Come Death and High Water

By: Ann Cleeves

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

Ann Cleeves Classic Crime - engaging mysteries to savour, beloved characters to meet again

Come Death and High Water is the second mystery novel featuring George and Molly Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.

The picturesque privately-owned island of Gillibry off the North Devon coast turns out to be the perfect site for a murder . . .

A routine weekend visit by the Gillibry Bird Observatory Trust is made memorable by the owner’s announcement that he is going to sell the island. A sale would mean the end of the Observatory, which for some of the birders made life worth living. A fire in Charlie Todd’s cottage added to their distress. And when, next morning, after a fierce storm, they found Charlie dead in a bird hide, their pleasant September weekend assumed a dangerous new face.

Charlie Todd’s murder could have been the deed of any member of the Trust. And it falls to one of their own, George Palmer-Jones, to unravel the identity of killer within their midst . . .

Critic reviews

. . . a perfectly fresh, contemporary crime story meshing interesting characters with plenty of fascinating ornithological detail

A fine writer

Cleeves is quietly carving out a reputation as the new Queen of Crime

Ann Cleeves is a skilful technician, keeping our interest alive and building slowly up to the denouement. Her easy use of language and clever story construction make her one of the best natural writers of detective fiction

Nobody does unsettling undercurrents better than Ann Cleeves (Val McDermid)

Ann Cleeves has an enviable talent . . . I love these books

Dry reader, keep losing track of plot

I love Ann Cleeves, and was thrilled to see this early series finally available on Audible. But now I have listened to two of them and the narrator is just not doing it for me. He is not grating or annoying, but there is something about his steady, rhythmic voice that lets me drift off to other thoughts. Very dry and restrained. Don’t like that I have to keep rewinding because he is so easy to tune out that I lose track of what is being said. The book is probably good I just don’t enjoy the reader. Like I have listened to all the other Ann Cleeves series more than once, but it is WORK for me to get through these. :(

Inevitable comparisons

Comparison to the Vera Stanhope books was inevitable. The characters in this book do not displace Vera from top place in my list of favorites, but the detailed descriptions of birding and the coastal setting were so engaging that I recommend the series wholeheartedly.