A Private Business cover art

A Private Business

Hakim and Arnold, Book 1

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A Private Business

By: Barbara Nadel
Narrated by: Paul Thornley
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About this listen

It is London 2012 and Stratford in the East End is at the centre of the world. But next to the Olympic Park are some of the poorest and most crime-ridden streets in the city. PI Lee Arnold and his assistant, Mumtaz Hakim, run a detective agency in a community fraught with conflict and tension. Approached by a frightened woman, they start to investigate her stalker. But soon their enquiries turn in a far more sinister direction.

©2012 Barbara Nadel (P)2013 Quercus Publishing Plc / WF Howes Crime Fiction Mystery Private Investigators Suspense Thriller & Suspense

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Critic reviews

"A compelling new series." ( Sunday Telegraph)
"A gutsy tale well-grounded in local colour." ( The Times)
All stars
Most relevant  
This is a multi layered, first in a series book. The hook is the main plot, but the sub plots running through the story could easily be a book on their own merits. What's really important in the story is that the racial mix shows the positivity that not everyone is inherently evil, but certain sections of the religions cause the issues.

Great

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Well written tale , love the multi racial heroes and heroines . A few interesting twists and turns that make this a good page turner

A private business

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It is difficult to score this. It may be more enjoyable read, rather than listened to. The narration is not terrible, but there is something about the slightly ‘rapping’ style that distracted me and the London accents border on those in the ‘Sound of Music’. The story is interesting, but too baggy. It would be better a third shorter. Also, the main characters would benefit from more depth, whilst other characters are of no consequence. What on Earth is the point of taking up space with Roy, who added nothing! Ultimately, disappointing.

Kept me interested but . . .

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Good story line but Paul Thornley has a strange narration style, no pauses between paragraphs, and strange inflections while narrating.

Narration style

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

Absolutely. Anyone who has enjoyed Barbara Nadel' s other books is likely to enjoy this. Featuring two new detectives, and set in London in the recent past ( the lead up to the Olympics), this gentle thriller is nonetheless quite gripping and is an intriguing start to what I hope will be a great new series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Private Business?

There were many, the mysteries around visiting the new church building; moving objects; mysterious actions etc. but the climax was particularly gripping.

What does Paul Thornley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Paul Thornley is a very good narrator who brings the plots to life in an interesting and gripping way, allowing the listener to build clear mind pictures.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A Private Business can never truly be private ... someone, somewhere knows your secret; but who? How will it be used?
Trust no-one!

A new set of characters, but just as gripping!

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If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

The plot was muddled and many storylines seemed inconsequential and did not tie up at the end of the book. Cannot think many people would enjoy it.

Has A Private Business put you off other books in this genre?

No

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Paul Thornley?

Someone whe can give better voices to the different characters.

What character would you cut from A Private Business?

Roy.

Any additional comments?

I was not really interested in listening to the book, but did as I had paid for it.

A Disappointing Download.

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The obscenity and blasphemy in the first few pages has made me remove this book from my device. I have just watched, but not admittedly read any of the series, The Turkish Detective, which I loved, and which was the reason I bought this book by Barbara Nadel. My mistake. I guess I should have downloaded a sample first, which I would hope would have given me warning if what to expect. I am disappointed, because it looked as if it would have been a good plot and I was enjoying the narrator. Perhaps in days such as these, Adult Content warnings or some such should be given in the same way as they are for films. Sad days.

obscenity and blasphemy

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I listened to this only because I enjoy Nadel’s Istanbul mysteries so much. This was almost impossible to listen to. The story was tedious. The characters were uninteresting. The narrator’s speech mannerisms were annoying. I recommend that you try something different.

A disappointment

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Would you try another book written by Barbara Nadel or narrated by Paul Thornley?

I kept trying with this book but could just get into it. I don't know if it was the cockney geezer accent, or the God complex, but it didn't work for me. Disappointed

Not impressed

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