Deadly Shores, written by Kerry Buchanan, is the third entry in the Harvey & Birch Irish Crime Thrillers audio series. A tipoff regarding the boatyard in Bangor on Boxing Day soon has the detectives dealing with murder. A suspenseful tale with plenty of twists.
by Kerry Buchanan
Series: Harvey and Birch #3
Narrator: Esther Wane
Length: 9 hours and 20 minutes
Genres: Crime Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 4 cups Speed: 1.5x
TWO SHIPS IN THE NIGHT.
ANOTHER DEAD BODY.
NO SAFE HARBOUR.The tip-off comes just as the Christmas roast is being served. Smugglers coming into a boatyard in Bangor.
Detectives Asha Harvey and Aaron Birch are sent in to investigate. It means being pulled away from pulling crackers, but in truth they’re both a bit relieved. Chief Superintendent Yvonne Patterson has been sidelining them lately — and this case could be big.
The illicit cargo is long gone by the time Asha and Aaron arrive, but local man Phil Johnston is caught on the boatyard’s CCTV. The same Phil Johnston who’s broken into and planted a brick of cocaine in the boatyard manager’s house.
But before anyone can declare it case closed, the driver who delivered the boat is found murdered in his hotel room.
Harvey and Birch have found themselves caught in a deadly storm. Will they sink or swim?
Narrated by Esther Wane, Deadly Shores proved to be another intense case for Detectives Asha Harvey and Aaron Birch. After their last case shook the department, Chief Superintendent Yvonne Patterson has been sidelining the duo and separating them. But the holidays have them once again paired off to inspect a boatyard for possible smuggling and the case soon blows into something bigger when the deliver driver is found murdered.
Set in Belfast, Buchanan pulled me in from the banter between the detectives to the interesting clues and suspects they encounter. The case was intense, with plenty of twists, suspects, and coverups. I enjoyed how these two detectives work together. Despite being three books in, I can’t say I know either beyond the job, but that is often the case in procedural novels.
The case is well done with turns that kept me listening into the wee hours. They’ll have to deal with human trafficking, police corruption, and drug trafficking before it’s all over.
Told from multiple points of view, including those of suspects, Buchanan pulls the listener in and Ester Wane’s narration from accents to tone enhances the overall story. The tale lends itself to the audio format and I am hoping we get more. There are only three books in the series at present.
My only complaint rests with the audio production itself. Swallows and breaths were not edited out. It was a shame. As the narrator herself was superb.
About Kerry Buchanan
Kerry Buchanan is a retired veterinary surgeon who lives with her family and a menagerie of animals on a farm in County Down. There are inspiring views of hills and lakes from every window. Kerry began writing fiction in 2014 and hasn’t stopped since. She writes fantasy, science fiction and crime. Her Harvey and Birch crime thriller series, set in Northern Ireland, is published by Joffe Books.
About Esther Wane
Esther Wane is a British actor and voice-over artist. After a career in finance Esther fulfilled a childhood dream of going to drama school in London, and her life as an actor began at age forty. She has a lifelong passion for literature and can often be found browsing bookshops at any spare moment. She owes her career in audiobooks to her impression of Joanna Lumley and has since narrated books in many genres, including memoir, politics, romantic fiction, and children's literature. She enjoys taking her listeners on a journey in time and space and bringing the characters on the page to life in their imagination. She lives with her family and collection of books in Hertfordshire, just outside London, where she has built a professional voice studio in the bottom of her garden.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Katherine
I got the audio of a book by this author based off your recommendation and am so looking forward to listening to it. This looks like a good read as well!
Kimberly
Nice. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
I’ll have to look into this series as I do enjoy police procedurals with some good twists. I’ll look up book one.
Kimberly
I’ve enjoyed the series thus far.
Nadene
Sorry to hear the audio production was poor, but it seems the story made up for it.
Kimberly
Thanks Nadene
Wendy
This does sound exciting and I love the lighthouse on the cover.
Kimberly
I have a thing for lighthouses.
Anne – Books of My Heart
I’ll have to go back to this series at some point. Luckily they are available at the library with the new audio productions.
Kimberly
Glad to hear the library has them.
Mary Kirkland
That sounds like it would be good. Too bad the audio wasn’t edited better.
Kimberly
Yep, it was frustrating.
Lover of Romance
It really drives me nuts when I listen to an audiobook and the breathing isn’t edited out because thats not hard to do. And it can be so distracting.
Kimberly
Exactly.