The Black Country

Scotland Yard's Murder Squad

By: Alex Grecian

Narrated by: Toby Leonard Moore

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Scotland Yard's Murder Squad returns, in the stunning new historical thriller from the author of the acclaimed national best seller The Yard.

The British Midlands. It's called the "Black Country" for a reason. Bad things happen there.

When members of a prominent family disappear from a coal-mining village - and a human eyeball is discovered in a bird's nest - the local constable sends for help from Scotland Yard's new Murder Squad. Fresh off the grisly 1889 murders of The Yard, Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith respond, but they have no idea what they're about to get into. The villagers have intense, intertwined histories. Everybody bears a secret. Superstitions abound. And the village itself is slowly sinking into the mines beneath it.

Not even the arrival of forensics pioneer Dr. Bernard Kingsley seems to help. In fact, the more the three of them investigate, the more they realize they may never be allowed to leave....

©2013 Alex Grecian (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Not as entertaining as the first

I found myself wanting to jump ahead. At one point, while listening, I nodded off and never backed up to hear what I missed…boring.

Leave it in London

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This is a relatively bad addition to this simplistic series. Lacks a cohesive plot, too many incomplete characters, actually a murky soup of strange characters going who-knows-where. Essentially a waste of time.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'll cautiously try the next one

Have you listened to any of Toby Leonard Moore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

N/A

Do you think The Black Country needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Nope. I'd much rather watch "ELEMENTARY"

Abrupt and Unsatisfying Ending

I enjoy these characters (read the first book), and find the narrator to be exceptional. The story was moving along nicely, building suspense and atmosphere, then suddenly it was over. I honestly thought I'd drifted off and missed it, so I rewound and listened again. But no, I hadn't missed anything. The book (IMHO), has an abrupt and unsatisfactory ending. So disappointing.

A very messy book compared to the first

A messy set of plots that never get going and certainly never add up to anything close to the first installment. Our two champions of justice are removed from London and placed in a small coal town with more problems than will ever be solved. The other characters and even the town for its part resists even help in moving the plot. End the end the whole world falls a part and the answers basically handed over to the main characters. The 'victims' are far from if not out right unqualified for any sort of redemption. The second plot is just ridiculous and helps nothing but to fill space.i do hope the 3rd is a better mate for the first installment.

Entertaining book, slight problem with the recording

I enjoyed the book. It moved along and was entertaining with a compelling central mystery. There was a problem with the recording that it spent some time in the middle of the book shutting itself off every twenty minutes or so. Not a huge problem, just a bit annoying to have to keep turning it back on. But then the problem just stopped, so there must have just been a glitch in the coding.

Gripping and surprising

Narration was excellent. Great story. One of best books I have "read" this year. Highly recommend. Am getting the next one.

Not as good as the original

Where does The Black Country rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is a middle of the pack read, maybe between the top 25 and 50%.

What did you like best about this story?

It is atmospheric and there is a good amount of suspense but somehow I found The Yard much more gripping. The narrator is terrific as my ratings suggest, each character speaks in a different voice and accent all of which struck me as well done.

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved the description of the houses sinking due to all the mining activity going on underneath. I think the arrival of the men from the yard was probably my favorite, I seem to like the beginning of the book better than the end.

Secrets

A well-woven story of intrigue. The main characters are all memorable. Determined. Compassionate. Honorable.

More of a Greek tragedy than murder mystery

I didn't like this book as much as the first one. The mystery was highly transparent. There was a lot of artificial mystery created by people being unwilling to talk about what was going on, which made the story drag in parts. Sergeant Hammersmith's unwillingness to take care of himself when sick was escalated to a ludicrous degree. Still, the characters were highly engaging and kept me going. I enjoyed this book more as a novel/tragedy/character study than as a murder mystery. I don't think I'll be listening to the next books in the series, since it seems to go downhill from here based on what other reviewers are saying. Too bad! I'd have liked to hear more about Inspector Day, Sergeant Hammersmith and Dr, Kingsley! The narrator's accents we're impeccable and made the story come to life, I just would have wished for a bit faster pacing.

The Black Country Lacks

I enjoyed The Yard but I found this one lackluster. I wasn't pulled into the mystery and I missed the dynamics of everyone at The Yard. I appreciate wanting to create something different but what worked well in The Yard was missing. The characters were flat and the plot was meh.