Worse Than Dead

Inspector Drake, Book 2

By: Stephen Puleston

Narrated by: Richard Elfyn

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

A car ferry leaves Dublin. The chief engineer lies dead. Can DI Drake catch the killer before the passengers disembark?

Dealing with the fallout from a difficult case, Welsh Inspector Ian Drake faces a deadly foe as well as counselling for his OCD. When a ferry arrives in port, he knows a killer is on board. Unable to trace the killer after the ship berths, he fears the worse.

Tension mounts when two more members of the crew are killed. When Drake’s cousin gets involved and he faces the implications of his father’s treatment for cancer, he struggles to face the challenges of tracking the killer. And links to a well-known criminal family make the inquiry even more demanding.

Can he catch the killer and avert more deaths?

Worse than Dead is the second book in the dynamic Inspector Drake crime series. If you like police procedurals, clever mysteries, and gripping thrillers, then you’ll love Stephen Puleston’s unnerving whodunit.

©2014 Stephen Puleston (P)2019 Stephen Puleston

Death Ferry

After an engineer on a ferry is found murdered, this story takes off nonstop. As bodies pile up, Drake is torn between his home life, his new superior, and clues that point nowhere and everywhere. This is another great installment in the Drake series. I was gifted this from the author.

Another good book from Stephen Puleston.

Another good book from Stephen Puleston and well narrated by Richard Elfyn. Inspector Drake unravels a murder/mystery involving his cousin while battling with OCD and the declining health of his father and home life. A well developed plot with some interesting characters. This one sneaked into the bottom of the top tier in my library.

An Excellent Thriller!

An excellent thriller that was brought to life by the superb narration of Richard Elfyn. Ian Drake has a new detective case for his methodical investigation. Contains plenty of action and several plot twists. A highly enjoyable police procedural that I highly recommend.

A new and improved Inspector Drake?

Inspector Ian Drake works hard to control is Ritual habits as he faces family turmoil and illness in the midst of a complicated new case. He fears that his new boss will use his OCD tendencies against him. Add in visits to a department therapist and an case with more twists and turns that the Welsh highways, you have a story that is fast paced and engaging. One of my favorite all time narrators Richard Elfyn draws you fully into the characters with a slightly musical lilt.

Picture painted well

I thought the description of the characters brought them and the story to life.Great detail!

Complex crime with complex characters

The Inspector begins the murder investigation believing it will be an easy solve, as they know the culprit is on the ferry and can't get past the police. How wrong he was! This is one of the most complex crime dramas I've ever read.

Because of the multitude of suspects and side stories about family members and other extraneous issues, I found it a bit difficult to follow in an audio format. But the depth of issues, both professional and personal, facing the main character made the book well worthwhile.

The lack of a complete and satisfying ending to the case was typical for real life police work. The unfinished personal issues Inspector Drake is dealing with are not resolved, which leaves the reader wanting to see more of his story. I shall be looking for the next book in the series.

Worse than Dead

Finding clues to a mystery is always fun, except when it comes to murder, right?! It starts to get creepier as you get closer to the killer and trying to figure out how they think. The bodies are piling up and the killer begins to make mistakes. But, what is more important is if they know that you are onto them, they become more unpredictable which is dangerous. For Puleston’s second installment, Worse than Dead, readers will find themselves plunged into a crime mystery that has clearly screams high society criminal activity, but how far up the ranks does it go?

Inspector Ian Drake has been called in when a body turns up with a bunch of codes and numbers to sort out. Then, as if that isn’t tough enough to decipher through, Drake’s cousin comes into the mix and stirs up trouble talking about drugs and a huge crime ring that threatens more death on the town. Then, Drake’s personal life has a major play on his mood and thoughts about the case as well. With his father’s health failing, and his relationship with his wife on rocky terms, he doesn’t know how much more he can take. What will it take to find the killer after the second body is found?

Puleston has an entertaining story, with likable characters, as well as some twists and turns. This story has a slow beginning, but does pick up slightly and keep a steady pace throughout the read. It appears to be well-written as well; however, this prediction is based on the narrator’s effortless voice relay. Since this review is complimenting the audiobook, Elfyn does a great job with vocal differentiation and pace. If you are a reader of crime mysteries and police procedure, you may want to pick up this read. Since this is the second installment in the Inspector Drake Mysteries, the reader is able to jump right in.

An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a four-star rating to Worse than Dead by Stephen Puleston.

Cancer, Drugs and Murder

As the stresses in his family live continue, Drake and his team are tasked to investigate a murder on the local ferry, leading them to a complex and very sophisticated drug ring, money laundering and even more murders.
If you enjoy police procedures stories with a very English flare you'll probably love this one almost as much as I did. It's fast paced with careful, methodical investigation techniques and a quirky, obsessive hero determined to endear himself to you, even as he drives the reader crazy with his rituals.
Well worth the read.

Crime thriller with plenty of twists

Worse than Dead is the second DI Drake story that centers on an almost locked room mystery – the only wrinkle is the murder occurs on a ferry that is in transit. DI Drake has to face his own demons as well as adjust to working with a new Chief Inspector. This story is action packed and filled with a number of twists that make the story near impossible to predict. I have to admit to having been shocked once I found out how wrong I was about a couple of the characters. Once again Richard Elfyn’s narration brought the story to life with his various character voices as well as painting a rich narrative based on the author’s excellent story.

Reminds me of Monk and Midsomer Murders

I really enjoyed the first Inspector Drake book. This second book was well done - the story was interesting, and the narration was excellent. I was disappointed that this book contained considerably more swearing than the first book. There were also two sexually explicit scenes, which were short, but still disappointing because the first book was clean.
The story was interesting, Inspector Drake reminds me of Monk, and he works out the case while also trying to manage his quirks. It also reminded me of Midsomer Murders, being set in GB. I enjoy books where the mystery isn't obvious to the reader, and this story was one that kept me guessing until the end.
The narration was excellent, each of the characters had distinct voices, and the audio was well balanced. I prefer less language and "adult" content in my books, so won't be reading or listening to anymore of the series.