Clara’s Verdict
Borderlands is the leanest of the DCI Ryan Mysteries I have listened to in this run, and there is something bracing about its economy. The fourteenth instalment opens on the remote army ranges of the Northumberland National Park and moves briskly, pairing a stark shooting with a wider mystery of violence at sites of historic importance. It rattles along with real momentum.
I will be candid, as the reviews are. This is a very good book rather than a peak one, and one or two readers feel it does not quite scale the heights of the strongest entries. Even so, the pace is gripping, the ensemble as engaging as ever, and the shorter runtime makes it a taut, satisfying listen. Sometimes a series benefits from a swifter, more contained outing, and this is that.
I want to be fair to the book’s ambitions as well as its length. Beneath the brisk plotting Ross reaches for something topical, setting her detectives against an extremist current running through the region, and she balances that darker material with real compassion, not least in a thread following a homeless former soldier. The result is a leaner story that still finds room for heart.
About the Audiobook
The fourteenth DCI Ryan Mystery finds Ryan hoping for an uneventful summer after uncovering a fresh wave of corruption within Northumbria CID. That hope is short-lived. When a young woman is shot dead on the remote army ranges of the Northumberland National Park, he is called in to investigate a killing as bleak as the ground it happens on.
At the same time, violent crimes are being committed across sites of historic importance in the North East, the perpetrator leaving only a graffitied symbol as a calling card. As the body count rises, Ryan and his team must unravel the meaning behind that symbol before it is too late. Ross keeps the two strands moving quickly across the spectacular Northumbrian landscape, and though this is one of the darker premises, she still laces the murder and mystery with her familiar romance and humour.
The Narration
Jonathan Keeble narrates a listen of around five and a half hours, the briefest in this run, and the tighter length gives his reading a welcome urgency. He pitches the starkness of the army ranges and the shooting with a cool restraint that suits the subject, then keeps the pace crackling as the second strand widens.
He continues to develop the ensemble beautifully, giving room to the ongoing relationships within the team, including a newer romance among the junior officers, so that the human warmth cuts the darkness. A thread involving a homeless former soldier is handled with genuine compassion in his voicing. It is a brisk, well-controlled performance that makes a virtue of the shorter form. Across a swift five and a half hours he keeps the momentum high without shortchanging the feeling, and the compact runtime works in the story’s favour, delivering a taut, single-sitting sort of listen. There is not an ounce of fat on it.
What Readers Say
Borderlands holds an average of 4.5 stars across 29 ratings, and the affection for the series runs right through the reviews. One devoted reader wrote that each novel contains everything they look for, a compelling story, great characters and an unrivalled sense of place, and praised how the book puts the reader at the very heart of Northumberland. Another confessed to pre-ordering every new release without even reading the blurb, such is their trust in the author.
The reviews capture both the loyalty and the honesty of this readership. Devotees write about being placed at the very heart of Northumberland, carried across parkland and cityscape and into the lives of characters they have come to love. Alongside them sits the candid four-star view that this instalment does not scale the heights of the strongest books, offered with evident affection rather than disappointment.
There is an honest note of qualification worth passing on. One four-star reviewer, while enjoying it, felt this instalment did not quite hit the heights of many others in the series, though they still found the plot gripping and the characters as engaging as ever. That measured view sits comfortably beside the five-star enthusiasm of readers who called it packed with action, suspense and intrigue, yet balanced by compassion, humour and love. A dependable entry in a much-loved series.
Who Should Listen?
Borderlands suits the reader who likes a leaner, faster crime listen without sacrificing sense of place, and the series follower who wants to keep pace with Ryan and his team. Its shorter runtime makes it an easy one to fit into a couple of sittings. It reads acceptably alone, but the ongoing relationships and the corruption backdrop mean it lands best for those who have followed the earlier books.
If a brisk, atmospheric case appeals, you can Listen to Borderlands on Audible and decode the symbol before Ryan runs out of time.
