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kellian901's review against another edition
4.0
First of a series. A very engaging and suspenseful mystery/thriller. I quite enjoyed the main detectives and would gladly read the next installments.
The audiobook was narrated by Richard Armitage who could read the phone book and still have my rapt attention. But the story was good on its own.
The audiobook was narrated by Richard Armitage who could read the phone book and still have my rapt attention. But the story was good on its own.
old_crockern's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
Found this to be both thrilling and suspenseful reading experience, was hard not read it in one sitting and forgetting anything else. Highly interested in continue on with the series for sure, curious to she what the author think up next
vickieb8's review against another edition
3.0
The ending is wonderful but the book definitely drug on getting there. It was a good narration but the book itself was unnecessarily long
zooloo1983's review
4.0
Well, this is my first foray into a Joy Ellis book and I meet Jackman and Evans. I picked this one to listen too mainly because a certain Mr Richard Armitage narrating it, who was I refuse.
The Murderer’s Son was an interesting book, Daniel Kinder hands himself in to the police station stating he has killed someone and that he is the son of a vicious and nasty murderess. Jackman and Evans do not quite believe his story and set up to try and prove it wrong, but things go awry. Although they have the “murderer” in jail, another murder has been committed and now starts the clock ticking.
It was interesting to see how this story would unfold; not often do you get a story where the so-called murderer hands themselves in willingly. This does make you think straightaway, are they murderer or is it a big hoax to distract everyone from a bigger plan? Or maybe I have read too many crime books?! I liked the dynamic with Jackman and Evans, there is no romance, only a slight of one-sided feelings from Jackman and that was touched upon so breezily you could miss it. I do hope we don’t have the will they or won’t they, as I do think it could ruin these two, especially as Evans is still grieving for her husband.
However I did find Daniel’s story so intriguing, is he who he says he is? What secrets are being kept from us and him? Why doesn’t he remember his life before he was 5 years old? But then to be fair, I don’t really remember my life before 5 years old. I loved listening to the secrets slow unfurl, and when we got to the shocking conclusion my heart did go out for Daniel in the end.
I loved how the parallels to the past were used a lot in this case. You have the elusive and murderous Francois Thayer, who Daniel believes to a stage of obsessiveness is his mother. You see the loose threads of her killer spree running so close to the present day you wonder if it is the same killer. Is Daniel copying the past?
The other link to the past is for DS Marie Evans, a man from her past has turned up, in the form of Guy Preston, someone who Evans has worked with in the past, to the extent where she saved his life from a serial killer. With Guy, there is something not quite right for him, he has a bit of a Stockholm syndrome and sees more to his “friendship” with Evans than there is.
Whilst we have the duo on the hunt for the “real” murderer we have a subplot which I really enjoyed and wanted more exposure involved Zane Pruitt and Kevin Stoner. I have to say Stoner was my favourite character (ok Orac is a very close second) in the book and what he endured at the hands of Pruitt made me so angry! I hope he gets more book time; you see Stoner goes from hiding who is, to accepting who he is, I do love me a bit of character growth like that!
Not going to lie, although I did enjoy this book. I was completely distracted by Richard Armitage narrating it. I thought the accents and the voices he put on were good (and I did have to chuckle at his female voices) and even him just talking normally, but it was distracting. I found I was listening more to the sound of his voice at times and not the storyline! There are 2 other narrators that do this to me, so I did find I missed bits and need to concentrate a lot more when listening but this is just me! Aside from that his narration worked for me, it has made me want to keep on listening to the series.
This is a strong start to the series for me and I am interested in seeing how the team develops and grow in the future, so much so I already have the next book lined up on audible to listen to…once I have finished my review.
The Murderer’s Son was an interesting book, Daniel Kinder hands himself in to the police station stating he has killed someone and that he is the son of a vicious and nasty murderess. Jackman and Evans do not quite believe his story and set up to try and prove it wrong, but things go awry. Although they have the “murderer” in jail, another murder has been committed and now starts the clock ticking.
It was interesting to see how this story would unfold; not often do you get a story where the so-called murderer hands themselves in willingly. This does make you think straightaway, are they murderer or is it a big hoax to distract everyone from a bigger plan? Or maybe I have read too many crime books?! I liked the dynamic with Jackman and Evans, there is no romance, only a slight of one-sided feelings from Jackman and that was touched upon so breezily you could miss it. I do hope we don’t have the will they or won’t they, as I do think it could ruin these two, especially as Evans is still grieving for her husband.
However I did find Daniel’s story so intriguing, is he who he says he is? What secrets are being kept from us and him? Why doesn’t he remember his life before he was 5 years old? But then to be fair, I don’t really remember my life before 5 years old. I loved listening to the secrets slow unfurl, and when we got to the shocking conclusion my heart did go out for Daniel in the end.
I loved how the parallels to the past were used a lot in this case. You have the elusive and murderous Francois Thayer, who Daniel believes to a stage of obsessiveness is his mother. You see the loose threads of her killer spree running so close to the present day you wonder if it is the same killer. Is Daniel copying the past?
The other link to the past is for DS Marie Evans, a man from her past has turned up, in the form of Guy Preston, someone who Evans has worked with in the past, to the extent where she saved his life from a serial killer. With Guy, there is something not quite right for him, he has a bit of a Stockholm syndrome and sees more to his “friendship” with Evans than there is.
Whilst we have the duo on the hunt for the “real” murderer we have a subplot which I really enjoyed and wanted more exposure involved Zane Pruitt and Kevin Stoner. I have to say Stoner was my favourite character (ok Orac is a very close second) in the book and what he endured at the hands of Pruitt made me so angry! I hope he gets more book time; you see Stoner goes from hiding who is, to accepting who he is, I do love me a bit of character growth like that!
Not going to lie, although I did enjoy this book. I was completely distracted by Richard Armitage narrating it. I thought the accents and the voices he put on were good (and I did have to chuckle at his female voices) and even him just talking normally, but it was distracting. I found I was listening more to the sound of his voice at times and not the storyline! There are 2 other narrators that do this to me, so I did find I missed bits and need to concentrate a lot more when listening but this is just me! Aside from that his narration worked for me, it has made me want to keep on listening to the series.
This is a strong start to the series for me and I am interested in seeing how the team develops and grow in the future, so much so I already have the next book lined up on audible to listen to…once I have finished my review.
netherfield72's review against another edition
3.0
This is a new British mystery series to me. It's suppose to be turned into a TV show in the near future. So I wanted to read the first book. I only gave it 3 stars because I had to make myself finish it and it was probably the last 100 pages that I found engaging. Also there were so many characters i had a hard time keeping track of who was who. I will defiantly read the next one in the series to give it another chance.
samuelson_obi's review
3.0
This instalment in the “DI Jackman And DS Evans” series did not disappoint.
In the “Murderer’s son” we are thrown right into the action from the start. Mysteries galore, red herring’s, side plots and events that seemingly did not connect with each other. Joy Ellis masterfully wove them into a tidy bow.
At the start it seems as though the plot is fairly basic, but don’t let that fool you.
Joy Ellis kept me guessing at every turn, doubting my guesses and then twisting them right round.
In this novel I found that it was more focused on the two main characters, as we delved into their past, I felt somehow closer and able to understand what drove them and what motivated them.
I really liked the focus on the relationship between Jackman and Evans and how it was developed, the words that came to mind were, mutual respect, and friendship.
The narration by Richard Armitage was superb as always.
I realise that this was actually the first book in the series, which makes sense, as there was a little more explaining than usual.
It was dark, gritty and kept me riveted. A great continuation to the series.
This was a 3.5 stars for me.
I liked it and then some.
In the “Murderer’s son” we are thrown right into the action from the start. Mysteries galore, red herring’s, side plots and events that seemingly did not connect with each other. Joy Ellis masterfully wove them into a tidy bow.
At the start it seems as though the plot is fairly basic, but don’t let that fool you.
Joy Ellis kept me guessing at every turn, doubting my guesses and then twisting them right round.
In this novel I found that it was more focused on the two main characters, as we delved into their past, I felt somehow closer and able to understand what drove them and what motivated them.
I really liked the focus on the relationship between Jackman and Evans and how it was developed, the words that came to mind were, mutual respect, and friendship.
The narration by Richard Armitage was superb as always.
I realise that this was actually the first book in the series, which makes sense, as there was a little more explaining than usual.
It was dark, gritty and kept me riveted. A great continuation to the series.
This was a 3.5 stars for me.
I liked it and then some.
chromatick's review
4.0
3.5 stars
This is the first in what is currently I think a ten book series.
Sometimes you just want a "beach read", and this one achieves that objective. It's a very well written, competent crime novel. The mystery is solid and it moves along at a breezy pace.
I'd like to see the main characters developed a little bit more as the series goes on.
While this book didn't add anything new to the genre, it was still a solid read and I will continue with the series.
This is the first in what is currently I think a ten book series.
Sometimes you just want a "beach read", and this one achieves that objective. It's a very well written, competent crime novel. The mystery is solid and it moves along at a breezy pace.
I'd like to see the main characters developed a little bit more as the series goes on.
While this book didn't add anything new to the genre, it was still a solid read and I will continue with the series.
makaylarosie225's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25