Narration: The narration style of this book was a bit too much ‘noir detective film’ for me, especially in the beginning. I did get used to it after a while and was able to enjoy the book. Narration Rating: 3.5/5

Story: This was an entertaining second book in the gripping mystery series by Sarah Stewart Taylor. I have loved both books in this series because they are well written and have interesting characters. Sarah Stewart Taylor writes her mystery plots so well that it is impossible to figure out the murderer. I also enjoyed the way she conveyed the sense of silent menace/being watched throughout the book. The book culminated in an exciting finish! Story Rating: 5/5

I listened to “A Distant Grave” is book two of this series. It can totally be read as a stand-alone. The narrator was Marisa Calin. I’ll be honest by saying that I really didn’t enjoy her doing this. She was ok but I felt like she wasn’t a good fit for this book.
If you haven’t read the first book I highly recommend it. Book two picks up much later with all of the main characters. Not being predictable you have to read to the very end for everything to come out. An enjoyable read for mystery-thrillers.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via Netgalley.

Thanks to Ms. Taylor and McMillan Audio, I was able to enjoy the audio version of “A Distant Grave” prior to release.

The first novel in this series did an admirable job of switching between Long Island and Ireland, a strong plot device that I hoped would be as effective in this sequel. Most of this book took place in the US, and the Irish component was weaker this time. Yet the author’s use of Long Island landmarks and law enforcement structure was very intriguing to me as a real-life neighbor.

The central murder mystery here was complex and I didn’t see the solution in advance. Maggie’s character development was less satisfying, as she was pulled between her personal/family needs with her daughter and boyfriend, and her job responsibilities. Sometimes she is confident in her detecting abilities, then she wavers and reverts to concerns about her perception by the more senior men. . . and women. She is pulled in multiple directions and she recognizes that limits her success in either sphere, both personally and professionally . . . a real catch-22. At the end, she steps up and demonstrates quick thinking and bravery that I respected.

The narration by Marisa Calin was superior, and she was able to project a variety of US and Irish accents for men and women. In general I thought the recorded version of this book was overlong, but that is based of course on the text. Perhaps the written edition would move more quickly for me. I will give the next entry a try.

My rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Some books are helped by the narration, others aren't. Sadly in this case, the narrator did not add to this story for me. I found the accent and cadence of her speech irritating. I did get through the book but found myself tuning out so I know I missed parts of the book. With that in mind, I wasn't really drawn into the storyline either. This also isn't the first in the series and perhaps reading the previous book would have helped me to connect with the characters more. I'll never know. There were parts that just didn't seem believable to me. In the end, this is another I won't be recommending to friends.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really, really enjoyed this one. It was definitely more of a police procedural than a thriller, but it was done well and written in a way where the details of the case didn't make you feel stuck in the weeds.

I'll admit I'm partial because I was born and raised on Long Island and I have visited Dublin and absolutely adored it....so this was right up my alley, I think anyone who likes a good mystery would thoroughly enjoy it., but I think it would be worth it to do a big push on Long Island because I think it would sell extremely well there. I assume the author is local and I would love to attend a book tour to learn more about her writing and her inspiration and such. I think she does a really great job describing what Long Island is truly like, because it's rare that you see books actually set there (Hauppauge, Dix Hills, Bay Shore, ect). Books set on LI are usually set either in Queens or the Hamptons and the reality is that 80% of the island is NOT Queens or the Hamptons, but normal, mostly blue-collar, aging suburbia. It was really refreshing to see someone go there. And having done a year long internship at the Suffolk County Crime Lab, I personally enjoyed the descriptions of buildings at the 4th Precinct campus. Most of it truly god awful looking and the new glass building in the front only emphasizes how old and ugly the other buildings are.

I do have one criticism of the book, which is that I thought Conner was a bit unbelievable. I really, really, liked the character, but no one is that understanding and helpful when their lover basically scraps the vacation they've been waiting a year for. I would be pissed, and I think any normal person would be pissed as well, so it was just of disappointing that Conner just kinds of shrugs and accepts it and is kind of Eeyore about it. I think the main character's idea of the relationship the previous summer being an end to 20 years of unspoken attraction, rather than the start to a sustainable relationship. I think the bit at the end about them trying to live in Ireland for a bit while she takes a leave is probably satisfying to romantics but to me just seems like delaying the inevitable.

Lastly, I will be recommending this book highly, but IN PRINT. The narrator has an absolutely beautiful voice and does both male and female characters really well. She also does the Irish accent and no accent really well. However, the main character is from Long Island and the narrator goes with a New York accident but only like every 100th word. It sounds like she basically only practiced the coffee vowel, and she leans on it really hard. So 90% of the words are accent free but when she hits a word with a coffee vowel the character goes from accent free to hardened Brooklyn before returning to normal. There is enough Long Island flavor that doesn't require the accent (the main character teasing and then throwing a middle finger at her partner, the attitude of the ADA, ect) that the random accent was more of a distraction than anything else.

While the premise of this book was promising, the narrator was too difficult to listen to. Her voice was nasal and the New York accent was so strong at point it just detracted from the story. Sadly I was unable to listen for more than about 30 minutes

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this audio book!
This was a very fast paced audio book! With amazing twist and turns!
I couldn't stop listening to this book! Like seriously I was hooked!
This book is so exciting with an awesome story that is to be told!
I have not read the first book to this series so I would say read the first book first!
But I love reading in order!

A wonderful, quick exciting book!.