Dying Fall

The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, Book 5

By: Elly Griffiths

Narrated by: Clare Corbett

Ruth Galloway receives a phone call that bears shocking news. A friend of hers from college, Dan Golding, has been killed in a fire at his Lancashire home. Her shock turns to alarm when she gets a letter from Dan. He has made a discovery that will change archaeology forever but he needs Ruth's advice. Even more alarming, he sounds vulnerable and frightened. DCI Harry Nelson is also rediscovering his past. Up north for a holiday, he meets his former colleague Sandy MacLeod, now at Blackpool CID. Sandy tells him there are strange circumstances surrounding Dan Golding's death. Many of those who worked with Dan seem to be afraid.

Many have secrets to hide. Ruth is drawn deep into the mystery, and where she goes, so does her toddler daughter, Kate. This time, it's not just Ruth's life at risk.

©2013 Elly Griffiths (P)2013 Quercus Publishing Plc

The screaming child ruins this

Would you listen to Dying Fall again? Why?

No. I generally don't listen to books again for quite some time but this would not be one. The narrator, especially the very uneven volume levels, the screaming Kate and the overloud Sandy completely spoiled my enjoyment of the book. Books should be read, not considered a 'performance'

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Very disappointing and contrived.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Clare Corbett?

Jane McDowell read the early Galloway and she was excellent. I won't buy any more as long as Clare Corbett is the reader

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

No comment

Any additional comments?

For goodness sake read the book and don't do the accents.

I prefer Clare Corbett

I am working through this series back to front. Normally, I would never do such a thing, but the series came to my attention with book 8 and since there were a number of complaints in the comments stating that book 8 wasn't as good as previous books, I thought I'd start there and if it caught my attention I'd work backward and the books should theoretically get better. I've actually enjoyed that approach, in part because while the reader of the first few books takes over again for book 8, the books in the middle of the series are read by a different reader, Clare Corbett. I admit that she does not do a good job with Nelson's actual voice, however I think her voices for the other male characters are fine, and I deeply prefer her voicing of both Cathbad and Kate in particular, who are two of my favorite characters. Also, though the voicing of Nelson is poor, his accent is much better than that provided by Jane McDowell (the reader of the first four books, as well as book 8). In fact all the accents are much better as voiced by Corbet. Additionally, her voice is much more pleasant to listen to to me, as she doesn't have a tendency to become shrill when indicating high emotion. So, overall, I felt that someone should write a defense of Corbet as a reader for this series, since there is a lot of complaining about her in the review here.
Other people have written good reviews of the story, so I'll just stop with my defense of Corbet.

Dying Fall book 5

What made the experience of listening to Dying Fall the most enjoyable?

I liked Jane McDowell's narration in "The Janus Stone" and I have liked Clare Corbett in recent Ruth Galloway series. Ms. Corbett does a good job with the female voice's however her male ones get a bit mixed up and the voice of Kate, Ruth's small daughter is like listening to NAILS on a CHALKBOARD! I have shut this book off twice because of this child's voice. Just horrible and jolting. I don't want screeching or loud noises in any audio book I listen to. I have returned audio books that have gun shot sounds, phone ringing sounds etc. Not necessary. When I read books my brain does not create these sounds so PLEASE don't put them in the audio version.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Only Jack Reacher (Lee Child) can keep me on the edge of my seat and even his latest wasn't seat edging material.

What three words best describe Clare Corbett’s performance?

Child's voice awful!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

I will finish this audio book and yes buy another because I really like "Ruth Galloway" so keep up the good work Elly Griffiths.

Change in narrator ruined the audiobook series

What did you like best about Dying Fall? What did you like least?

The story was about as well written as the previous entries in the series. Unfortunately the amateurish narration ruined this and the subsequent entry I've read, The Outcast Dead. Clare Corbett renders all of the characters' voices, especially those of children and males, as unbearable caricatures of over-emoted stereotypes. I struggled through the entirety of The Dying Fall in an effort to continue the series, and because I hoped that possibly Clare Corbett's narration would improve in later volumes. That didn't happen. Her narration in The Outcast Dead was so poorly done that I couldn't finish the book.

If you’ve listened to books by Elly Griffiths before, how does this one compare?

See other comments about the narrator.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Clare Corbett?

A brain dead question. Jane McDowell or someone with her talent should have been been hired as narrator. The publishers either couldn't or wouldn't do that, for the usual reasons that they give when explaining their failures and collecting their bonuses.

Do you think Dying Fall needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think it needs a replacement with a new narrator, not just a follow-up. The previously published follow-ups narrated by Clare Corbett should also be re-released with a different narrator. Ideally, Jane McDowell should be that different narrator.

Any additional comments?

I am applying for refunds for The Dying Fall and the Outcast Dead. I will not be listening to The Ghost Fields unless the narrator is changed.As of this date, 05/06/2016, the latest entry, The Woman in Blue, is available on Amazon in print and Kindle editions only. If an audiobook version is released, I hope that the narrator is not Clare Corbett. Otherwise, I'm through with this series.

Bring back Narrator Jane McDowell!

What did you love best about Dying Fall?

As was true with the previous four books in the series, the story is great! The characters are diverse and compelling.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrator's voice for Cathbad makes him sound like an old cigarette smoking drag queen. And her voice for Kate, particularly when she is calling out is ear piercing! I was not thirty minutes into the story before I had called my partner to ask about the narrator change. He completely agreed it was horrible, so much so that we both debated buying the sixth book because it was again narragted by Clare Corbett!

What didn’t you like about Clare Corbett’s performance?

Miserable voice for Cathbad and a voice so irritating for the two year old Kate that I could not listen with earphones on because the volumn would hurt my ears if she did kate and I could not hear the other voices if I adjusted to a Kate acceptable level.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

NOT read by Clare Corbett...

Clare Corbett as reader

I love this series but am now disappointed with the new reader.
Jane McDowell so much better!
Clare Corbett just doesn't do the multiple accents required for this book,
and her version of two-year-old Kate's voice is too harsh.

Narration is over the top irritating!

The narrator has a very pleasant voice for children's books, or perhaps fairy tales or cookbooks where there is no villain or no men, but in this narration all of her men sound like mouth breathing imbeciles. The men sound like a Saturday Night Live skit character of a boxer that's sustained way too many blows to the head. Every time I hear one of the male characters speak, I envision a knuckle dragging, drooling idiot! I can't begin to listen to another word. I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous books in the Ruth Galloway series on Audible, but this one is beyond irritating!

Ruth and Nelson at it again

I love all the Ruth and Nelson books. I was a little disappointed in the reader of this one. Maybe I just got too comfortable with Jane McDowell, whose performances I enjoyed thoroughly. This reader made some of the voices almost cartoon-like. She gets better as the book goes on, but I still prefer McDowell.

Good book, horrible naration

It's not my favorite Ruth Galloway book, but it's still good. The naration, however, nearly made me stop. she needs to quit trying to do voices and just read it. Honestly, her shrieking, overly loud, fake baby voice for poor Kate had me wishing Ruth's daughter would be struck mute. And where is that horrible voice for Cathbad coming from? He's Irish, not whatever weird thing she's got going on for him. I was ready to get the next book in the series, but I don't think I can stand it. sorry to be so mean, but oh my!

Cant do a male voice to save her life!

Would you consider the audio edition of Dying Fall to be better than the print version?

Didn't read print version.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Clare Corbett?

BRING BACK Jane McDowell! Clare Corbett is a terrible match for these characters! I'm going to finish the book, bit I'm dreading hearing the male characters talk. I can't comment on their accents, but she sounds as if she's doing parodies of male voices.