Booklog 13/26: T Kingfisher: The Seventh Bride – Audiobook

Audiobook narrated by Kaylin Heath

Fairy-tale-ish story about Rhea, a low-born miller’s daughter, who is engaged to be married to sorcerer Lord Crevan against her wishes. When he demands she come to his strange house in the woods she discovers he already has six wives, only one of which is dead. Befriended by the wife-cook who used to be a witch, Rhea discovers that Crevan takes something from each wife, witchy power from the cook, sight from one of the others. He’s planning to take Rhea’s youth just as soon as they are married. However she can put off the awful day if she completes each of the strange tasks he gives her. This strains Rhea’s resourcefulness to the limits as, aided by a clever hedgehog, she completes task by task – until there’s one she will not complete and the wedding looms. Rhea has to rally the remaining wives and visit the Clock Wife in order to defeat Crevan. Kaylin Heath does a good job on the narration.

Booklog 14/26: James Lovegrove: Big Damn Hero – Firefly #1 – Audiobook

Audiobook narrated by James Anderson Foster

Media tie-in of one of my favourite TV series, Firefly, masterminded by Joss Whedon. Captain Mal Reynolds is kidnapped from a rough bar on Persephone and spirited away to a kangaroo court of Browncoats who’ve been told he’s a traitor. The crew, Zoe, Wash, Book, Jane, Simon and River scurry about trying to find a clue as to where he’s gone, while on board Serenity, five crates of dangerously volatile mining explosives are heating up towards a big bang. James Anderson Foster narrates the story well.

Booklog 15/26: Peter Bradshaw: Mercy

Audiobook narrated by Joanna Scanlon and others.

A short, darkly comic soliloquy from Allison, an elderly-care nurse on the cusp of requirement. She reflects on her life and nursing career, her previous partners and the gambling ring she ran in the hospital. And then there’s the analgesics… There’s a twist. Joanna Scanlon narrates, with other narrators doing voices.

Booklog 16/26: Scott Lynch: The Lies of Locke Lamora – Gentlemen Bastards #1 - Audiobook

Audiobook narrated by Michael Page

This is a revisit of one of my favourite books via Audible. Set is a second-world in a city not unlike pre-industrial Venice with alchemy and one specific type of magic, the Gentlemen Bastards are thieves with a difference, and Locke Lamora, The Thorn of Camorr, is their leader. He’s got a devious mind and a talent for deception and false-facing. Unlike the other cutpurse gangs, the Gentlemen Bastards have been educated by (the late) Father Chains to be more ambitious, and to run elaborate cons. This they hide from Capa Barsavi, the city’s crime boss and their supposed overlord, but when the Grey King starts to murder Barsavi’s gang-leaders, Locke and his little gang are dropped in it up to their necks and beyond. While trying to run a con to part a wealthy Don from his money Locke gets involved in both sides of the Grey King’s plans, and the Grey King has a Bonds Mage at his beck and call, a man so powerful that he can kill with a thought. Caught between the Grey King and the city’s Spider (head of the Duke’s Midnighters) Locke and his gang are in big trouble. There are plenty of exciting twists, and Locke goes through the mill (several times). Michael Page reads this well enough, though I could have wished for a little more excitement in the voice, to match Locke’s mercurial personality.

Booklog 17/26: R.B. Croft: The River Man – Audiobook

Audiobook narrated by Dominic West.

Clem used to be in charge of policing in the sleepy northern village of Watersmeet, now he’s 62 and a special constable, working under a boss who hates him. The feeling is mutual, but Clem gets on with being a community copper and puts up with it for the sake of his job. It’s all he has left since his wife died. A pair of grisly murders within a few days of each other sets the whole village in an uproar. Regional police get involved and there’s a lot of posturing and media preening from Clem’s superiors. They’re sure it’s a drug-gang to blame, but Clem knows better. A little girl sees a monster lurking in her back garden and Clem goes in search of answers. Could a local legend be true? Is the River Man on the prowl, and if so how can Clem prevent more deaths? Suspended from his job over a disagreement, he takes matters into his own hands. It’s his village and he’s going to sort it whatever the challenges. This is a murder mystery with supernatural elements. Dominic West reads this brilliantly; the characters are well delineated and the pacing is spot-on. An excellent listen.