Unnatural Ends

De: Christopher Huang

Narrado por: Raphael Corkhill

Sir Lawrence Linwood is dead. More accurately, he was murdered—savagely beaten to death in his own study with a mediaeval mace. The murder calls home his three adopted children: Alan, an archeologist; Roger, an engineer; and Caroline, a journalist. But his heirs soon find that his last testament contains a strange proviso—that his estate shall go to the heir who solves his murder.

To secure their future, each Linwood heir must now dig into the past. As their suspicion mounts—of each other and of peculiar strangers in the churchless town of Linwood Hollow—they come to suspect that the perpetrator lurks in the mysterious origins of their own birth.

©2023 Christopher Huang (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Uniquely Original Gothic Mystery

I liked Huang's first mystery a lot but this second one held deeper philosophical and moral intrigue with a clever, seemingly intractable at times, outcome. Great characters made more tangible by a rich narrator performance. I'll miss that voice in my ear.

For fans of Knives Out and Agatha Christie

Well-written, expertly crafted with lyrical language and a surprise ending you will not see coming.

unlike first book by ch

ghastly overdramatic narration
story eventually gets better
implausible description of villagers and police stereotypes etc undermines plot twists

dark and twisted

I didn't see the ending coming. this was quite a dark ride that kept me guessing until the end. I recommend this book to mystery lovers.

I stopped listening to the story before bedtime

It is hard to figure out who the author wanted his readers to root for the most. I wasn’t sure I cared for anyone very much. Even at the end, it was not easy to say I liked any of the characters. The story was a difficult one and reminded me of The Boys From Brazil only set in the English countryside. Sometimes hard to listen to, I stuck with it to find out if my guess at the denouement was correct. I did enjoy the narrator.

A very fun read

Really enjoyed my time with this book. Great story and fantastic narrator! Definitely worth the listen

Fun Mystery

I don't like gore porn and while this book does entail some unpleasant things, it doesn't go into detail or dwell unecessarily on them.

The characters are likable, the plot is enjoyable. The narrator does a fine job.

This hits the right spot for me. Not insipid pap like most "cupcake cozies," but not too gritty, either.

Set in the 1920s (with earlier flashbacks) this book offers 10+ hours of enjoyable entertainment.

Heavy handed

All the characters are so dull (except for maybe the fiancé, if only the book was just about her). They lack richness in personality, and the mystery itself isn’t particularly complicated.

Interesting Mystery; nice performance

While aficionados of the genre might have come to the conclusion faster than most, the author spun a pleasingly complex mystery that teased out the information needed throughout the story to avoid the traps so many new authors in this genre fall into: being too cute or tricking the reader. With an excellent eye for historical detail, Huang’s sophomore effort stands taller than his original outing, which was a good mystery in and of itself.

The voice actor delivered an excellent performance, although his “American” accent felt a bit off when used. That’s a minor quibble.

Waiting for more from this Author

Loved this book. I'm looking forward to more from this author. The narrator did a great job and I will look for other books narrated by him.
I'd recently been struggling to find a good listen. Then I took a chance and listened to Christopher Huang's "A Gentleman's Murder", which I thoroughly enjoyed. I looked for more from this author and lucky for me he had one more book from Audible - "Unnatural Ends". This mystery is so interesting. The psychological experiences of the three siblings drew me in and held me. Like the prior novel by this author, I enjoy the period age of the story, too. And like the prior novel, I listened to this every available waking moment and fell asleep at night to it.
I've decided to follow this author and can hardly wait for his next novel. If you're looking for a good story writer, try Christopher Huang. The narrator for both books is Raphael Corkhill.