

I can't wait for book 8, 9, & 10 to be released on audible. This series is so good! I binged it in a week!

Another great story!

I have just loved every book in this series and I hope it wasn’t the last. It’s so hard not to love Gid and Lee like family. They are so well written and their adventures never feel forced. From the first book to this last one, I have been hooked!

Not my favorite of the series.

I have loved this series, the stories are based around myths, magic and the unknown all here in the real world. While I know this means a lot of story lines can fly in this realm, this one frustrated me. After readying 65% of the book, suddenly the MC wakes up and none of the previous happened. Although, you are left wondering up to what point was included, who might recall the first take on events and who doesn't. First it seems, only one person kinda remembers, then he starts to forget, while no one else remembers but "feels different". Then at the end suddenly two or three other admit to remembering the alternate events. UGH, just not my thing.

Great story, narration falters

I’ve enjoyed all the voices Tim Gilbert created for the various characters, and in all the prior books he stuck to them, but in this one his voice for Lee started to sound gruff like his voice for Gideon, and his voice for Rufus lost its posh, academic character. It got harder for me to follow which character was speaking.

I don’t know if this is the last book of the series, but the ending didn’t feel tied up in a bow.

What a rollercoaster story

Getting used now to psycho kinesics and maybe shapeshifting and pushing the boundaries of folklore and mystics this was a great experience. There is no cliffhanger as such but a promise of more to come even missing the audio which gave so much more depth and strength to the story. Now it’s all up to the imagination to feel and follow the story further. My imagination is already running riot with the audible version of the stories so I know it will not let me down but who knows what paths it will follow missing some nuances or falling into the trap of each turn and twist. I’m sure though there will be more audiobooks at some stage for the pair but for now I’m happy there are more books to follow it up on paper. I’m looking forward of more entanglement of real world and real life into the stories to come. Normally I’m weary of mixing fantasy and mystery with real time too much but it made sense unexpectedly and slotted right in.

Enjoyable Story

The concept is interesting and well written. The characters are likeable and the narration is good.

excellent

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole series , entertained and hooked right until the end of the final chapter .

Dramatic conclusion

Dramatic conclusion to this excellent story not that you want it to end what with the cornish accent and the history of the area it was an amazing stiry interspersed with some hot scenes in the kitchen bathroom and bedroom, I'm sad it came to a conclusion but a very exciting one. Thanks to the writer and the team and for the narrator who did an amazing job Thank you.

Poor

This is beyond fantasy, a rural pride event having a bomb go off. Also to be politically biased and to use their book to promote a way of thinking is akin to meine kampft

A strange instalment....

Review dated June 2017.

I think someone's been at the Harry Potter Time Turner....and there should be no recriminations at the outcome either. This was a very complicated story, and at times it appeared that there too many threads to bring everything to a satisfactory conclusion, but as long as everyone is OK at the House of the Wolves, all is right with the world.

Is this the end? Who knows, but I'll keep hoping that the Tyack-Frayne household make further appearances in the future. 4 stars.