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Preview
  • Killing the Beasts

  • DI Spicer, Book 1
  • By: Chris Simms
  • Narrated by: Dean Williamson
  • Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (116 ratings)

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Killing the Beasts

By: Chris Simms
Narrated by: Dean Williamson
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Summary

The Commonwealth Games have come to Manchester and the city is buzzing. Caught in the commercial feeding frenzy is Tom Benwell, an advertising executive. But the pressure is getting to Tom - too many deals to make and too many lies to tell. Meanwhile, his friend DI Jon Spicer is on the fast track, showing a love for the job that borders on obsession.

Then, in the aftermath of the Games, a string of brutal murders shatters the city's newfound spirit. Spicer gets the case. Each victim has been murdered in the same grotesque manner, yet the lack of motive leaves the police utterly baffled. With the race on, both men find themselves caught up in a nightmare where the most innocent action can cost the highest price.

©2014 Chris Simms (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd
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Critic reviews

"Pacy, gripping and original storytelling." (Yorkshire Post)

"The story’s dramatic events are drawn out, gradually building to a page-turning, heart-stopping – and totally unexpected – ending." (The Book Place)

What listeners say about Killing the Beasts

Average customer ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good story, though hard to follow

I'm not sure if it was a production decision, reader decision or author decision, but there was no pause or break of any kind when switching points of view, which made it really hard to follow.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Beasts

The book was very well read. The story was strong and tense. I will look for the author and the reader when choosing another audio book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The editing and narration

It’s a good storyline and I actually think the narrator is the right fit, however I am not sure if the editing is wrong or the way the story has been written in the book. This is what makes the story confusing at times as it jumps from paragraph to paragraph, with a completely different part of the story. Plus there are so many editing issues. I. E. The first victim lives in a house, then later it’s described as her flat? I have listened to a few books recently with many different authors, all of which have obvious editing issues. Though with the audible originals offers it has broadened my range of new authors on my favourite topic Crime and police procedurals.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

original and clever!

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the narration which came under fire in previous reviews.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very good listen

The only thing that spoilt this listen was the way the story kept jumping forward and backwards in a confusing way. If the tale had just been told without the jumping back and forwards I feel it would have been a better tale. The characters are well defined and the pace of the tale is very good. Without a doubt I'll be looking for more of this writer

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

An intriguing criss cross story, spoilt by...

endless, unnecessary descriptions of the one subject. The story plot was very clever but I felt the Narrator's lack of tempo and pace made it a confusing listen. For me, the regular references to spiders spoilt it, so I had to spin the story on every time, missing parts of it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A bit disjointed

A good listen but sometimes it felt a bit disjointed. The characters were believable. Worth a listen

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Intelligent Thriller

The narrator was excellent and was cunningly part of the movement needed for the twisting narrative. A well written and absorbing book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really good

Some parts of the story made me very uncomfortable. As the story entered the final chapters I gasped at what was happening.

Love finding a story that gets under your skin and makes you feel so much for the main characters

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Scarily true to life

It’s a good story, I feel the author has done good research into the perils of drugs and there dark side. I like the characters and I was switching between several of them ’who done it’ most of the way through the story. All in all a good listen. The narrator was good.

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