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Songs for the Dead

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Songs for the Dead

By: Stephen Puleston
Narrated by: Richard Elfyn
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Summary

A psychotic with an ear for melodies. A detective trapped inside his own mind. Can he catch the killer before the final beat?

Welsh Inspector Ian Drake barely manages to keep his OCD under control. So, after two fellow police officers are brutally murdered on an isolated mountain route, the pressure to solve the case threatens to make him crack. But Drake feels his carefully constructed world falling apart when the killer taunts him with cryptic song lyrics and promises of more death.

As tensions build to a crescendo - both at home and at work - the weary detective’s fears are realized when a local politician appears slain by the same sinister hand. And as Drake keeps receiving the culprit’s cruel verses, his head pounds at the thought of more victims marching to their doom.

Can he catch the sociopathic felon before he loses his sanity...or his life?

Brass in Pocket is the first book in the dynamic Inspector Drake crime series. If you like police procedurals, clever mysteries, and gripping thrillers, then you’ll love Stephen Puleston’s unnerving whodunit.

©2013 Stephen Puleston (P)2018 Stephen Puleston Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Mystery Traditional Detectives Crime Exciting Scary British Crime
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This is the second DI Drake book I have listened to – the first was the prequel, Devil’s Kitchen, which introduced me to Drake.

The story starts with the murder of two police officers on the Crimea Pass in Snowdonia. Other murders follow and the killer sends clues in the form of song lyrics, hence the title of the book. I have to admit ‘ve been singing Brass in Pocket to myself since I started listening!

I loved the location of the book as I have spent several happy holidays in North Wales and so know lots of the places mentioned in the book. I enjoy police procedurals and the description of the police investigation seemed real. I was a bit surprised that the lyrics of the songs weren’t included in the book though; perhaps the author couldn’t get permission to use them? The story moved at a good pace and we were given several clues and also a few red herrings which kept me guessing right through the book but I didn’t guess who the killer was till close to the end of the book.

Stephen Puleston described DI Ian Drake’s OCD very well – the way he has to have a tidy desk, doing his daily Sudoku puzzle etc. I’m not sure I would like to work with Drake myself. His obsessions would drive me mad. I’m more like DS Caren Waits and I’d love to have a herd of alpacas!

Richard Elfyn’s narration was also spot on.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading/listening to the rest of the series.

Excellent crime thriller

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My first meeting with DI Drake and the story dived straight into the action and then led me on a complex path of what, where, when, who and how. The reference to the title within the book had me thinking one thing, but was actually another. Was quite pleased with my interpretation but alas, it was not meant to be.
Not sure that I got to know Drake and understood what made him tick. We are introduced to his family immediate and extended, but I wanted more. Maybe the next read will give me that.
Well narrated (how I enjoy a voice with a Welsh lilt to it) and the range of character voices were well executed. The story is set in Wales; any one who lives or knows the area would enjoy the references, I’m sure.

Next instalment please.

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The first in a series of books featuring DI Ian Drake is set in the beautiful surroundings of North Wales. The landscape plays an integral part in the story, and is a wonderful backdrop for this exciting police procedural.
I liked the main character Ian Drake, whose OCD seems to worsen throughout the case. I liked the fact his home life was normal, and also that his DS lived on a farm with her husband raising alpacas!
The book was fast paced and at times I did get a little confused with the myriad of suspects and motives.
The 1979 rock song theme which accompanied the murders was a great idea, hence the title “Brass in Pocket”.
The narrator was really excellent, coping equally well with upper class English and a welsh accent and in places the welsh language.
A super start to the series and I look forward to reading more from DI Drake.

A gripping read.

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Having enjoyed Stephen Puleston's prequel, The Devil's Kitchen, I was looking forward to following Inspector Drake and his assistant, Ceren Waits, as they embark on a full length investigation. I was not disappointed at all, and Richard Elfyn again added a dimension, with the narration and his lovable Welsh accent. Some of these place names would have been massacred in my head, had I tried to read them.

The book starts with us in the murderer's shoes, as he stalks two police officers through the Welsh countryside and into the mountains. Drake is soon alerted to the murders of the two officers, and he and Ceren rush to the scene to find that they have been murdered by a crossbow, and traffic cones have been left in the shape of a number four. When a politician is murdered soon after, the suggestion is made that the number four is a prediction of the number of intended murders. Drake and Ceren are now under pressure to solve the crime before the target is reached.
As well as the numbers, the killer complicates the investigation by sending song lyrics after each murder. Surely this is a clue, but what does it signify?

An enjoyable listen that kept my interest. Atmospheric, with description of the Welsh countryside, but a little annoying when Drake's OCD is referred to repeatedly and his constant need to play Sudoku puzzles to calm his nerves, becomes irritating. Thankfully I don't have to live with him!

Numbers and song titles...

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Good clear narration and has an interesting story line, have put author on my reading list

Detective proceedural

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