The Order of Things

By: Graham Hurley

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

D/S Jimmy Suttle is called to a brutal murder in the picturesque Devon village of Lympstone. Harriet Reilly, a local GP, has been found disembowelled in the bedroom of her partner, climate scientist Alois Bentner.

Suttle's estranged wife, Lizzie, has abandoned Portsmouth, moved to Exeter and returned to journalism, hearing rumours of a local GP offering mercy killings to patients meeting certain criteria. The name of the GP is Harriet Reilly.

So begins two investigations of the same crime. Operation Buzzard, with D/S Suttle at its heart, and Lizzie, piecing together her own version of the events that led to Harriet Reilly's death.

The fourth novel in the Jimmy Suttle series is a story of ultimate betrayal, reaching much further and wider than its Devon roots.

©2015 Graham Hurley (P)2015 Isis Publishing Ltd

Ludicrous female characters

Barely plausible plot. Jaundiced depiction of women and their relationships with men and women in this disappointing Hurley novel.

If you're a warmista you will love it

If you don't mind being brainwashed by the current Globull Warming propaganda with a bit of lesbianism thrown in you'll probably love it. I fast forwarded through much of the propaganda and really only stuck with it because I was short of a book on my walk.

Strong Performance; Silly Character Development

What would have made The Order of Things better?

The author should pay more attention to the mystery and less to Jimmy Suttle's back-and-forth with his estranged wife, Lizzie. She's never been very interesting--is whiny and self-involved--and has become less interesting as the series has continued. Neither the couple's relationship nor their response to the loss of their daughter rings true. I've stuck with this series through several books, but this one has finally put me off. I don't care what happens to these characters anymore.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something by Charles Cumming

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

Yes, Tapping at My Door. He's a strong performer and not the problem with this audiobook.

What character would you cut from The Order of Things?

Lizzie Suttle, without a doubt. But Jimmy's inability to be honest with any woman he's involved with is getting tiresome, too.

Predictible and a little boring

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Less predictable plot twists and situations. It seemed to me that Mr. Hurley was on auto-pilot when he wrote this one.

Would you ever listen to anything by Graham Hurley again?

Possibly. I think his novels are much better when he hoses an audience and writes for them, such as mystery readers or social issue readers or alternative life-style readers but not all. I know characters need dimension but too much dimension just leaves them flat.

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

Jonathan Keeble is always fabulous. One of my most favorite Jonathan Keeble performances is: A Cure For All Diseases by Reginald Hill.,

What character would you cut from The Order of Things?

Where to start...