Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

From a Dead Sleep

By: John A. Daly
Narrated by: Chiquito Joaquim Crasto
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Few residents in the small, secluded mountain town of Winston, Colorado, have kind words to say about Sean Coleman. He's a bully, a drunk, and a crime show-addicted armchair detective with an overactive imagination. After a night of poor judgment, Sean finds himself the sole witness to the unusual suicide of a mysterious stranger. With the body whisked away in the chilling rapids of a raging river, no one believes Sean's account. Tormented over the doubts and mockery of the people of Winston, Sean embarks on a far-reaching crusade that takes him across the country in search of the dead man's identity and personal vindication. At the end, he hopes to find redemption and the truth - but sometimes the truth is better left unknown. There are times when the truth invites evil. There are times when the truth can get you killed.

©2013 John A. Daly (P)2017 John A. Daly
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Deadly Silence cover art
With a Blighted Touch cover art
The Trenton Legacy cover art
It Haunts the Mind: And Other Stories cover art
Demon King cover art
Lethal Justice cover art
Love, Lies, and Murder cover art
The Complete Age of Collapse Series cover art
First Girl Gone cover art
Kill Monster cover art
Watch Her Vanish cover art
Lost Daughter cover art
Within the Woods cover art
Stone Groove cover art
The Depth of Darkness cover art
They Lurk cover art

What listeners say about From a Dead Sleep

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What good is a lady you can't take for a dance?

An unusual and violent murder mystery which immediately draws in the reader by the bizarre suicide witnessed by a man waking, hungover, by a bridge crossing a fast running river. The man he saw jump hadn't seemed like someone who wanted to die: but still he not only leapt from the bridge, he simultaneously, and with considerable difficulty, shot himself in the back of his head. The rushing river dragged the body away.

The book is also populated almost entirely with unlikable characters, with the exception only of Toby, a just teenage boy on the autistic spectrum, the main protagonist s uncle (brief appearance only), and Diane, wife of the Chief of police and brother to Sean Coleman, unlikely hero and the man who witnessed the suicide, himself a surly, hard drinking loner disliked and mistrusted by the whole town.
No wonder the super tracker Native American, Ron Oldhorse, lived outside of Winston, keeping to himself and also despised by the town's inhabitants. Great characterisations, growing naturally as the story progresses.

The book developes with sections written from the point of view of various protagonists including that of Sean, the police chief, his wife, the uncle, young Toby, a woman named Lisa, Oldhorse and others. It is not until about four hours before the end, the suicider's tale is told, this last in the first person. Yet despite the movement through the different perspectives, and even time shifting through some character rememberances, with the exception of that first person recounting, it all fits well. The book would have improved with the removal of this part, relying instead on what has just been flagged - the contents of a letter - and the continuing investigation and descovery. It's all there, anyway and just needs to unravel. Perhaps that part works better in text.

Violence, murder and numerous grouchy characters: not an easy book to narrate. Chiquita Joaquim Crawford has a great voice, perfect for this story, medium deep with just a hint of gruff. He reads with good intonation and his coverage of the numerous characters is individualistic and appropriate, read with good understanding. Unfortunately, his reading of the text is slightly disjointed, broken with strange little pauses, and there are occasional short fluctuations in sound, editting glitches, I assume. Speeding playback to 1.25 helps to minimize these problems.

From a Dead Sleep is, presumably, the first of a new series starring Sean Coleman in a new role as a private investigator. If so, this is certainly one which I will want to follow. Unpleasant characters are always more intriguing (even if I personally would not want to live in Winston amongst them!). So my thanks to the rights holder who, at my request, freely gifted me a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom. This was a good read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!