The Final Silence

By: Stuart Neville

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Stuart Neville, “the current master of neo-noir detective fiction” (Boston Globe), is back with a chilling new thriller.

Belfast, Northern Ireland: Rea Carlisle has inherited a house from an uncle she never knew. It doesn't take her long to clear out the dead man's remaining possessions, but one room remains stubbornly locked. When Rea finally forces it open, she discovers inside a chair, a table - and a leather-bound book, its pages filled with locks of hair, fingernails: a catalogue of victims. Horrified, Rea wants to go straight to the police but her family intervenes, fearing that scandal will mar her politician father's public image. Rea turns to the only person she can think of: disgraced police inspector Jack Lennon. He is facing suspension from the force and his new supervisor, DCI Serena Flanagan, is the toughest cop he's ever met. But a gruesome murder brings the dead man's terrifying journal to the top of the Belfast police's priority list.

©2014 Stuart Neville (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"With his understated Northern Irish accent, narrator Gerard Doyle is an excellent match for Neville's series featuring Inspector Jack Lennon, of Belfast.... Doyle's narration is masterly, and the writing is made for him." (AudioFile)

Worth the wait to come to the US market

I waited months for this to come to the Us Audible site. worth the wait.

Finally, a Stuart Neville that works for me

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Always high-quality Irish narration by Gerard Doyle. An interesting plot that unfolds well in the beginning to get you hooked.

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

More of a thriller read than his previous books--not so noir, but not so slow and thumping either. The protagonist, featured previously, still has his troubles, but the book is not so introverted with him.

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

I've listened to him a lot, and purposely bought this book because of my fondness for his Irish narration, more than for my fondness for the author. The former excellent as expected, the latter a positive surprise.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The first murder. Unprepared for it for such a well-developing character.

FANTASTIC

Where does The Final Silence rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks on the top 10 list for me

Who was your favorite character and why?

I am not one to pick a favorite - I liked them all as each had their unique place in the book

What about Gerard Doyle’s performance did you like?

I LOVE to listen to Gerard! His accent is fantastic!

Any additional comments?

This is a great book that was well read - there is not much more than you can ask for!

Stuart Neville's best yet

Would you listen to The Final Silence again? Why?

When the series is finished.

What other book might you compare The Final Silence to and why?

Iain Banks' The Bridge, and Scott Turow's Personal Injuries. All three are populated with flawed characters who remain with you long after the book has ended.

What does Gerard Doyle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His incomparable phrasing, his understated delivery, his gorgeous accent. Unlike some narrators, Doyle doesn't try to get out in front of the story. He's utterly believable.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end.

Any additional comments?

More, please, Mr. Neville.

Intriguing Twisty Tale of Murder

My Review
Unsually for me, prior to reading this I never checked if it were part of a series, it is, but it's a pretty good stand alone read. The story is a dark compelling mystery that begins with the death of Rea's Uncle Raymond, and this first chapter influenced my mindset for the rest of the story.

Ida is Raymond's sister and his only surviving relative, Ida, her husband Graham and their daughter Rea inherit his house, the house with the locked room! If you've read the blurb then you will know of the book and it's horrific content, despite her parents decision to tell no one less it interferes with Graham's political ambition, Rea contacts old boyfriend police officer Jack Lennon. Jack is one of the most miserable of beings, he has his own troubles in spades, in both his work and his personal life, he's also suffering from post traumatic stress for which he refuses to seek help, yet he agrees to take an off the record look at the book. Terrible things happen and Jack is caught up in a living nightmare, the police become officially involved and in charge of the case is Serena Flanagan. Serena is tough but well respected, and she gets on with the job sometimes at the expense of her family life, and yes Serena has her share of personal problems too!

There's nothing in the least cheerful about this story, it's full of volatile and troubled characters, had I known more about them before listening I probably would never have started this book, yet I found it compelling. It's so full of twists and turns that it's hard for the reader to predict quite which way the story will go, and it is this aspect aspect that kept me listening. Also it's told from different points of view which I found added to the interest. There are some touching moments when two of the characters form a surprising bond with each other and this did lighten the dark story a little. In summary, I thought it to be a well written, well planned mystery with wonderfully described characters, but it's just a tad dark and twisted at times for my taste.

This story does contain scenes of domestic violence.

Narrator
Excellent narration by Gerard Doyle who, to my ears, captures the sometimes dolorous Belfast accent perfectly. It must be quite a narrating challenge when a story has several male characters with the same strong accent, but I thought Gerard Doyle differentiated them well as I never felt confused between them. In my opinion his voice, pacing and timing matched the story perfectly, I'll listen to him anytime.

This audiobook was provided at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

Loved it!

Best one of the series! Sad it's done. Really enjoy this reader as well. Great story!

Jack Lennon burns bridges

The fourth and most recent book in Stuart Neville's "Belfast Noir" series about Detective Inspector Jack Lennon. This volume definitely includes a fair amount of personal drama and spoilers from events in the previous books, so you'll want to start with the first (and arguably, the best) book in the series, The Ghosts of Belfast, and read on from there, rather than starting here.

The Final Silence delivers what I'm now coming to expect from this series - a gritty, satisfying if somewhat predictable mystery, an interesting cast of characters, and loads of police corruption and dirty Irish politics, where the Troubles have been over for years but everyone is still acting like they were yesterday.

Jack Lennon is now addicted to painkillers, and his relationship with his girlfriend is going into the dump. He's trying to keep custody of his young daughter, with her deceased mother's hostile family suddenly very belligerently trying to assert control over her.

The thriller plot is the daughter of a rising Irish politician discovering a secret in her recently deceased uncle's house. Turns out her politician father's brother was a serial killer, who kept a detailed journal. Naturally, her father doesn't want this getting out. So she talks to a cop she dated briefly, years ago - one Jack Lennon.

That gets Jack involved, even while he's fighting his own case as the force tries to suspend him and his ex's family tries to take his daughter from him. There are several twists, but one of the main focuses of this book seems to be the introduction of Lennon's new boss, DCI Serena Flanagan, who apparently is the star of Neville's next detective series.

Flanagan so far is a rather stock character, the female cop who has to be hard as nails in order to hold her own in a testosterone-soaked police department. Her own personal dramas seem rather artificial, added to humanize her, but she does have some interesting moments and she's smart and hard-headed enough to carry a story on her own, so I'll probably check out her series and see if Jack Lennon becomes a secondary character there, as he's pretty much burned his bridges by the end of this book.

Great storyteller

I have become a great fan of Stuart Neville and Gerard Doyle is my favorite performer. All the books are engaging and the style of narration becomes addictive!

Great listen!

Very well written! Twists and turns! Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse they did, and more complicated! Love this narrator! Will purchase more in the series!

Stuart Neville can tell a story

Neville’s books are some of my favorites. He writes well - perfect dialog, believable characters who act true to form, and his text is gorgeous - outstanding in this genre. I could listen to Gerard Doyle anytime. I wish he would narrate everything I read! He captures Neville’s characters perfectly and somehow when he’s reading dialog from women, I forget he’s not one and it’s not because he puts on a strange falsetto voice. He’s just that good. I recommend this series overall. I’ve enjoyed following the story and always want to know what comes next for the people involved.