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A Fault Against the Dead

The First Quarto, Book 4

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A Fault Against the Dead

By: Gregory Ashe
Narrated by: J.F. Harding
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About this listen

Drugs. Sex. Murder. And, if they can squeeze it in, graduation.

When Auggie Lopez returns to Wahredua for his senior year of college, he’s excited about the future: He’s growing his brand as an influencer, he’s almost done with school, and he’s building a life with his boyfriend, Theo. Then Auggie gets a phone call from Howard Cartwright, Theo’s ex—and Cart tells Auggie he’s being framed for murder.

As Auggie and Theo begin to look into the death of a local parole officer, they realize something isn’t right. A gang of armed men almost catches them while they’re searching the victim’s home, a threatening message spray-painted on the victim’s home suggests a personal vendetta, and everyone wants to know about a missing cache of money. The trail leads Auggie and Theo into the dangerous world of the Ozark Volunteers—the local white supremacists who control the region’s drug trade.

After Theo and Auggie are attacked at home, they learn that the stakes might be much, much higher: Someone is determined to put a stop to their investigation, no matter what it takes. And the killer, Theo and Auggie suspect, is hiding behind a badge.

©2022 Gregory Ashe (P)2023 Gregory Ashe Amateur Sleuths Literature & Fiction Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction Detective Crime Suspense Murder

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Listener received this title free

The end (sort of..) of Theo's and Auggie's story was nothing short of emotional, heartbreaking, surprising, and a pleasure to be part of. This author's writing is so compelling and interesting that it seems we are taking part in all the twists and turns the characters go through. And the side characters are really great, Fer especially :)

As usual, the narration was flawless and excellent!

Amazing!!

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Listener received this title free

It’s Auggie’s final year and Theo’s last year as a grad student at Wroxall College in this final instalment in Gregory Ashe’s The First Quarto series. But of course, there’s no way it’s going to be an easy year for our favourite trouble-magnets. Not only are they once again up to their necks in a complicated and extremely dangerous murder investigation, but their romantic relationship is still undergoing teething problems and is confronted with what is possibly its toughest challenge yet.

The mystery plot here kicks off when Auggie unexpectedly gets a phone call from Howard Cartwright, Theo’s late husband’s partner on the job and Theo’s former f/buddy, who tells Auggie he’s been arrested for the murder of a local parole officer. Their visit to Cart in jail is awkward to say the least, but boils down to the fact that someone has framed Cart for murder – and he needs Theo and Auggie to find out who and why.

The devious mind of Gregory Ashe has come up with a real doozy here as Theo and Auggie are plunged into the murky world of the local drug trade while the complicated web of lies, blackmail and murder becomes even more tangled and the threats to life and limb pile up. And while all this is going on, they're still dealing with some intensely personal issues that are impacting their relationship. They’ve both been through such a lot in their relatively young lives, and Theo’s largely untreated trauma, specifically, is continuing to throw up barriers between them. Whereas in the previous book, the conflict was about Theo's massive protective streak causing him to disregard Auggie's feelings and wishes and him learning to treat him like an adult; here, it's the clash between Theo's fatalism and the fact that his trauma response makes it hard for him to envisage a future of any kind where Auggie's dysfunctional family life means he is driven to want security and committment and to want to make plans. It's an impossible dilemma - and one which is going to take a lot of love, understanding and compromise to resolve.

JF Harding delivers yet another outstanding performance - every emotion and expression is relayed precisely and flawlessly, and his portrayals of Theo and Auggie are pitch perfect, the intensity of emotion that ties them together coming across strongly. He's at the top of his game here, and I honestly can't think of any other narrator who could have done as fantastic a job in this series.

A Fault Against the Dead is a superb combination of complex plot composed of lots of moving parts with some really profound character and relationship development. and despite the gritty subject matter, there's still room for plenty of humour. It brings The First Quarto series to a satisfying close by way of a tense, nail-biting climax which will have listeners on the edge of their seats and then follows it up with a beautifully understated and hopeful HEA. Theo and Auggie have become two of my favourite Asheverse characters, so while I’m sorry to see them metaphorically riding off into the sunset into a much quieter life, I’m delighted they’ve been given the happy ending they deserve.

Ashe & Harding at their very best

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Listener received this title free

I was given this book as an advanced listener.
This book is essential listening to really get to the bottom of why Auggie and Theo are the men they are today. I admire that despite the ups and downs in their own lives and the evil they know exists in this world they are still willing to help others and put themselves at risk.
It starts with a missing girl which takes us down a path of drugs, sex, murder and corruption. Who can you trust? Even John Somerset, who is at a low point in his life is not to be relied upon.
It takes a lot of strength to be there for others when their worlds jointly and separately seem to be falling apart. Is it love alone that can keep them together?
I recommend joining Auggie and Theo on this rollercoaster of a journey.
As always J. F. Harding's narration is not to be faulted. But then again he has Ashe's excellent writing that enables him to embody the characters.

Life is a roller-coaster

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Listener received this title free

I had already read the physical copy of this book and hadn't listened to any of the previous books in the First Quarto in audio form so I was intrigued to see what I thought. I thought the performance was really good, I know from experience that a narrator can make or break whether I gel with their performance, and it really is a personal thing, but I hugely enjoyed the narration, so much so I'm going to look out for other books narrated by J.F Harding. With regards to the story I love intriguing storylines that keep me guessing and this was just fabulous. A very enjoyable experience!

Another fabulous title from Gregory Ashe

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Another fantastic book from Gregory Ashe, and a great end to the series. Make sure you start with book 1 before reading/listening to this book.

A great end to the series

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Enjoyable story that is well written with likeable characters and good world building. The narration is very good as well.

Enjoyable Story

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Listener received this title free

What an ending!! And J.F. Harding’s narration?! Perfection. It hurt so good at times, and even though I have come to expect that from Ashe, I'm still caught off guard every time. It's smart and witty with the Shakespeare tie-ins, great banter, and of course, Fer's insults. The romance is tough won, but this installment is so necessary to get them where they need to go. And while the mystery does take a little more of a backseat, it is in no way less interesting and Thuggie is put through the physical ringer just as much as an emotional one. Absolutely amazing from start to finish!

What an ending!

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It was really good to return to Theo and Auggie as their journey together continues to unfold. As always the combination of mystery and a sensitive exploration of love between two authentic and perfectly flawed characters really works. With a touch of Shakespeare to save the day (who else??) it was a great listen from end to end.

Great final book in the series

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Listener received this title free

Somehow, in the downtime between listening to Gregory Ashe audios, I forget just how violent they are. How he loves to make his MCs suffer. How I wince and want to fast forward through those sections. I mean, I know Theo and Auggie aren’t going to die. But damn, the panic weaves its way through me as I wonder if they’re going to wind up in the hospital yet again. I also roll my eyes at their antics. They shouldn’t be trying to solve crimes. They’re a university lecturer and a college student. Yet when Theo’s old friend asks him for help, Theo can’t help but get involved.

Big surprise.

Auggie, of course, refuses to be left behind. In the first, I don’t know, hour, they’re already in trouble. First by the cops and then by the gang whose toes they step on. Then life intervenes – including plans by Theo’s former in-laws to take his daughter to Florida, far away from Missouri, as well as, you know, classes. Oh, and Auggie’s brother Chewie is in some serious trouble and older brother Furr is trying to hold everything together.

As graduation draws near, after Auggie got involved with more of his Instagram people, the mystery rears its ugly head. In the end, I only saw part of the dénouement coming. Gregory likes to keep me guessing. And, of course, more violence.

I really enjoyed this book and although I’m happy to see there’s one more book, it’ll break my heart to let these guys go. I can only envision the mayhem they’ll get into next time.

Quick shout out to JF Harding who’s doing a fantastic job narrating this series. From Auggie’s earnestness to Theo’s world weariness, he always gets things just right.

Didn’t see that coming

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An outstanding 10 star read from J.F. Harding, stunning. When will something really nasty or even deadly happen to Lender and that awful Sheriff? How does Theo keep going knowing that even more body parts will get damaged, practically every time he gets involved in one of these 'amateur' investigations? Why does Auggie do some really stupid stuff, and then suddenly default to his super intelligent setting...ah, the joys of being 22 I suppose 😏. How does Fer come up with these brilliant, off the cuff, snarky cutting remarks? We have the wonderful Gregory Ashe to thank for all these things and many more besides. Mind-boggling.

Truly outstanding narration from J.F. Harding...

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