Audio Book Review ~ The Cryptic Lines by Richard Storry, Narrated by Jake Urry

The Cryptic Lines

Author: Richard Storry

Narrator: Jake Urry

Publisher: Richard Alan Storry
Length: 4 hours and 13 minutes (unabridged)

Audio Release Date: March 16, 2016

Genre: Mystery

Set in a sprawling gothic mansion in a remote coastal location, somewhere in the British Isles, the elderly recluse Lord Alfred Willoughby is deciding what is to become of his vast fortune after his death. Whilst his head is telling him to leave nothing at all to his wastrel son, Matthew, his heart is speaking differently. After much deliberation, in a last-ditch attempt to try and show to his son the importance of applying himself to a task and staying with it to the end, he devises a series of enigmatic puzzles cunningly concealed within the lines of a poem – the cryptic lines. If he completes the task successfully and solves the puzzles he will inherit the entire estate; but if he fails he will receive nothing. However, from Lord Alfred’s Will it emerges that Matthew is not the only interested party. The mysterious old house holds many secrets, and nothing is as it first appears…

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The story, set in a sprawling Gothic mansion owned by the elderly and recluse Lord Alfred Willoughby, begins as he calls on his lawyer, to make a final revision of his will.  Lord Willoughby is torn on what to leave is only living son, Matthew, because he has proven to making poor financial choices and is always coming to his father for money.  Lord Willoughby decides though to make Matthew work for his inheritance by creating a challenge that will hopefully prove he has ‘grown-up’ and ready for the responsibility that comes with enormous wealth.  If Matthew can’t complete the challenge in the allotted time, he receives nothing.  Matthew, who is a greedy and lazy son, will stop at nothing to ‘win’ the fortune he feels he is entitled to.

With cryptic clues, hidden secrets and an old mansion, this story is filled with so many twists and turns, I could not help but keep listening nonstop until the very end.  Richard Storry has a definite talent of drawing the reader in and keeping them hooked and guessing the outcome.  I, for one, was shocked at the ending, because I didn’t see it coming – at all.

This was my first audio book narrated by Jake Urry, and I will have to say that he did an excellent job at portraying each of the characters in a way that created the perfect atmosphere of mystery and intrigue.  His voice MADE me want to listen - to hang on to each and every word.   Each character had a distinct voice and personality that made this story come alive.

Overall, this was an intriguing book with interesting characters, a mystery that really held my attention and an ending that I did not predict nor expect.  If you love a good story with old Gothic mansions, secret passageways and rooms, mystery and cryptic messages, then I would highly recommend you pick up Cryptic Lines.  It’s a short read/listen and will not leave you disappointed in the least.

4 stars

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Jake Urry. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Richard Storry

Richard is the author of four published novels, with his fifth “A Looming of Vultures” due for publication in 2017. Prior to writing his first novel, “The Cryptic Lines” he was very busy in the theatrical world: He composed the incidental music to Chekhov’s Three Sisters, seen in London’s West End, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Eric Sykes, and subsequently broadcast on BBC4 television. His musical adaptation of “The Brothers Lionheart” premiered at London’s Pleasance Theatre, followed by a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival where it was voted Best Childrens’ Play. “The Cryptic Lines” has now been adapted for both the stage and screen.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads

Jake Urry

Jake Urry is a British actor and audiobook narrator, and also co-founder of Just Some Theatre. Since graduating from an Acting degree course in 2012 he’s toured with Just Some Theatre as an actor and producer, worked on a number of commercial voice over projects and most recently started producing Audiobooks. Jake has produced over 10 titles since March 2016 and has rapidly found himself at home narrating Thriller, Horror, Mystery and Suspense titles. His audiobook work includes dark psychological thrillers White is the Coldest Colourand Portraits of the Dead by John Nicholl, occult mystery seriesThe Ulrich Files by Ambrose Ibsen, and gritty Sci-Fi novelShadows of Tomorrow by Jessica Meats. 

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Voices⎮Soundcloud

Audio Book Review ~ White is the Coldest Colour by John Nicholl, Narrated by Jake Urry

White is the Coldest Colour

By John Nicholl

Narrator: Jake Urry

Publisher: John Nicholl⎮May 26, 2016

Length: 9 hours 10 minutes

Series: Dr. David Galbraith (Book 1)

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Be careful who you trust.

The Mailer family are oblivious to the terrible danger that enters their lives when seven-year-old Anthony is referred to the child guidance service by the family GP following the breakdown of his parents' marriage.

Fifty-eight year old Dr. David Galbraith, a sadistic, predatory pedophile employed as a consultant child psychiatrist, has already murdered one child in the soundproofed cellar below the South Wales Georgian townhouse he shares with his wife and two young daughters.

Anthony becomes Galbraith's latest obsession and he will stop at nothing to make his grotesque fantasies reality.

The novel is entirely fictional, but draws on John Nicholl's experiences as a police officer, child protection social worker, manager and trainer. During his career the author was faced with case after case that left him incredulous as to the harm sexual predators chose to inflict on their victims. The book reflects that reality.

The story is set in 1992, a more naive time when many found it extremely difficult to believe that a significant number of adults posed a serious risk to children. The book contains material some may find upsetting from the start.

It is dedicated to survivors everywhere.

Click here to listen to an Audible sample

Audible⎮Amazon

White is the Coldest Colour written by John Nicholl is a psychological thriller that takes place in Wales and during the course of the book we get inside the head of an extremely sick and perverted individual that preys on little boys all in the disguise of being a well renown child psychiatrist who is supposed to be helping his patients.

This is a dark story with some horrific scenes that will make you cringe.  Knowing that the author draws from the knowledge and experiences he gained while on the job makes this story even more cringe worthy.  That there are even beings such as Galbraith walking around this world is a sick feeling that will leave you with a sense of pure disgust.  Galbraith’s character is a disturbing one as not only is he a pedophile who preys on young boys; he honestly thinks he is doing nothing wrong.  He obtains great pleasure from his ‘work’ and thinks he is above the law and perhaps the greatest person on Earth.  He is manipulative and enjoys ‘breaking’ people down.  Galbraith is a monster through and through.  There are absolutely no redeeming qualities to be found in his character.  You will be cheering at the end - because spoiler alert – he dies.  YAY for happy endings!

The foul language was abundant for most of the book, and I really feel as though most of it was not needed in order for the plot to flow.  There is a lot of ‘the little bastard’, ‘piss’ this and ‘piss’ that, and ‘fu*k’ this and ‘fu*k’ that, with a little bit of the C word that all women despise.  If you can’t get past foul language, then this book is not for you.  I would suggest though trying to get past the language because this story is an eye opening experience.

Overall, despite the language, this was a decent read that will take you to a dark place that will disturb you to the point that you might want to stop reading, but I promise that you will not be able to put the book down.  I for one could not stop until the very end.

The narration of this book was performed by Jake Urry.  This is the second book I have listened to performed by Mr. Urry, and I must admit, although I enjoyed the first book for the most part, I had a difficult time listening to this particular story.  There was little to no emotion portrayed with each character, and I had a hard time figuring out which character was actually doing the ‘talking’.  For most of the performance, I felt as though I was just being read to and was unable to visualize the story and characters in my head.  Paragraph breaks were hard to distinguish as the narrator hardly seemed to pause long enough – it just seemed rushed at times.  I believe the performance could be improved by giving each character a defining voice and more emotion.

For this particular book, I would have to say skip the audible and just read the book for yourself and create your own voices for the characters.  This is a dark book with events that unfortunately happen in today’s world and is definitely worth the time reading.

Overall rating - 3.5 stars

Story - 4 stars

Performance - 3 stars

The audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.  Kindle edition purchased by the reader in order to read separately to gain more insight on the writing.

John Nicholl, an ex police officer, child protection social worker, manager and lecturer, has written three dark psychological suspense thrillers, each of which are Amazon international bestsellers, reaching # 1 in various categories in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Austrailia, Canada and the USA. John is always happy to hear from readers, bloggers or anyone interested in proposing a joint creative project. He can be contacted via his author website at: http://www.johnnicholl.com

Jake Urry is a British actor and audiobook narrator, and also co-founder of Just Some Theatre. Since graduating from an Acting degree course in 2012 he’s toured with Just Some Theatre as an actor and producer, worked on a number of commercial voice over projects and most recently started producing Audiobooks. Jake has produced over 10 titles since March 2016 and has rapidly found himself at home narrating Thriller, Horror, Mystery and Suspense titles. His audiobook work includes dark psychological thrillers White is the Coldest Colourand Portraits of the Dead by John Nicholl, occult mystery seriesThe Ulrich Files by Ambrose Ibsen, and gritty Sci-Fi novelShadows of Tomorrow by Jessica Meats.