The Final Cut

A Brit in the FBI, Book 1

By: Catherine Coulter, J. T. Ellison

Narrated by: Renee Raudman, MacLeod Andrews

Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

From Catherine Coulter, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the FBI Thriller series, and J.T. Ellison, bestselling author and ITW Award winner, comes the first book in a brilliant international thriller series featuring a new hero: American-born, UK-raised Nicholas Drummond.

Scotland Yard’s new chief inspector Nicholas Drummond is on the first flight to New York when he learns his colleague, Elaine York, the “minder” of the Crown Jewels for the “Jewel of the Lion” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was found murdered. Then the centerpiece of the exhibit, the infamous Koh-i-Noor Diamond, is stolen from the Queen Mother’s crown. Drummond, American-born but raised in the UK, is a dark, dangerous, fast-rising star in the Yard who never backs down. And this case is no exception.

Special Agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich from Coulter’s bestselling FBI series don’t hesitate to help Drummond find the cunning international thief known as the Fox. Nonstop action and high stakes intensify as the chase gets deadly. The Fox will stop at nothing to deliver the Koh-i-Noor to the man who believes in its deadly prophecy. Nicholas Drummond, along with his partner, FBI Special Agent Mike Caine, lay it on the line to retrieve the diamond for Queen and country.

©2013 Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Somewhat corny

Much of the story was predictable and cliché. The performance was mediocre. I would not recommend this audio or book.

An action packed, fun filled ride!! Boring? NOT!

Would you listen to The Final Cut again? Why?

I hadn't planned to write a review on this book until I saw all the reviews that listed it as being boring. They couldn't be more wrong. This book would have made a wonderful movie. It's action-packed, filled with interesting characters a detailed story line and thoroughly fascinating. The narrators add to this. I hadn't read Coulter before. But I have read Clancy. I find the action in this book worthy of a Clancy novel or James Bond thriller. Well worth the credit and time. I have already listened three time in less than a month.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Final Cut?

The set up of the theft and description of the action surrounding it was so well done I started to see the whole thing as a movie in my head.

What about Renee Raudman and MacLeod Andrews ’s performance did you like?

They both did a great job with nuanced accents to set each character. They did such a good job I had no trouble seeing the action in my head.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Very much so.

Any additional comments?

If you picked this looking for a traditional romantic thriller I can see why you would be disappointed. This is more of an action suspense piece with romantic hints in a new relationship around which this new series will evolve. As for boring, I can only shake my head in wonder at how far off the mark I view that statement.

Impressive 3 book series!

I'm uncertain why Catherine Coulter separates this series from her FBI Thriller series because Sherlock and Savich are very much part of the Brit in the FBI series. In any case, Nicholas Drummond leaves his high level Scotland Yard position to join the FBI. It does add some spice to the story.

One of the best things about this series is the narration. McLeod Andrews does the male voices and Renee Raudman does the rest. These two are really good together; they are almost as good as Orlagh Cassidy and Ron McLarty.

Terrible accents spoil the story

English accent was wrong on so many levels it was grating,.
The Scottish accent sounded Irish I was very disappointed and would not recommend this audio book

Art and Jewel Heists . . . Clever Fox

I thoroughly enjoyed The Final Cut . . . it's different, weaving a tale of intrigue and mystery going back centuries. The diamond (Koh-i-Noor), part of the Jewels of the Lion exhibition belonging to Queen Mother in England is about to go on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. And despite every security precaution, it is stolen. The Koh-i-Noor hasn't always belonged to the Brits though . . . and legend has it that the diamond has healing powers . . . After listening to The Final Cut, I researched the history of the Koh-i-Noor, which is fascinating. This was a most satisfying and fun listen.

A very good beginning for a new series!

What did you love best about The Final Cut?

I really loved this book and the characters. The story line is great and obviously well researched and the characters were very well written. The book moves right along, which makes it much more exciting to listen to, and doesn't stray over into the unbelievable. All in all, a very good listen!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes! It moved along nicely and the plot was very well done.

Did Renee Raudman and MacLeod Andrews do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I thought Ms. Raudman was a poor choice for the female narrator. Her foreign accents are poorly done and the fact that Mr. Andrews does such a wonderful job reading and differentiating all of the male characters, makes Ms. Raudmans' poor performance more disappointing. I've listened to many books that she has done in the past in which she has done a good job, but they were all books in which she only had to do American accents.

Any additional comments?

I've always loved Catherine Coulter and this collaboration makes me think that I may have been missing out and seriously need to check out J. T. Ellison's books as well.

Interesting information about a famous diamond

I understand this is to be the first book in a new series about a “Brit in the FBI”. Catherine Coulter has a co-author on this book J. T. Ellison The book starts out with Det. Chief Inspector Nicholas Drummond traveling from London to New York City as a member of his Scotland Yard team has been murdered. Det. Inspector Elaine York was on the protection detail accompanying the Koh-I-Noor diamond, the center piece of the Queen Mother’s Crown which is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Saleem Singh Lanighan has hired “The Fox” a famous jewel thief to steal the diamond. There are well developed subplots to keep this story from being a simple one to one contest. There are ingenious disguises, daring bluffs and nail biting escapes all add to the fun of the chase. Coulter’s Savich and Sherlock are also on the case. Drummond’s uncle is the head of security for the Museum. Drummond is teamed up with FBI agent Michaela “Mike” Caine. At the end of the book Drummond is invited to join the FBI. This is an enjoyable easy to read book. There was a lot of information about the Koh-I-Noor diamond including an overview of its history and the curse. As I knew nothing of the diamond I found this interesting which drove me to Google to search information about the diamond. Renee Raudmand and Macleod Andrews did an adequate job with the narration.

Disappointed

boring and tedious....love most of her books, but I just couldn't get into this one.

Why I will not listen to another Coulter novel

A mediocre plot destroyed by lousy acting rather than captivating storytelling.
A feminine master criminal who can insinuate herself into any environment, but whose Scottish accent comes no closer than Dublin. Even then, the Irish would disown it.
A brilliant UK detective whose language is mysteriously inconsistent: for example, he pronounces “anonymous” as “ “anomynous” and “garage” as “gay raja” and “geruge” before deciding the simple way.

Annoying story; great narration

Any additional comments?

I found this mashup of genres annoying, a run of cliches, pretensions, and unbelievable plot devices. But, I throughly enjoyed having a male reader and a female reader, each doing their respective parts. Really wish more publishers would follow suit.

Narration orf

Story on the brink of okay but narration is possibly the worst I have heard.

If you are going to use 2 narrators then rather than use one male, one female, why not use one for American accents and one for UK accents.

The male accents are Dick van Dyke meets the Spitting Image rendition of the royal family. Off = orf, Soft = sorft.

The Scottish curator is a combination of Irish and Indian/Pakistani.

It’s been fun replaying sections for my husband to marvel at ...

Frightful accents

Painful to listen to, why on earth did you not find out these narrators could actually do various accents. The English was pitiful... who on earth speaks like that? The Scottish was so far off she sounded Irish, Indian and anything in between.

hate hate hate his pronunciation

I really enjoyed the FBI thriller couldn't this was disappointed because of the male narrator.

Dire narration

I think I would like to know the outcome but cannot bear to listen to the narration any longer...
Accents and delivery are simply dreadful...