There's Trouble Brewing: Nigel Strangeways, Book 3

By: Nicholas Blake

Narrated by: Kris Dyer

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Private detective and poet Nigel Strangeways is invited to address the Maiden Astbury literary society. The picturesque Dorset town is home to Bunnett's Brewery, run by the much disliked, and feared, Eustace Bunnett and shortly before Nigel's visit, Bunnett's dog Truffles, was found dead in one of the brewery's vats.

The culprit was never caught - although there was no shortage of suspects - but when a body is then found in the same vat, boiled down to its bones, Nigel is called into action to help capture the killer.The third book in the Nigel Strangeways series, this is a gloriously inventive, puzzling and witty investigation to delight all fans of classic crime.

©2013 Nicholas Blake (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Blake's resourceful and well-read amateur investigator Nigel Strangeways is a distinctive sleuth, inveigling his way into the trust of his suspects via a loquacious charm." (The Times)

"A master of detective fiction" (Daily Telegraph)

"His plots are ingenious" (Times Literary Supplement)

"The Nicholas Blake books are something quite by themselves in English detective fiction." (Elizabeth Bowen)

Poor editing detracts from a good story

Any additional comments?

Kris Dyer does a fairly good job overall, but he has a rather halting approach when acting as the narrator, which can be annoying. The story is good, but the narration could have used an editor. There are several places where phrases are repeated, specially toward the end of the book.

An intriguing story - but an irritating reading

What did you like best about There's Trouble Brewing: Nigel Strangeways, Book 3? What did you like least?

This is an excellent story with lots of period detail and local colour. The solution is a little obvious from the mid-point but this does not detract from the denoument and the detective's explanation of the crime.
The reading, however, is full of irritating idiosyncrasies particularly the strange, halting delivery with which is quite effective in the dialogue but otherwise disrupts the flow and obscures the meaning of many passages. Also, for a story set in Dorset, it is confusing that almost everyone speaks with a Northcountry accent.
There are also some editing defects at intervals with short passages repeated.

Narrator Kris Dyer is wonderful

Kris Dyer does with Nigel Strangeways what Jonathan Cecil did to Bertie Wooster: makes him come alive like nobody's business. In particular his reading of "The Beast Must Die" (also Nicholas Blake book) is wonderful!