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The Twenty

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The Twenty

By: Sam Holland
Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
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About this listen

A nail-biting, award-winning crime novel from the author of The Echo Man!

A shocking crime scene…
DCI Adam Bishop has never seen anything like it. Five murder victims – all with numbers written above their bodies. And the spray-painted daubs reveal a horrific truth: the killer is counting down…

A case that twists and turns…
When Dr Romilly Cole learns of the murders, they trigger memories of a traumatic past she has tried hard to forget. But getting involved with the case is a bad idea. She and Bishop have history – and working together could never end well.

A race against time to stop a killer…
Adam and Romilly soon realise the truth lies in a decades-old case, and only Romilly holds the key. But they must act quickly, because with every passing day, there are more victims. And as the numbers edge toward zero, the murders get closer to home…

The countdown has begun. Who will die next?

* THE ECHO MAN won the Bronze Bat for Best Debut Thriller in October 2022, and THE TWENTY won the Silver Bat for best thriller of the year in October 2023, at the Netherlands Thriller Festival

©2023 Sam Holland (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Crime Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Thriller Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Murder Exciting Suspense

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Critic reviews

"Fascinating, complex characters, whose relationships are every bit as humanly messy as the crime scenes they face. And the crime scenes are every bit as personal as the relationships they cling onto. Relentless, twisted, terrifying; like its killer." (Dominic Nolan, author of Vine Street)

"Some authors spook you. Some authors unnerve me. Very few authors frighten you — but very few authors are Sam Holland. The Twenty is smart and brooding, icepick-sharp and shadow-dark; best of all, though, it’s scary as hell. Think you’re tough? Pick up this novel and prove it." (AJ Finn, author of The Woman in the Window)

"Sharp as a razor and jam packed with heart-in-mouth moments that’ll leave you reeling." (Robert Scragg, author of End of the Line and What Falls Between the Cracks)
All stars
Most relevant  
Firstly I think there should be a long list of triggers on this book, e.g. rape and very detailed description of murders. The last chapters is definitely going to be too much for a lot of people.
It’s in the same “universe” as the first book, but there is little cross over that other then some mentions of the earlier crimes and detective.
I very much enjoyed the audiobook and like the narrator.
I did see some of the twists coming, but especially the last one took me by surprise.
If you like thrillers, violent crime and are ok with a quite descriptive murders you’ll probably like this book.

Great crime thriller that keeps you guessing

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I don’t know if this narrator was auditioning for some sort of drama club, however, the intonation in his speech and the gradual whispering away, so you couldn’t hear the last word drove me insane. The story was good enough to keep me listening. However, I will not listen to another story by this narrator again.

Awful narrator

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I could not get into this due to the monotone voice of the narrator. i felt it didn't deliver what tge story wanted. Good plot though

Good plot

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good story although a bit too descriptive in parts overall worth listening to. Narrator very good.

good story

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I really enjoyed this book as much as the previous, now I’m going to find the next in the series

Great book

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Narrator not the best which could spoil the book for some. The story is a good one with twists and turns.

Good twisty story

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Sorry to say that the performance grated and I found it really hard to concentrate. The story good. Characters seemed a little weak in comparison to the first book. Overall a good but think I’d have preferred to read it.

The voice

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Really loved the first Sam Holland book, echo man, so downloaded this. I tried several times to listen but could not abide the narrator. After 3rd attempt to listen I caved. Have definitely learnt my lesson to preview different narrators.
I will assume the story is as great as others have stated!

Couldn’t get passed chapter two

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This follow up book is nowhere near as good as The Echo Man, most of the characters are thoroughly unlikeable, DCI Adam Bishop is a pompous, self pitying fool, his ex wife Romilly is almost as annoying, but some of this may be the fault of the narrator who is terrible at women's voices, all women sound like simpering fools in his annoying voice, the men aren't much better. The producers should have stuck with the two narrator formula from The Echo Man and passed on Matthew Lloyd Davies entirely.

The story itself is pretty good, and shows that this author does a good line in misdirection through one particular ploy that I shan't mention for fear of a spoiler. It is not the follow up I was hoping for though.

Audible should also take note that this is actually book 2 of the 'Major Crimes' series, not the 'Echo Man' series, this book does NOT feature the Echo Man at all.

Wrong Narrator

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I was really looking forward to listening to the next book by this author but honestly the narration made it so hard to get through. Firstly I thought I was listening to a story line that was based in the 1950’s not current day his voice was so wrong for this book. But that aside another brilliant book from Sam Holland, all the twists and turns at the end just expertly woven. I really like this author and would hope beyond hope that next time they get a different narrator.

Narration not the best!!

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