To the Bone

Gavin English Thrillers, Book 1

By: Ken Lindsey

Narrated by: Neil Holmes

A hard-luck private detective, just getting by. A mother who refuses to give up on her missing daughter. Can Gavin English find the girl before it's too late?

Two teenage girls go missing in the span of one year- both are labeled runaways and forgotten by the system.Forgotten, until Rachel, a determined mother, walks into the office of private investigator, Gavin English. She needs to know for sure what's happened to her daughter, Jennifer. A nice pair of legs and a little cash go a long way, so he's on the case.

When the mangled body of the first runaway is found downtown, and all the signs point to a cannibal, Gavin worries that Jennifer may suffer the same fate. Can he find the girl, and the killer, before it's too late?

To the Bone is a bloody, dark, and sexy psychological thriller, and the first Gavin English Thriller.

"....Classically hard-boiled, delightfully noir. Fun mystery with strong thriller elements...." (Author Tracy Sharp)

©2012 Kenneth E Lindsey Jr (P)2020 Kenneth E Lindsey Jr

Gritty PI mystery

To the Bone had a noir, gritty feel to it. Private eye Gavin English is kind of a mess. He drinks too much, has a bad attitude, and his motivations are questionable. Yet I couldn’t turn my eyes away from this train wreck known as Gavin who does manage to pull himself together long enough to solve this gruesome case. Plus, we fancy the same handgun, so he can’t be all bad.

As much as I liked the dark atmosphere of this story, I did wish the ladies had a better showing. They are all either sex objects or victims, with the exception of the nice lady running the phones at the principal’s office. Gavin certainly is sexist but I have to say that since the story itself isn’t balanced with a strong, plot-bending female, the tale comes off as sexist as well. Even though this is a short tale, that did turn me off here and there.

The story does reveal to the reader clues about the killer right away and then perhaps half way through, we know who it is but Gavin still has to figure it out. I really liked the suspense the tale was building. There was a bit of cat and mouse going on as the killer has his eye on Gavin, gauging whether he’s a real threat or not.

There’s a bit of an abrupt wrap up though. All that suspense and then things just wind up really quick. That said, the ending was very satisfying. 3.5/5 stars. PS – I’m not convinced that Gavin actually spends time at a gym.

The Narration: Neil Holmes was a good pick for Gavin’s voice. He’s got that hard used, don’t care, drank too much last night voice that suits Gavin perfectly. Holmes also had great voices for the girls, capturing their raw emotions very well. His adult female voice for Rachel needed some polishing but his older lady voice for the school receptionist was spot on. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 4.5/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book. My opinions are 100% my own.

Love digging into these mysteries with Gavin.

The narrator, Neil Holmes, sounds just like I would expect Gavin English to sound. And his many other voices enhanced this bloddy, gorey mystery perfectly. Gavin, coffee consuming, cigarette and alcohol abusing private eye. A man to dislike, yet he is a man to admire. Smart. Intuitive. Brave. Principled. Wreckless. And even funny. Love digging in to his mysteries with him!