The Art of Dying

DI Westphall, Book 3

By: Douglas Lindsay

Narrated by: Mr Angus King

When businessman Thomas Peterson is killed outside a football ground in the Highlands, there are several witnesses. Yet the hunt for the killer is proving as futile as the search for a motive.

Possible connections to Russian money and an eerie retirement home are soon thrown into the mix. To further complicate things, DI Westphall's MI6 past is coming back to haunt him. Guilt stalks his dreams, but could there be a message in these nightmares?

Westphall is in danger of losing his head just when he needs it the most. He must find answers, and fast, before the murderer strikes again.

©2019 Douglas Lindsay (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

Praise for the DI Westphall series: "Dark and satisfying." (James Oswald)

'Richly atmospheric...Lindsay solidifies his place as one of the rising stars of tartan noir." (Publishers Weekly)

"A Tartan Noir tour de force. Lindsay writes with an economy and skill all too rare in modern fiction...Brilliant." (Tony Black, author of the DI Bob Valentine series)

Truly haunting..

So truly haunting, yet retained the excitement and twists of the other previous novels. I like this character, I like the twist of his “relationships” with the dead. I like that he does not have anyone he can turn to, to share with yet, lays himself bare in many ways. The story is a good one, and Angus King should always be the voice of Ben Westphall!

I can’t wait for the next In the series.

Good with unnecessary US political comments

I love Scottish authors and Mr Lindsay portrays his characters with depth in a truly unique voice. Unfortunately this will be the last book I purchase from him as I refuse to send money to people who make disparaging remarks about the US. When these people don’t live in the US I am even more annoyed. I am going back to J. D King, Dalgliesh and the other Scottish authors who don’t attempt to lecture us

Such an interesting story

Really loved this story. I love the machinations the detective goes through in his own guilt and grief and in solving this story. It is well written, well defined characters and I hope there will be another in the series. As always, Angus King is superior in bringing these characters to life.

A Great Series (but not for the Far-Righters)

The parenthetical review title is simply meant as a warning to ultra-conservative, pro-Americana listeners...there are numerous instances in this book of the author conveying a VERY anti-Trump, anti-gun, anti-Manifest Destiny, and anti-Capitalism-as-religion set of viewpoints throughout its pages. Personally, these made me feel warm and joyous, but they will cause much upset to those fond of Fox News. No point in them wasting their credits or time.
I found the DI Westphal series while just trying to get my proverbial hands on more books read by Angus King. (The man is brilliant in his delivery, and his voice the most gloriously melodious thing imaginable. If it wouldn't bore the poor man to the edge of madness, I would ask that he read all official announcements, forever.)
I think the series itself and the author are hidden gems, and I'm so glad that more of the series after Song of the Dead is available. I'm not one for hocus-pocus or crystals and ghost hunting (e.g., I could never listen to 'Practical Magic,' even if it were read by Angus King), but the otherworldly threads of the DI Westphal stories don't come across as silly or superfluous -- they're a means of storytelling and poeticism to enrich the inner world of the main character and to give the audience detail and insights that would otherwise require contrivance or an omniscient narrator.
I adore DI Westphal -- though I will admit that at least a not-insubstantial percentage of the root of that is that he is given life by Angus King's dulcet tones. The character is clever, self-effacing, deeply flawed, but brilliant. His Sergeant and other colleagues are equally engaging, if largely peripheral to Westphal's inner musings.
My sole complaint, which only made itself known in this book of the series, is Westphal's romantic interludes (or the suggestion of the possibility thereof), which seemed to crop up every 15 minutes or so in the story, as if any woman he encountered (other than those with whom he worked on a daily basis) were absolutely hell-bent on getting into bed with him, regardless of the circumstances of their meeting or of the characters' professional bearing in all other aspects. This felt shoehorned into the story, and wholly superfluous -- a bit like a record-scratch -- and self-indulgent in a way I wouldn't normally have ascribed to this protagonist. Luckily, aside from musings, the author didn't shove Wetphal any further down those avenues.
Aside from that petty complaint, this was a lovely, wholly-enjoyable experience, and highly recommended. Plus, you know -- ANGUS KING.

Nice start to a new series.

This is a different kind of investigative genre for me with a touch of clairvoyance. I hope he comes to understand his abilities in the future. Dont wait to long for book 4. Narration is very good.

Dark

Darker than previous books. Great narration! In this particular book every relationship seems hopeless with no possibility of Redemption

I love to listen to Angus King, but…

This was the longest, most dragged out, ridiculously convoluted story I’ve ever heard. I kept wanting to stop listening but I kept thinking that this will get better. It only got worse. I’m so sorry I wasted so many hours. The mystery started out so good, but the author just couldn’t wrap it up without adding superfluous content.