Shadow of the Serpent cover art

Shadow of the Serpent

An Inspector McLevy Mystery 1

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Shadow of the Serpent

By: David Ashton
Narrated by: David Ashton
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About this listen

London had Sherlock Holmes. The dark alleys of Edinburgh had Inspector McLevy.

Known as the father of forensics and a likely influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, real-life police inspector James McLevy is here reinvented by David Ashton in a thrilling mystery - the first in a series - set in dark, violent Victorian Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, 1880. Election fever grips the city. But while the rich and educated argue about politics, in the dank wynds of the docks it's a struggle just to stay alive. When a prostitute is brutally murdered, disturbing memories from 30 years ago are stirred in Inspector McLevy, who is soon lured into a murky world of politics, perversion and deception - and the shadow of the serpent.

©2016 David Ashton (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Exciting Scotland

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All stars
Most relevant  
I have had to restart this book so many times I have forgotten. Mr Ashton may have penned a brilliant book and once I got over his heavy breathing while reading and the distracting accents I did like the Scottish version of Sherlock.
But when I re- listen to a book it because I enjoyed it so much I wanted to listen to it again and several I missed first time round but I going to have to read-listen so I can understand it the second third or even fourth time.
Maybe another narrator , someone like Stephen Fry would have done justice what is a really good book.
Sorry!! :(

The most annoying narrator ever

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I listened to all David Ashton’s books. They are all great for the same reasons. Mainly you won’t get bored at any point of the book. The plot is exciting and the actors who read the books are remarkably suitable for the setting of the story. So get them and enjoy.

If you still thinking about listening to this book don’t hesitate.

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This was rather a difficult book to listen to, (at times), and I chose to re-listen to ensure I understood it. The main part of the book was easy to listen to and I thoroughly enjoyed the description of all the characters mentioned. It’s difficult not to give away anything but there was an under tone of unexplainable mystery which would encourage me to read any subsequent books to see where this leads.
Good narration, although I think it was partly because of this that I couldn’t always follow the plot.

Different to any mundane mystery

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, what's not to love if you are a Historical mystery/crime fan? There are great charactors and twists and turns in the plot...just good fun! Having listened to all of the McLevy radio series (9 and 10 on pre-order) I listened to the Shadow of the Serpent. Whilst I prefer the radio series, as there are more actors in it and I have grown to love each of them for their charactorisation, once I settled into listening to David Ashton's reading, I have really enjoyed the audio book. What a talented man he is!!!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I dip in and out over several days and listen when needing a little time to relax or when doing some mindless chore e.g. ironing :-) The reading allows me too be spirited away to Edinburgh.

Any additional comments?

Now ready to order the next audio book in the series whilst awaiting the 9 & 10 dramatised series. I feel some 'Clutter clearing' coming on and will need distraction :-)

LOVED IT

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I was attracted to this having listened to the excellent BBC radio 4 Inspector McLevy series with Brian Cox and Sioban Redmond. I was a bit put off as it was the author narrating but the audio sample solved that. David Ashton’s voice really works with a wonderful gentile Edinburgh accent and the pace is perfect for his novel. The story is so much more than a historical detective with a political narrative at the heart of the story. The internal monologues of Disraeli, Gladstone and Queen Victoria were superbly down and added real depth. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Wonderfully evocative

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The only downside to this audio book is the narrator. David Ashton is a brilliant wordsmith but his narration style is stiltated and grating on my ear. I listen to audio books to get me off to sleep but this book reading just irritates me.

Great book but poor narration

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Engaging and very entertaining, with lots of colourful descriptions of 19th Century Edinburgh, a interesting plot and some laugh out loud moments I really enjoyed this book. Be warned however, the reader - the author himself - has quite an unusually dramatic style, where sometimes his voice drops to an almost inaudible whisper which caused me to be frequently adjusting my volume levels. He is also at times extremely drawn out and slow - but I found by setting my speed to 1.5x the pace was perfect. Looking forward to more (speeded up) adventures with inspector McLevy.

Very enjoyable once you get used to the reader

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I normally don’t like books narrated by the author however this one is an exception.
I tend to listen mainly when driving and to be frank this is not a book to be listened to in that way, better quietly by the fire or on a wet afternoon.
For me the strength of the novel is in the characterisation and story telling more than the story itself.
An engaging book that I wish I had sat down to listen to rather than drive to.

Atmospheric yarn

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Really enjoyed this book, great reader. Full of atmosphere and tension, looking forward to listening to another.

Well worth a listen

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Sometimes an author should not read his own books. This is a case in point. It seems he is in love with his own voice and he reads his own words with real relish . Rolling R’s and over emphasis on his favourite sentences break into my concentration and make me want to turn the book off. Perhaps I could get over this but not the author/ narrator’s wet smacking sounds as he reads. Is he thinking about food when he reads? Words are slurrrrred and emotional scenes tainted by all this overacting. I wish I had not spent my credits on this crap. I hope someone re-records them in the future.

Ruined by the narrator

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