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No Less the Devil
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
- Length: 18 hrs and 33 mins
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No Less the Devil
Buy Now for $33.99
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Publisher's Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
The chilling and compulsive new novel from the number one best-selling author.
We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.
It's been 17 months since the Bloodsmith butchered his first victim, and Operation Maypole is still no nearer catching him. The media is whipping up a storm and the top brass are demanding results, but the investigation is sinking fast.
Now isn't the time to get distracted with other cases, but Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh doesn't have much choice. When Benedict Strachan was just 11, he hunted down and killed a homeless man. No one's ever figured out why Benedict did it, but now, after 16 years, he's back on the streets again—battered, frightened, convinced a shadowy 'They' are out to get him, and begging Lucy for help.
It sounds like paranoia, but what if he's right? What if he really is caught up in something bigger and darker than Lucy's ever dealt with before? What if the Bloodsmith isn't the only monster out there? And what's going to happen when Lucy goes after them?
Critic Reviews
"A magnetic mix of creepy places, dark humour, horror and violence." (Sun)
What listeners say about No Less the Devil
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 03-05-2022
Bring back Logan McRae!
I was so eager to hear this new work, but I was disappointed.
I found it hard to get into the story at the start, but I believe that was mainly due to the narrator. Her voice, while quite pleasant in and of itself, I found entirely distracting, and more suited to a children’s television host than to the narrator a “gritty” crime novel.
Eventually, I discovered that listening at 0.8 speed made the experience more bearable, with rather less breathy insouciance, but that had the unfortunate side effect of causing all of the male characters to sound like village idiots.
After some perseverance, and quite a few rewinds, I did get caught up in the story … only to find it went off the rails at terminal velocity in the latter stages.
I did not find the characters engaging or even amusing, as so many others are in previous works. My favourite character all through this was Charlie, and even he turned into a parody of himself, so I’d gone off him, rather, by the end.
The plot was elaborate and torturous, and so unlikely, even allowing that it is fiction, that it might more properly be called crime fantasy.
I really could not recommend this book, not even to die-hard fans.
I can only implore the author to bring back Logan McRae, or any of the other great characters from earlier works, and to PLEASE ensure that his books are narrated by someone with a voice more suited to the style … or even better, narrate some more himself, as I love listening to him read his own works!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Woofess
- 13-05-2022
Very disappointing.
This might have been bearable with a different reader - not the gasping kindergarten story reader. As it was, it was impossible to concentrate on the story.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Marcia Jolly
- 29-12-2022
No less the Devil
The story was excellent loved the end. It took me a while to warm to the narrator she was a lot better near the end.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Helen Engstrom
- 11-05-2022
What a sodding disappointment
This sodding book is a sodding disappointment. There’s a serial killer who cuts his victims up and takes bits away; there’s a police officer on his trail who has just come back to work after a traumatic incident; there’s even a meat works with plenty of hanging carcasses. And every 4th word is “sodding”. So far, so Stuart MacBride. Then things start to get all weird. The main character appears to go insane and it becomes unbelievably tedious, and just plain unbelievable. There’s lots of people getting battered over the head and the narrator gets to scream a lot - which is pretty hard to take as it’s an ugly sound.
The plot loses it and the main character is no Logan McRae or Ash Henderson; she’s barely likeable when it comes down to it. And she goes “arghhhhhhhhhh” way too much.
Disappointing.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-01-2023
Don't let the reviews fool you
This is classic Stuart MacBride!
Police work and psychosis combined.
I wish I hadn't read the reviews as I would've not come in with low expectations. In any case, I'm glad of this purchase!
The narration isn't as wanting as reviews lead you to believe. I think as the book went on, the narrator got a good feel for the story and her characters.
This one will get a 2nd and 3rd listen from me.
I hope this leads to a series! The twisted characters really developed and I'm wanting more!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Angela
- 02-05-2022
Not the Usual Stuart MacBride
I personally didn’t enjoy this very much. First half was good. The story became a bit predictable in the second half. Lacks the humour I’ve come to expect from MacBride’s work. Well written but didn’t appeal to me personally. Narrator was good but not a patch on Steve Worsley.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- julie
- 28-06-2022
brilliant
really enjoyed this book, Stuart McBride at his best , highly recommended, nicely narrated
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Gina
- 03-05-2022
Not my favourite Stuart MacBride but…
Full points for creativity! The twists and turns kept me guessing throughout the complex plot but I lost the thrill of it about three-quarters of the way in. I miss Logan McRae and would love to see him return. I love MacBride’s fun and humour but this wasn’t his best.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Karlene in Nz
- 02-06-2022
Took a long time to find its stride...
but I'm glad I persevered.
Hopefully the first in a long series.
Quite a refreshing take on a genre.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- NeilB
- 12-06-2022
Yeah but yeah nah
Standard procedural turns Scots Psycho, turns Brave New World… not a great choice of narrator - I shuddered every time she - well whatever it was that passed for screaming, groaning or farting…. Would certainly be on my list for the nasty little wannabe StNickers to use for a qualifying exam.
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