A complex tale of greed, blackmail, and murder.

Keith McCarthy's medical thriller, "The Silent Sleep of the Dying," deals with a deadly virus that is created in a secret lab in a remote area of Scotland. An accidental fire destroys the lab, and the scientists who collaborated on the project go their separate ways. Two years later, one of these scientists, Millicent Sweet, suddenly becomes violently ill and dies an excruciating death.

This dramatic beginning sets the stage for a complex tale of greed, blackmail, and murder. Millicent Sweet's father, Raymond, asks a lawyer named Helena Flemming to look into his daughter's death. Helena enlists the aid of an old friend, John Eisenmenger, a former forensic pathologist, to help her with her inquiries. In addition, Inspector Beverley Wharton, an aggressive and ambitious woman who is persona non grata with her superiors, investigates the case without her boss's permission or knowledge.

McCarthy ratchets up the tension nicely as Helena and John make some startling discoveries, most notably that a pharmaceutical company called Pel-Ebstein may have played a crucial role in the events leading to Sweet's death. There is also a particularly nasty villain who pops up throughout the book, destroying anyone who gets in his way.

For all of its merits, "The Silent Sleep of the Dying" does have a few weaknesses. First, McCarthy assumes that his readers already know the history of Helena and John, both of whom are emotionally wounded individuals. A little more background would have fleshed them out more satisfactorily. In addition, the ending is a bit unrealistic and melodramatic.

Still, the book has a great deal to recommend it, including some fascinating characters who are struggling not only with the important people in their lives, but also with the internal demons that plague them. McCarthy delivers plenty of thrills, and readers who love medical suspense will find "The Silent Sleep of the Dying" action-packed and exciting.

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7 people found this helpful

Good story, great narration, bad editing

Interesting plot, page turner. Looking forward to the follow up. Sean Barrett is the perfect performer. Shoddy audio editing, paragraph changes without pause, credits cut off at the end.

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Gr8 read

It took me a minute to finish it. Well, more like a couple of weeks because I kept having to start over. It was worth it. If u miss any part its probable that u've missed a key point. Every word of the book is important.

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wowsers!

an astonishing achievement. this guy is a pleasure to read regardless of the story. he strings words together like a magician. Keith McCarthy and his dramatists are the best entertainment.

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Wonderful

I am an ten books an month listener, and I LOVED this book. Very british, very stylish, thrilling story and a wonderful narrator. (Of course he has a brittish accent, he IS brittish!) If you want to listen to an american accent, don't listen to this book. If you want to listen to quality, do, and enjoy!

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8 people found this helpful

The narration makes it worth the listen.

First, the British accent makes the book. I love all the British slang and colloquialisms, so much more descriptive than American writing of this genre. The author writes with wit and cynicism, the seedier side of life. It is more than just plot. The characters are interesting, troubled, and multidimensional. Not everything is right on the surface, in your face. Unfortunately, I started with this book so now must go back to the first one to get the back story on the main characters. In fact I am not finished with this one so may go back before anymore of it is given away. I also plan to order the others.

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5 people found this helpful

Insubstantial plot and character

Any additional comments?

I discovered Keith McCarthy's Eisenmenger/Flemming series via the narrator, Sean Barrett, who is a favorite of mine. His timbre, pace, pronunciation and accents are superb. I could listen to him reading a shopping list!

If I am to start a series, I prefer to do so in sequence, to acquaint myself with the personalities and foibles of the characters, hence I started with "A Feast of Carrion", which I enjoyed. Fairly gory, which is fine by me, but masterfully written too. McCarthy's use of language, coupled with his extensive forensic knowledge are a very attractive combination. So onto the second in the series, "The Silent Sleep of the Dying". My rating goes to Sean Barrett's narration and McCarthy's prose. The story is not worth more than 2*, so will compromise on 2 1/2* for the package.

Frankly, it was a disappointment. Had it been my first McCarthy book, I doubt whether I would have stayed with the series. I'm sure every author has a bomb now and again, so I will give his next book, "The Final Analysis" a try, before "writing him off" altogether. Alternatively I may try one of his Lance Elliott mysteries. His adroit use of language deserves some perseverance and based on "Feast of Carrion", he is capable of better.

So what is wrong with "The Silent Sleep of the Dying"? The two key ingredients of a good story center around character development and plot, both of which are scanty here. There is little recap of existing protagonists, nor do we get to know them more intimately this time around. They surface periodically (and quite late in the story) as shadowy bit players, while some of the new players are almost caricatures in their superficiality. The broad premise was good enough, but could have been handled better. I may have missed things while listening - at times, my concentration wandered as aimlessly as the tale. McCarthy was not focused on keeping it tight, nor did his editors tweak as much as they might have done.

I would certainly recommend "A Feast of Carrion and cannot yet comment on the next one, "The Final Analysis". I don't believe it would hamper the reader's sense of continuity by skipping "The Silent Sleep of the Dying" and going straight on to the third book in the series - if it passes muster.

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3 people found this helpful

Excellent

Like for most readers, separating between quality and rejects is always a problem. Sean Barrett is a master story teller and I check out all his narrations since it makes sense that a great performer will resist association with poor quality work. So far this logic proved correct and same goes for this book.
After reading and very much enjoying the first book in the series (A feast of Carrion), I was a bit discouraged by some reviews that present this book as inferior to the first.
I decided to take the chance and I am pleased I did.
I do find this book just as good and even better than the first, a perfect combination of a good story, great writing and amazing narration.

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Not Reccomended

DON?T WASTE YOUR $$$$!!
I am a four-book-a-month listener mostly of thrillers and medical suspense books. I was stuck in an airport with only this book left on my IPod. It was worse listening to this book than listening to the overtired and screaming children running around. The kids won.
The narrator has a heavy English accent and a slow cadence. The book is rife with English colloquialisms and is written from the good-old-boy perspective with much chuffing and grumbling. I never did get to have a taste of plot when more than 45 minutes in, I turned off the book. I was so irritated with it I wanted a refund and wished there was an "on the go" delete button for my IPod. It would have given me pleasure to flush the book away as quickly as possible.

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9 people found this helpful