Dead Before Morning

Rafferty & Llewellyn cozy mystery Book 1

By: Geraldine Evans

Narrated by: Micheal Page

With his superstitious Irish nature, British Detective Joe Rafferty shouldn't be surprised that his first murder case as a newly-promoted Essex detective is a tough one. But the murder victim, whom the media has dubbed "The Faceless Lady", has no ID and has been bludgeoned beyond recognition. She also supposedly had no access to the secure psychiatric facility where her dead body is found. The news media has seized on the case, placing Rafferty in an unwelcome spotlight. His boss, with whom he shares a mutual loathing, would love to see him fail.

And that's not his only little difficulty. Because Detective Rafferty is cursed by a malign fate and with a large family who believe obeying the Law of the Land is optional, Rafferty capitulates to his ma's demand that he does whatever it takes to get his crooked distant cousin out of the pokey in time for his marriage to ma's niece. Successfully accomplishing this sticky maneuver is sure to be challenging, but keeping it downwind of his morally stiff new partner might be a demand too far.

If Rafferty can't spring his cousin in time, his ma's liable to commit murder - his. And if the Faceless Lady's case remains unsolved, the superintendent will black-mark his record so indelibly that his career as a detective will never recover.

©1993, 1994 Geraldine Annette Evans (P)2015 Geraldine Annette Evans

Typical English mystery!

Convoluted to say the least. I listened to the audible version. The 2 main characters are interesting. So many characters that made it confusing for me to keep track of them and who was having an affair with who! I listened to the entire book and was surprised at who the murderer was. I probably wouldn't read anything else by this author but I am sure a realike lover of British mysteries would.

Well Performed Detective Murder Mystery

The best thing about this book was the performance and narration. The narration was outstanding and really made the book.

Overall it is a routine murder mystery being investigated by a newly promoted police detective of Irish heritage and his very well educated more upper classed Welsh partner.

The book has English, Welsh, Scot and Irish characters as well working class and upper class characters. The narrator did a superb job with these diverse accents.

The main character, Detective Joe Rafferty comes from a working class Irish family seasoned with a host of petty criminals. His prying interfering matchmaking mother is a real hoot.

Beside solving his first murder case he is expected by his mother to get his cousin's fiancee out of jail before the wedding date.

This was an enjoyable listen and I am looking forward to other books in the series.



“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come”

Bertie Wooster and Jeeves of the Detective set

Inspector Rafferty is a student of hard knocks, a touch rough around the edges perhaps, while his aide, Sergeant Llewellyn, is the quintessential highbrow intellectual with a university education and a decidedly priggish side. The interplay between the two is endlessly entertaining, often hilarious. They are faced with a corpse without one - a face, that is. A young woman with a mutilated face and no clothes is found dead on the grounds of a psychiatric hospital. Suspects abound: the insufferable Sir Anthony, who runs the hospital and is known for his philandering, various staff members, nurses, even the dead girl's father. The author cleverly provides ample motive for a half a dozen suspects, but they all seem to have solid alibis or other impediments to being the successful denouement of the case.

While trying to solve the murder, Rafferty must also contend with an Irish mother who is trying to marry him off to a distant cousin and yet another distant cousin languishing in jail who expects Rafferty to spring him free. Woe to the poor Inspector!

I just loved this book. The mystery was in the style of Agatha Christie, where plenty of suspects are presented and although one at the end is revealed, it might have been almost anyone else. The charm of the book is the dialog between Rafferty and Llewellyn, who could qualify as the Bertie Wooster and Jeeves of the detective set.

I listened to the newly released audiobook and this made a huge difference. The acting by the reader was superb. His rich voice and varying regional accents were a delight. As an American I can't tell a Welsh accent from a Scottish one despite my mother's maiden name being Welsh. Even so I could certainly enjoy the subtle shift in tone and class between the two detectives, each of whom was given a distinctive voice.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast.com.

Delightful!!! What a TREAT!

Terrific well-constructed mystery with HUGELY appealig characters. WONderfully dour humor - laugh-our-loud on nearly every page. Excellent narrator too. How I HOPE audible.com will secure ALL of Geraldine Evan’s books for the American audience. I’ll elbow people out of line to be the first to purchase them all. Haven’t enjoyed a mystery so much since Georgette Heyer’s similarly delightful Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway series. 😂🥰👏

Love the English humor

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book because it has twists and turns and lot of suspects.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting aspect is how some people value family reputation more than doing the right thing.

Have you listened to any of Micheal Page’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't believe so. His diction and emphasis is very good.

Do you think Dead Before Morning needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Case solved. No need for a follow up book.

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

Mediocre at best.

Just a time filler. Characters unappealing.
Nothing to be learned. Does not spark the imagination in any way.