Cover Image: A Grave Too Many

A Grave Too Many

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Thank you Netgalley and CamCat books for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 30%. This book wasn't for me. I found it slow and the plot wasn't gripping. I will not be reviewing on Goodreads as I did not finish the book.

Was this review helpful?

This was an interesting mystery with a lot of historical information thrown in. I thought the characters were interesting and well written. I'm not typically into historical fiction, but I actually enjoyed the historical aspect of this book. I really enjoyed the narrator. His voice reminded me of Kevin Pollack, an actor I enjoy.

Was this review helpful?

There were several interesting things about this book - the time settings (WW1 and just after and the 1980s) were somewhat unique, and it was interesting to see the focus on South Africa, the British Empire, and Apartheid. And the book did inspire me to learn about the Broederbond, the villains of the story. That said, as many others have noted, the last quarter of the book had some aspects that soured me on it completely. Made it very hard to enjoy the travails and triumphs of the very engaging protagonists and even feel any reaction to what was supposed to be a tragic victory.

Was this review helpful?

2.5 stars rounded up.

I really liked the start of this one. It was fascinating and I enjoyed the story. But the 2nd half or so of the story started to go downhill for me and the ending definitely let me wanting more. It's a slow burn story, filled with a lot of details I'm not sure were necessary but I didn't completely mind. The audio narrator was wonderful and definitely helped me to enjoy the story more.

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

Was this review helpful?

Interestingly historically. A very good story which give you insight into South Africa of the past. The fighter pilot is a very interesting duo character. His excitement of being in the pilots seat is astounding. A great thriller based on truth. So glad I was able to listen to this with my husband who found the story very good as it fits well into his interest. Thank you for my copy and I will continue to read or listen to William Morris books as I find his writing very compelling.

Was this review helpful?

As the title suggests, it is discovered that one pilot has two burial sites.  The listener gets an education of South African history and apartheid while learning exactly how a famously decorated dead pilot can be in two plots at once.
   The book includes espionage, revenge, assassins and an aerial fighting scene that was very well narrated.
   There was a sassy and funny romantic interest that added to the story but not the scene where she was taken advantage of. I thought it was upsetting to read and unnecessary to what was happening in the plot.
   The narrator did a wonderful job with the many characters and their accents.

Was this review helpful?

There were some really good points in this book but overall I felt it was lacking. There were some aspects to the plot that I didn't think were necessary for the overall plot. I would have liked for the plot to have been the focus.

Was this review helpful?

Flying adventure, espionage, and some South African history make this short thriller a good choice for an entertaining listen. The story moves between South African politics just after WWI and the early 1980s, when a highly decorated flying ace is inserted into a racist Boer group by Churchill. Once his betrayal of that group is successfully accomplished, he's renamed and relocated in an English village, living safely in obscurity until a contemporary South African pilot, also hated by the Boer group, just happens to notice that a grave in that village belongs to the same person thought to be buried in South Africa. A casual conversation sets assassins on the trail. This book, originally published in 2001, has only recently been recorded. I particularly enjoyed the terrific audio performance by Tom Beyer, a not very prolific narrator who deserves a wider audience.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. I didn’t like the narrator which I feel always leads me to take a star off (I’d do half a star if I could).

I loved the premise. The mystery surrounding a notable pilot who disappeared, was thought to be dead, and has graves in two places. (Not spoilers if you read the summary of the book.) It made me feel like this was going to be similar to an Amelia Earhart kind of mystery. But I felt like the book, which was supposed to focus on the hunt for these graves by a man who essentially idolizes the missing pilot, went off in a handful of directions I was not expecting and just didn’t make sense for the story. It felt like filler. I know the time period of the book takes place (just after?) WWI, so while the interweaving of elements of that makes sense, and is probably important given the enormity of the war, I just didn’t feel like they were meant to be a major part of this specific story. I’m sure it’s difficult to write a novel in the WWI era without bringing that into the story, since it was such a major event, but I guess I just didn’t think this book was going to feel so much like historical fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love most historical fiction. But the sort of fantasy of the mystery the author tries to create felt slightly awkward shoved in the middle of the historical fiction of WWI.

It’s possible I’m sort of missing the point, which sometimes happens when I listen to an audiobook, since I can’t easily re-read a chapter here or a paragraph there. Yes, I can rewind. But (to my own detriment, I guess) I find that too cumbersome. For me, I listen to audiobooks because they are easy to multitask with, like cleaning or driving, but when I feel like I need to sit down just to listen to the book so it makes more sense to me, my interest level goes significantly down.

I’d recommend this if you’re truly into this kind of mystery. I think overall it was relatively well written, while feeling scattered at times, and my main recommendation would be to read the physical book instead of the audiobook. If I ever come back to this book in the future, that’s what I’ll be doing.

Was this review helpful?

DNF at 17%.

The narration is not that great and the story is all over the place. I just couldn't connect with the story

Was this review helpful?

A historical fiction about secrets and revenge. It took a little while to get into this and I thought the narrator did a good job. The pace was decent and it was ok until the end. The last 2 hours made me crazy. I couldn’t stand what happened to one of the females. And the ending, well it just won’t do. That really ruined it for me.
Thanks IBPA via Netgalley.

Was this review helpful?

When pilot John Kruger wanders through a cemetery in a small Wiltshire village, he notices the grave of a South African WW1 hero – but how can Andrew Weatherby Beauchamp-Proctor be buried here when he is buried in Kruger’s hometown of Mafeking, 6000 miles away in South Africa? John was inspired to become a pilot by this man, so he is sure that he hasn’t made a mistake about there being two graves for the same man – but that doesn’t make sense …
John sets out on a mission to discover the truth – did Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor die in an air crash? Where is he buried? Who is the old man who waves to Kruger as he flies overhead, only to demand to be left in peace when they meet on the ground?
As the book progresses, we encounter members of South Africa’s notorious Broederbond and watch as the past catches up with both John and the old man, ultimately leading to a fight like no other.

There is clear evidence that the author has done extensive research, which I always appreciate in historical fiction – there is evidence of knowledge about aircraft, of the village of Upavon & the nearby airfield (previously RAF Upavon, now Trenchard Lines) and even the abandoned village on Salibury plain that is used for military exercises. Many of the names used are “real” for instance Hans Strydom/Strijdom was an Afrikaaner nationalist who later became Prime Minister of South Africa and whilst Mr du Plessis in the story is a modern day member of the Broederbond, there was a du Plessis who was one of the founder members of that organisation.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and whilst the narrator did well to differentiate the voices of the characters, his American accent just didn’t fit at all. We needed a South African or British accent to carry the story! There were a number of pronunciation issues (Salls-burree in the first few sentences didn’t endear me to the book – everyone local knows it’s “Solls-bri”or “Solls-baree”). Similarly there were times when the Americanisation of certain words just made it feel less authentic – Molly at the post office would have eaten sweets & chocolate not candy bars …
Overall I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction, especially if you are looking for a less romantic story and one more male-dominated with a focus on flight, war time endeavours & of course human nature.

Was this review helpful?