Eric J. Drysdale

Defiant Unto Death

Revisado: 11-22-24

Thank you Stefan for recommending this book.
As someone who is quite well read on 20th century politics and history I found this most interesting. It filled in some gaps on the Second World War and European history of the time, or at least augmented existing knowledge. Although non-fiction it was well written and fleshed out a moving picture of the major characters caught up in these terrible times.
This book should appeal to most readers, certainly those who lean towards factually based works, but also if you mainly read novels you won’t be disappointed.
As always, Stefan Rudnicki is a master narrator. As I have observed before, it is a pure pleasure to listen to the book or novel unfolding under the sure tones of his mellifluous voice, which captures all the subtleties and nuances of both the prose and dialogue. Without doubt, my favourite narrator from the handful of the greats.
Happy reading, Eric.

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The Dark Side of Fiesta

Revisado: 08-15-24

Whilst I was familiar with her name I had not read any books by Dorothy B Hughes. When I saw it was narrated by Stefan Rudnicki it was the perfect opportunity to correct the omission.
As many of you know I have a fascination with the “fork in the road” syndrome as it plays out in books and movies and this is a fine example of that. Three men, Sailor, former senator Willis Douglas and the cop, Mac converge on a New Mexico town during Fiesta. Sailor was Willis’s personal secretary, the senator’s wife was murdered in a robbery gone bad, but Sailor knows it was Willis who ordered her death. He has already been paid $500 to keep his mouth shut, but now wants and needs the thousand he was cheated out of before; and Mac is there to arrest whoever killed the senator’s wife.
I was particularly impressed with the atmosphere Hughes created; the sense of time, place and urgency against the background of the Fiesta. As has been noted by other reviewers, any reasonably well read person has to hear the voices of James M Cain, Patricia Highsmith, Hammett and Chandler in the gathering gloom.
This is a noir novel at its best, AND, with Stefan Rudnicki narrating, as has also been noted, we, the listeners, are provided, hour by hour, the pleasure of subtlety and nuance in the delineation of character, dialogue and prose by one of the best narrators in the industry. Five stars all around. Happy listening.

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THE BELL STOPS TOLLING FOR SOME

Revisado: 04-19-24

Having read the majority of Roger’s books, many of which I have reviewed on Audible, and discussed with him in our numerous emails, THE BELL TOWER seems to me to be a departure from the norm. His books are normally crime-based, and while this certainly has many elements of crime within the plot, it seems to move towards the general novel with strong character development and interaction.
Garrett Nelson is a deputy sheriff. When he is seriously injured in a confrontation with some criminals pushing drugs, and is unable to continue working as a deputy, he becomes an officer at the Bell Tower, a Florida prison where some of the prisoners are on death row. A nice logical progression was that Hannah Montgomery, his physiotherapist, has family working there, her father and brother, and through this connection he secures the job.
Roger has really done his homework here and the reader becomes privy to the day-to-day workings of the prison, all the way through to the executions.
I found this to be a most satisfying novel with well-drawn characters about whom you cared, and a powerful and logical (always a bonus) resolution.
Robert G Slade was an excellent choice for the narrator.
As always, highly recommended.
Happy reading, Eric.

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Excellent Cold War Thriller

Revisado: 05-16-23

This review had similar origins to Mark Dawson’s The Cleaner. I found James because he did several sessions of Mark’s Self Publishing Forum 101 Course. The Final Flight is his first book. Books about planes or flying would not be my usual cup of tea, but cold war certainly would. For example Charles McCarry’s The Tears of Autumn, etc.,so I bought it. Thank you James, I really enjoyed it. If you are a writer you read a novel with the following in mind: a sympathetic lead character the reader can relate to is faced by a seemingly insurmountable problem. Through their own efforts they overcome the problem (or succumb) at crisis time and it finishes with a satisfying denouement. Obviously if you are writing the novel you try to do the same. A strong villain is a definite plus. James ticked all the boxes. He clearly knows the subject and the characterisation, both men and women were most satisfying. The resolution could not have been better - and credible. Full marks James, and later on today I will buy your next book, Dark Flight. Thank you also for your good and easy to follow instructions on Mark’s 101 Course. Highly recommended.
Matt Addis does a fine job of the narration.
Happy reading, Eric.

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Engaging - lays excellent foundation stones

Revisado: 05-09-23

This was not what I expected, but having finished I feel it is a valuable start to the John Milton series. I was thinking John Le Carre, Len Deighton, Charles McCarry, etc., and the first chapter grabs the reader in just that way, BUT, then it changes direction, focusing on John Milton’s personal anguish at having been the prime instrument of assassinating enemies of Her Majesty’s Government.
I mainly bought this because I bought Mark Dawson’s Self-Publishing - 101 Course to enhance the potential success of launching my 6 Volumes of short stories and novel, which seemed reasonable. Now I am very pleased I did and will certainly read other books Mark has written.
Given that Mark has now written over 20 books in the John Milton series, I feel he intended to write a series and wanted to lay the foundation stones to clearly delineate the man Milton was, the lethal danger he poses to those who foolishly challenge him and add credibility to how he resolves threats. He, like Jack Reacher, is definitely a man you want on your side if danger looms. No spoiler here as it unfolds in the first couple of chapters, He advises HMG he is through and is walking away with no backward glance. I liked the fork in the road where he renders assistance to the young woman who suddenly crosses his path. There is even a small sense of atonement grasped by the changing John Milton.
If you enjoy fast moving thrillers peopled by credible characters who aren’t constrained by predictable harnesses you will be glad of the introduction to Mark Dawson and John Milton.
David Thorpe was an excellent narrator.
Happy reading, Eric.

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An Outstanding and Most Satisfying Novel

Revisado: 03-12-23

Starting a new book by R J Ellory is always a banner day for me: it is visiting an old friend, a journey I know I will appreciate and enjoy. Usually I know 12 – 18 months ahead of the launch that the new book is on its way. As indicated in earlier reviews I first found Roger in 2015 when I read A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS. This was my book of the year – the decade, and it pleases me greatly that my email to Roger to simply let him know that after only four chapters I was hooked, has resulted in a friendship, that despite the distance from Australia to the UK, is reinforced year by year with us now having exchanged over 200 emails: good wishes at Christmas and birthdays, comments about the latest book, its progress and expected publication date, my reviews and his kind words about some of my short stories.
So, you might say: “Why bother reading this review, you’re going to say it is great?” That is probably true, because Roger is richly diverse, and BOTH his prose and plots are excellent, you see the land and hear the voices of the characters, but I give an honest reading and review. It is only natural that for every writer, some books are better than others, and for every reader, coming from a subjective base, they will appreciate one book more than another.
So far I have read (listened to) the first five chapters and it is off to a “ripping” start. With typical economy in the first few hundred words we know Victor Landis is sheriff of a rural county, his brother Frank, sheriff of an adjacent county, from whom he has been estranged for years, has been murdered, and the seeds are sown for a family drama unfolded against a background of mystery and violence in the Appalachian Mountains. Any reader who wasn’t engaged at this point must be asleep.
And now I have just finished. Below is an extract from an email I sent to Roger.
“I just finished listening to THE LAST HIGHWAY. This is an outstanding book and I think the best you have written in some years. Let me highlight some of my reasons for that observation:
• The third person viewpoint is perfectly chosen, it wouldn't be as good in the first person.
• Victor Landis is one of your very best characters: his dialogue is true to who he is, his age, rural roots and focus. Not once did I feel he said anything "out of character".
• I don't believe you could have obtained a better reader for this than Jeff Harding. He captured the subtle changes in the characters and even how they respond to the drama of the moment, both male and female, connecting them all with a perfectly paced rendering of the prose.
• We, the readers, become aware of the horrendous crimes being perpetrated against the innocents at the same time as Victor, following through on his investigation as he pieces together the various fragments, and moving with him from a reluctant obligation to his murdered brother, to determination to do the right thing by his previously unknown niece, to mete out justice for the innocent victims.
• I particularly like the relationship with Barbara, his despatcher - girl Friday - girl every day. Not only did it ring true, but their exchanges were often funny and lightened the drama, even if only momentarily.
• Often you read a book and think (or say out loud in exasperation). "Really good idea, but the ending wasn't realistic, or too contrived." This was credible throughout, leading to a realistic climax and denouement - and, of major import: most satisfying.
• Full marks, I hope it sells a million copies plus for you. Also, it would make a terrific movie. Victor is a strong, focused character who will do whatever it takes, a bit like Vigo Mortensen in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and Denzel Washington in MAN ON FIRE. I noticed A QUIET VENDETTA is in production for a TV series, so this could be next.”
I cannot recommend THE LAST HIGHWAY too highly. Even though it is only March I expect this will be my book for 2023.
Happy reading, Eric.

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Many Will Die To Keep It.

Revisado: 07-29-22

Anyone who enjoys espionage novels and thrillers will appreciate this. Those who are well read on 20th century history and World War 2 will find even more to take away from this well constructed and plotted book.
I stumbled across HITLER’S SECRET, which is the fourth in the Tom Wilde series, and am delighted I read this, rather than waiting until I had read number one, CORPUS.
It is early in the war with Germany and Tom Wilde, a Cambridge professor, is recruited to travel to Europe to secure a secret “package” and bring it back to England. Not even Hitler knows of it, but if Britain can secure it, the tide of the war, which is going badly, could be turned.
Once he has achieved his objective the real challenge begins for Wilde as he endeavours to stay ahead of the Nazis, who will eliminate anyone who knows the truth. Even when he is back on English soil, because of other agendas and the evil antagonist closing in, it still may disappear into the wisps of an English fog.
This is lean writing at its best, depicting the “worst of times”, the men and women who perpetrated the horrors and those who stood against them. The characterization is excellent, the plotting complex with many credible twists, a powerful climax and a satisfying denouement, just the meal admirers of Robert Harris, Joseph Kanon, Alex Gerlis and Frederick Forsyth will be pleased to enjoy.
Adam Sims is a fine narrator, capturing the class differences in Britain and the differing accents across Europe.
Highly recommended. Happy reading, Eric.

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MY FAVOURITE COURTROOM DRAMA

Revisado: 07-27-22

A small percentage of books and movies not only survive the test of time, but you look forward to reading or viewing them again and again. This is one of them.
I first read the book and saw the movie of Robert Traver’s ANATOMY OF A MURDER in the 1960s, and as I listen to Jason Culp narrating this Audible book some 60 years later, even though it is a fine reading, it is Jimmy Stewart’s voice I hear.
The majority of readers over 45 will have at least seen the movie, but give yourself a treat and read the book, which transfers very well to the audio format. For those used to John Grisham, Scott Turow and William Bernhardt, all of whom are excellent, this is a different style of courtroom drama.
Set in and around Thunder Bay, a small town on the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, which becomes another character in the unfolding story with Paul Biegler, the recently deposed DA. Biegler enjoys nothing more than fishing in this quiet rural terrain and discussing points of law with his friend Parnell McCarthy, while imbibing in a libation to lubricate their legal larynxes. However, his quiet routine is disrupted when he agrees to defend Frederick Manion who has shot Barney Quill after the said Quill raped his wife, Laura. Unlike many courtroom dramas we know who died and who did it from the beginning, but the manner Robert Traver, a pseudonym for John D Voelker, a Michigan lawyer who drew on one of his own cases for the novel, develops the characters and their interactions, for me, is a sheer delight.
Whilst grounded within the four walls of justice there is a wry humour that permeates the pages with an inherent irony and leads to a most satisfying denouement.
Highly recommended. Happy reading, Eric.

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WHO IS REALLY THE TARGET AND WHY?

Revisado: 07-26-22

I came to this book via Nick’s “Your First 10K Readers”. I have bought a number of his programmes for writers, all of which I have found valuable and worthwhile. I particularly like the fact that he (or his staff) don’t hassle you and assault your inbox with promos and “please buy requests” as so many do.
It seemed a good time to buy one of his books, the logical one being WANTED, the first in the Leopold Blake series, and, if I felt inclined, do a review.
I was pleasantly surprised; it wasn’t THE GRAPES OF WRATH or REBECCA, but then very few books from millions around the world are, and, more importantly, it didn’t pretend to be. It delivered precisely what it set out to do: entice the reader to follow Leopold Blake on a fast paced adventure thriller as he strives to put the pieces together, keep his head down and survive. Nick quickly and fluidly establishes that Leopold is an expert criminologist with a fine eye for works of art and that an assassin is preparing to take or change the lives of many. To someone from the antipodes the Paris background seems to be well sketched. The chapters are short and the prose style punchy which works well.
Being the computer expert that he is Nick obviously knows where to source all the information to add credibility, but he integrated this into the unfolding story in an easy and readable fashion.
Thanks Nick, I appreciate all your good service over the years and enjoyed the book.
Eric.

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THE SEASONS OF LIFE CAN BE BOTH PAINFUL AND DARK.

Revisado: 07-26-22

As you will see from a number of my previous reviews I am a keen admirer of Roger Ellory.
To me this is the best book he has written in recent years. Where most of his books are set in America this is set in Quebec and one of its many strengths is Roger’s depiction of the harsh unforgiving Canadian landscape.
Jack Devereaux grew up in Jasperville, but escaped in his late teens 26 years before, leaving his family to the cold, the desolation and the memories of his sister who was mysteriously killed. A phone call and guilt drags him back to Jasperville when his brother tries to kill someone and is in gaol. Can he find answers and save his brother Calvis? Does Calvis want to be saved?
In his attempt to find answers Jack’s investigation works well on two levels: the credible steps he takes in his search and how the citizens who populate this bleak, parochial community are revealed.
This is R J Ellory at his best, rewarding the reader with finely honed well drawn characters coping with the challenges of nature and their own fractured relationships.
Robert G Slade’s narration is excellent and it seems to me he gives the French Canadian characters a true voice.
Highly recommended.
Happy reading, Eric.

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