The Shooting Season

A brand new historical m/m novella from award-winning author Isobel Starling.

Monday, December 20, 1897. Mr. Benedict Hannan, the owner of Hannan’s Auction House in Fitzrovia, receives a letter inviting him to attend the sale of a private collection of fine art and antiquities belonging to the late Lord Percival Ardmillan. Ardmillan is known to Benedict, or rather, his son Euan is, and so, Benedict hurriedly travels to the West Highlands to fulfill his dream of owning a particular item from the Lord’s collection - something that he has coveted for 30 years.

In Scotland, Benedict meets the collectors who were invited to bid in the auction. He discovers that the auction of the private collection is not as straightforward as he had imagined. Forced to come to terms with his past and present desires, Benedict finds himself in the thrall of a mysterious traveler, and in turn, he gets more than he bargained for this Christmas!

©2019 Isobel Starling/ Decent Fellows Press (P)2025 Isobel Starling/ Decent Fellows Press

Delicious novella

What a lovely story! Benedict Hannan is a buttoned up, aloof gentleman whose only delight in life is collecting valuables and treasures for his auction house, and finding comfort in his religion. He's on his way to Scotland with business in mind, but he can't help but feel trepidation, as he is to meet with his one and only lover, whom he hasn't seen in thirty years, after the beautiful man broke his heart in pieces. Benedict never fully recovered from his heartbreak, and feels tremendously guilty about his "unnatural feelings," and never acts out on his lust and stews in his loneliness, trying to find comfort in his religion. He is a very likable character, with a snarky yet endearingly shy personality, who tries to hide his desires behind the stolid dignity of his fifty years of age. I really enjoyed Benedict, his attempts at being a curmudgeon are stifled by his cute reactions, and I couldn't help but feel sad at his denial and loneliness. There's a little mystery subplot dealing with a very exciting gentleman thief, and Benedict's former lover, and both men may not be all what they seem. The intimate scenes are hot and sensual without overtaking the plot, and though it is a fairly quick read, the novella does an excellent job of developing Benedict's character. There's a happy ending and a promise of a sequel, to which I am looking forward, because this was a delightful story and I really would like to see where the happy couple goes to. Gary Furlong is a masterful performer, I would love to be able to pronounce "anxiety " with as much haughtiness as he does, he really brings a delicious arrogance and cuteness to Benedict, not to mention the playfulness of the gentleman thief. The sensuality of the intimate scenes is always on point, and I just loved the audiobook, it kept me engaged the whole time. Very recommended.

... "You fascinate me." - Sebastian to Ben

All I want from a book is to be lost in a good story for a few hours and this one ticks that box 😊
Delightfully entertaining, The Shooting Season sets up the characters for what I expect will be an entertaining series, this is a story of intrigue and deception, the descriptions are vivid and the characters easily coming to life off the page.

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes

Narrator comment: Gary Furlong is a perfect choice for proper English gentleman - both reputable and scoundrel. I had no problem distinguishing characters and the rhythm, inflections and intonations all worked to make the book come alive.

I'm ready for book two!

This was an interesting and fairly quick listen at only 3 hours. Gary Furlong did his usual great job and the story really held my interest.

We met several interesting characters in this book and I suspect that at least a couple of them will feature prominently in the rest of the series if this is anything like Isobel's other series. This seems to be the introduction to the Resurrectionist series and it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. Lucky for me I have book 2 coming up soon!

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.

Good story

I listen to audiobooks in my car and I really enjoyed listening to this story. The story was good and I liked the narrator's voice. The story is not a long one but it kept me interested.

it was good

It started slow. It felt like just as the story was really getting good it stopped. it's not exactly a cliffhanger but it is an abrupt stop with a to be continued.