• The Language of the Dead

  • A World War II Mystery
  • By: Stephen Kelly
  • Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
  • Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)

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The Language of the Dead  By  cover art

The Language of the Dead

By: Stephen Kelly
Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
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Publisher's summary

German bombers are arriving daily, seeking to crush England. But in a rural Hampshire village, things have remained fairly quiet - until an elderly loner, Will Blackwell, is brutally murdered. The method of his killing bears the hallmarks of the traditional vanquishing of a witch, and indeed local legend claims that as a boy Blackwell encountered a ghostly black dog sent from the devil, who struck a bargain for Blackwell's soul.

Not long after the murder, a young woman who is carrying the illegitimate child of a fighter pilot also is violently killed; then a local drunkard ends up in the race of an abandoned mill with the back of his head bashed in. As the Germans continue their relentless attack, Detective Inspector Thomas Lamb rushes to solve the crimes. Do the killer's motivations lie in the murky regions of the occult?

©2015 Stephen Kelly (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Charles Todd fans will welcome Kelly's first novel, a superior whodunit set in WWII England." ( Publishers Weekly)

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, audio not to my taste

Good story in the WWII era. Enough clues to guess at a lot but not necessarily figure out all the wrinkles; no ‘Deus ex machina’, thank goodness. I would buy another of this author ‘s very enjoyable stories. That said, I thought that the audiobook was more a reading than a performance, i.e. there was a lot going on in the story but no change in tone from the reader. I would much prefer a performance than a reading.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator kills Language of the Dead

I liked the story, but had to stop after a few chapters. The narrator was terrible!

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1 person found this helpful