Gripping

Good listen and well read. Gripping story with twists and turns along the way. Well worth a listen. Top score

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Far too much swearing

This book would I think be 25% shorter without the swearing. The story line was challenging, the performance good but the language became too much. I stopped listening !!

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Wish this was the unabridged version.

John Sessions has recorded the unabridged version of this. But sadly Audible has only published the short version.

A harrowing series of tales woven in and out of each other. Very well written.

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1 person found this helpful

Dark and funny.....

Where does Cold Granite rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would say top 5

Who was your favorite character and why?

Logan MacCrea, downtrodden and unconfident bobby who gets there in the end

What about John Sessions’s performance did you like?

Brilliant at bringing the characters to life..

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

I did struggle with the subject matter, but persevered and glad I did...I downloaded the rest of the series purely based on the writing

Any additional comments?

It's been a long time since any book gripped me like this one and I have now listened to the 1st 4 audiobooks in the series...excellent humour with dark undertones...superb books!

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Mum’s recommendation

I started listening to books at the start of the pandemic and now I’ve listened to 100s, most on my mum’s recommendation. I really enjoyed this, all the characters were believable and although the story line was a bit grim, it doesn’t focus on the gore for too long. I look forward to listening to the whole series. Excellent narration too

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2 people found this helpful

Difficult to hear at times

Gripping story, narration was good but volume seemed to come and go a lot which was difficult at times in the car.

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Good Listen

Throughly enjoyed this storey, really well read. Will read or listen to more of his book

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Great story

Really enjoyed this. Great story with lots of twists and misdirection until it's finally revealed. The rest in this series only get better

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Superb read, horrendously abridged

An absolutely superb crime novel, the grit and grime of the crimes brilliantly peppered with hilarious one-liners. Sure to have you howling in both laughter and despair as the story progresses.

I've never read Cold Granite before but you can easily tell where sections have been omitted for this abridged version. Disheartening really that you're missing out on bits of the story. Surely no bits that are key to the plot, but no doubt some of the finer details and jokes that would add just that extra bit to really show the novel for what it is; the classic that this version is not.

If speculation is correct, that it was abridged in order that John Sessions' fee could be covered, I deem that not worth it. His performance is fine, though his Aberdonian accent is severely lacking; accompanied by his mispronunciation of several place names. James Macpherson, (who narrates Ian Rankin's books) would have done a job on par with Sessions at, no doubt, a cost which would have enabled the whole book to be available here.

That being said, this is a suberb book you can't afford not to read if crime is your genre of choice! I completed it in a day.

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Great story, poor performance

What did you like most about Cold Granite?

It was a great story, gritty, touching, down and dirty, dealing with real issues without sugar coating them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Always Logan McRae. He's a hard done by cop with a heart of gold who has a lot to put up with without it driving him crazy.

Would you be willing to try another one of John Sessions’s performances?

No. He was rubbish. Very stilted in his narration and he got his pronunciations wrong.

Any additional comments?

Abridging a book is never a good idea. There is so much of the story missing and having read the paperback I know what those parts are and they were crucial to the story. If a narrator is being paid by the hour to read a story cutting the story to meet a budget makes for a shoddy job. If cost is an issue at the expense of the story, get a less well known name to do the reading and keep the whole book.

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4 people found this helpful