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Tallowwood  By  cover art

Tallowwood

By: N.R. Walker
Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
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Publisher's summary

Cold cases, murder, lies, and an unimaginable truth.

Sydney Detective August Shaw has spent the last decade of work solving cold cases. His work is his entire life, and he's convinced a string of unsolved cold-case suicides are linked to what could be Australia's worst ever serial killer. Problem is, no one believes him.

Senior Constable Jacob Porter loves his life in the small town of Tallowwood in northern New South Wales. He runs summer camps for the local Indigenous kids, plays rugby with his mates, has a close family, and he's the local LGBTQIA+ Liaison and the Indigenous Liaison Officer.

When human remains are found in the camping grounds at Tallowwood Reserve, Jake's new case turns out to be linked to August's cold cases, and Jake agrees they're not suicides at all. With Jacob now firmly in August's corner, they face one hurdle after another. Even when more remains are found, they can't seem to gain ground. But when the body of a fellow police officer turns up under the same MO, it can't be ignored anymore.

August and Jake must trace the untraceable before the killer takes his next victim or before he stops one of them, permanently.

Contains mature themes.

©2019 N. R. Walker (P)2020 Tantor

What listeners say about Tallowwood

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It doesn't get better than this!

I’ve been on cloud nine all day listening to this book. Tallowwood is definitely at the top of my ever growing list of favourites by N.R. Walker. I loved everything about it, the mystery, the characters and the thrill of the hunt. And listening to Antony Ferguson performing it made it so much more. It really came alive in a way that I can’t fully describe.

We follow August Shaw, a cold case detective who’s been hunting a serial killer for years. A serial killer no one but him believes exists. That is until Jacob Porter discovers a body in his territory and calls Shaw for help. The two set out to bring justice for all the men who were murdered and are set to take them down, no matter who stands in their way.

I loved Ferguson’s accent, it did so much for the feel and authenticity of the book. Now I say this as a non-native English/Aussie speaker, so make of that what you will. But to my untrained ears it was brilliant and I will gladly listen to many more of his productions in the future.

There were so many things I loved with Ferguson’s narration or performance. Everything from the pacing and enunciation was spot on. It was clear he lived in the story with Jake and August and drew the listener into the story with his melodic and captivating voice. He captured feelings and moments, made your heart race when they were getting close. Made you feel anger towards everyone that ignored August when he desperately tried to make people take notice of the serial killer hunting among them.

His voices for the characters, while not hugely different, still fitted them really well. I especially liked his somewhat gruffer voice for August really fit standoffish and aloof man. I mean he really captured August perfectly, his anger at the world in general oozed from every word, as did the hurt and the despair he tried so hard to mask. Also Jake was done really well, his voice was a shade lighter. But what’s more important, his positivity and happiness was equally clear, and I think that’s a tell-tale sign of a great narrator, being able to so accurately portray traits of a character without explicitly having to spell it out.

By the end of the book, my heart was racing, my min spinning and I had a hard time sitting still. I needed for things to resolve, hated the wait. The suspense almost killed me – and I already knew how it was all going to turn out (I read the book last year). And knowing all that, it was still a heart-pounding race – a definite credit to both Ferguson and Walker.

I can’t recommend this audiobook highly enough and will just end all this gushing with the prompt to pick up the book as soon as you can, it’s so worth every minute you spend listening.

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

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9 people found this helpful

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Great story, okay narration

Well he says R N Walker not N R Walker. He doesn't have a big range of different voices. at times I wasn't sure who was talking at times.

Felt like I was listening to an text to voice narration at times so not a lot of emotion.
The scenes with heavy emotion felt almost like clinical diagnosis

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6 people found this helpful

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Good mystery with great narrative

I love N.R. Walker's books very much and closely follow her bibliography. Some books of hers touch me more than others but all of them that I have read/listened so far left the lingering impression of the good and satisfying read. This recent addition to her list of novels didn't disappoint at all but rather brought the joy of a good and interesting story plot. 5 stars indeed! Another 5 stars for the narrative of Antony Ferguson. This is the first time I heard him providing the voice to the story and I hope not the last for this author. Recommended for reading and listening. Thank you both, N.R.Walker and Antony Ferguson!

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4 people found this helpful

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Great story, ok narrator

I adored both August and Jake and their romance. The storyline was solid with just enough suspense. I’m afraid I can’t extoll the praises of the narrator though. This was the first time I’ve listened to him. He did a good job keeping the characters voices different enough to know who was speaking, but I couldn’t really pick up emotion from his narration. Others felt he did a good job at that though. The big question here is, would I listen to it again, and the answer is yes.

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great story, good mystery


Wow! What a powerful, deeply emotional story! Made me cry at least 5 times... I loved it!

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3 people found this helpful

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Best mystery suspense romance

I must say I’ve put this book off for years because of reviews saying good but no real romance. I’m here to say that it was a very romantic book and awesome mystery suspense. Yes it is not erotic but it really didn’t need it to make it a beautiful story. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Wish there were more books like this in the m/m romance category than the same old fake boyfriend or enemies to lovers that are ridiculously overused in this genre. Thank you for your knowledge and awesome writing NR Walker and thank you Anthony Ferguson for your awesome narration. Big fan of you both.

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2 people found this helpful

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An unexpected treasure

I have read many N.R. Walker books and while overall I love the stories this one has a special place in my heart the writing is laugh out loud funny, the characters are relatable, and story gives you so much more than you expect.
il
I love a raunchy mm romance story, but I believe that there is so much to be gained from a story where love isn't just sex scenes and stereotypes. I would give this story a 6th star if I could and will miss Jake and Augie

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OUTSTANDING!!

N.R. Walker like you have never seen her before! Tallowwood is mystery, intrigue and heartache with the touch of finding new love in the most unexpected places. That last bit though, we all know Walker does without fault.

Sydney detective August Shaw has spent the last eight years working on cold cases to find a killer no one believes is real. After losing his partner August became a shell of his former self. Always alone and only working on these cases. For him this is the only thing he can do to get justice for the man he loves.

When a body shows up at Tallowwood Reserve, Senior Constable Jacob Porter isn't buying that this is a suicide. Things aren't adding up. He reaches out to detective August Shaw after a tip because his cold cases are far too similar to the body he has found.

As Jake & August work together on solving these cases and trying to catch a serial killer who has been on the loose for far too long, they realize that there is much more between them than just these cases. As one day turns to two more bodies show up. They are running out of time. Can they catch a killer before one of them is next?

I am not sure why but there were several awful comments on the narration, but I loved it. Antony Ferguson had a deep voice with a beautiful accent that really came through on emotion, strength and overall greatness. Personally, if given the choice I would listen to the audio again.

This shows that this is book one in the Tallowwood series and I do hope that we can expect a book two at some time in the future.

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Outstanding Mystery and Suspense

I literally devoured this audiobook. I played it constantly as the author and narrator grabbed me from the beginning and wouldn't let go until I finished. That's rare. Hence 5 stars. :D

As for the meat of this mystery, it's a cold case mystery complete with cops, one of whom lost his partner of nine years to a serial killer. Two finds in Tallowood renew interest in the case and with the help of the local constable, Jacob Porter, August Shaw, the Sydney detective in charge of the case finally gets to see a resolution. Not until more murders, more intrigue, and a sweet romance occur along the way.

I loved everything about the story except for the one seriously stupid mistake made by Jacob. Without it, I don't know how the author could have advanced the story and provided a resolution for August's concerns about his lost love. But really, it was tough to suspend disbelief on that error in judgment. That being said, there's so much to love about the story: the pacing, the trope, the complexity of the mystery, and the outstanding narration that I just have to give it 5 stars and put it on my to re-read shelf. Highly recommended!

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Brilliant murder mystery romance.

Tallowood is a riveting murder mystery that will keep you guessing throughout. I adore the gruff guy matched with a ray of sunshine partner and Nr Walker delivered this within a superbly written thriller.
Antony Ferguson did an excellent job of voicing the characters without resorting to stereotypical accents.
Highly recommended.

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