Written in Blood

Inspector Drake Mystery, Book 6

De: Stephen Puleston

Narrado por: Richard Elfyn

A savage death. A serial killer behind bars. Can Inspector Drake stop a clever murderer on a determined killing spree?

Inspector Drake is called to the holiday home of an eminent Manchester barrister and recently appointed judge to face the grizzly sight of his badly mutilated body. The scene resembles a copycat killing from years previously, when the barrister had prosecuted the perpetrator now serving life in prison.

Drake realizes the killer might be targeting the judge, the legal teams, or the journalist who covered the original trial, and he embarks on a frantic search to identify and warn them all. But when a friend of the barrister is found murdered in his yacht in a marina, Drake’s suspicion must focus on the barrister’s connections.

Clear evidence that arises to arrest and charge a suspect is thrown into confusion when another death takes place. Drake knows he has a determined killer to catch. And with his own reputation and the integrity of the Wales Police Service on the line, he cannot afford mistakes.

Can he catch the killer and avert more deaths? Written in Blood is the sixth 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 Ian Drake novels.

©2018 Stephen Puleston (P)2020 Stephen Puleston

Enjoyable mystery

I am really enjoying the Inspector Drake series. It reminds me of Monk and Midsomer Murders, with a quirky detective and interesting regional setting. The narration is excellent - all of the characters have distinct voices, and the narrating voice is different than the characters speaking so you never get lost in what is happening in the story. You don't immediately realize who the killer is, and I like that the mystery unfolds without an obvious solution.
I was surprised to learn that a gile is a vest / jacket type of garment. I hadn't heard of it before and looked it up since it played a large roll in the plot.
Content wise, this is just on the edge of what I'm willing to listen to with the descriptions of violence that are not gratuitous, and there is a minimal amount of cursing. The intimate scenes are all implied / fade out, which I really appreciate. If it were a movie I would expect a PG13 rating for the violence of the murders.

very good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Murder aand the Law

This is a very well written police drama with all the twists and turns you expect in a good murder mystery. I read the e-book back when it was first published and loved it and I was curious as to how it would work as an audio book. I wasn't disappointed. The narrator has a smooth, easy to listen to voice and he handles the Welsh pronunciations well.
As to the story, the police investigative work is well described and the suspects are all shady enough to be convincing. The team are all likable; even Drake himself is becoming more of a regular guy over the course of the series and the reader is almost as excited as the team when that final puzzle piece drops into place and the whole picture is revealed.
If you're a police investigation mystery fan, you'll like this one.

Ooo! A serial murder! Or is it?

Another great addition to the series! Inspector Drake has plenty of challenges in this book and not all of them are related to the murder. He’s always struggled with social niceties in any situation. Well, now he has to hold back a bit with some of his interviews because he’s digging into the lives of some big wigs. Then his new flame, Annie, insists he be more social during their off time.

The murder itself is gripping. Some one has been carving letters in to the flesh of the dead and the crime scene looks suspiciously like a serial killer’s work; however that killer was caught and put in prison years ago. Unfortunately, this means someone has to look hard at those who had access to the details of those murders since they would be the only ones with the knowledge to copycat that killer so precisely. Definitely a sticky situation. So many ways to tick off so many people in such a short amount of time!

But our hero is up to the task. I love that he doesn’t really care about their feelings other than it might make his job harder if someone complains to his superior. Luckily, Drake has learned from past mistakes. Plus he has a partner who is good a smoothing things over. In fact, Annie insists Drake invites his partner over for dinner. Drake doesn’t even know where to begin with that. Ha!

The tale is a delicious maze of suspects and circumstances. People have stuff to hide, and not all of it is related to the murder. I did enjoy that Drake and his team thought they had their villain only to realize there was another layer to this mystery. The plot certainly kept me guessing! Looking forward to the next Drake mystery. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Richard Elfyn is still a joy to listen to. I love his Welsh fluency, making Drake sound smart and precise in either language. Elfyn is a master a switching seamlessly from one UK accent to another, keeping all the characters in character during a group conversation. His female characters sound like ladies too. On the technical side, there was one chapter that had a lengthy (30 seconds) bit of dead air at the end of the chapter. Also, one chapter had a little skipping (but that might have been my player). Other than that, there were no repeated words or sentences, no changes in volume. 4.75/5stars.

I received a free copy of this book. My opinions are 100% my own.

Excellent Narration &Story

Welch accent added to this story by the narrator, and I enjoyed.
A killer and his signature makes a case he wants to stop. A loner by habit, Annie wants him to be more social. Hard to do when this case has him going head to head with some big wigs in town.
Great series and another winner for author and great narration
Given audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

Fantastic!

Absolutely loved the way the finger pointed at different guilty killers. It kept me guessing and I never did guess the culprit. The narrator does the best job I’ve ever heard with all the different voices and emotions. I loved this book and will be looking for
The next one!

Great Audio book

I was lucky enough to have gotten a free audio book code from the author. I am volunteering to leave this review. Awesome Audio Book plenty of twist and turns you might learn something about the British Court system.

Law & Murder

Murders of judges and lawyers point to multiple subjects. Drake eventually finds the real murderer after several false starts. I was gifted this from the author.

Inspector Drake in his most demanding case yet!

This sixth book in the Inspector Drake series is without a doubt the best yet. The characters have become like old friends that take me along for an adventure as they solve a case, and this case seems to be the most complex of the six that I’ve read. Of course, Ian Drake and his personal life are an integral part of the stories and in Written in Blood it is no different, except he has begun to move on from his previous relationship and has begun to embrace his current situation. Along with Mr. Puleston’s excellent story writing, Richard Elfyn does an excellent job of bringing the story and each character to life.

Complex Case

Written in Blood by Stephen Puleston pulled me in from the very beginning. Inspector Ian Drake is the lead investigator in this series. This book is both a standalone listen and part of a series. As an American, I fully enjoy the imagery the author writes in describing the area of Wales, and the narrator adding authenticity to his performance. Richard Elfyn is marvelous at bringing the characters to life with distinguishable voices. The suspect list is long, the red herrings are well done, and the ending surprising. I fully enjoyed this book and look forward to the next by this author and narrator.