Murder on the Edge

a compelling British crime mystery

By: Bruce Beckham

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #3 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."

WHEN A MAN IS FOUND STRANGLED by a climbing rope beneath the Lake District's notorious Sharp Edge, it is assumed he is the victim of a tragic accident. But Detective Inspector Skelgill suspects otherwise, and his fears are borne out when a second corpse is discovered close to Striding Edge. Soon it appears that a ritualistic serial killer stalks Cumbria's fells.

As the body count increases, Skelgill must determine the connection between the seemingly randomly selected targets – for it is the only hope of ending the reign of terror and unmasking the perpetrator.

BRUCE BECKHAM is an award-winning author and copywriter. A resident of Great Britain, he has travelled and worked in over 60 countries. He is published in both fiction and non-fiction, and is a member of the UK Society of Authors.

His series ‘Inspector Skelgill Investigates’ features the recalcitrant Cumbrian detective Daniel Skelgill, and his loyal lieutenants, long-suffering Londoner DS Leyton and local high-flyer DS Emma Jones.

Set amidst the ancient landscapes of England’s Lake District, this expanding series of standalone murder mysteries has won acclaim across five continents, with over 1 million copies downloaded, from Australia to Japan and India, and from Brazil to Canada and the United States of America.

"Great characters. Great atmospheric locale. Great plots. What's not to like?"

Amazon Reviewer, 5 Stars

Really poor narration

I am pretty sure this story might have been interesting but the narration was so poor it was difficult to follow. No real inflection in the AI voice and numerous punctuation mishaps. For instance, every time the title DI was announced a hard stop followed as if there was a period following the title. It was also difficult to determine who was speaking because the voice never changed. If the book was done again with better AI or by human narration, I would listen to it again because I could hardly follow this version.

Virtual Voice

This was my first experience with virtual voice. It was not awful--I was able to finish it, likely helped by the British accents. However phrasing was often off, with inappropriate pauses, etc. I can't say I'll never listen to virtual voice again, but I will not seek it out.

Horrible AI narration

Virtual voice ruined this for me even though I like this writer’s work. I couldn’t finish.

Poor performance

The technology behind virtual voice needs work on intonation, and inflection. It made the story seem dry

Automated voice ruins this book

The author’s incredible ability to incorporate the many unique dialects of the UK are a huge part of his successful works. Automated voice just can’t pull this off. There are pauses in all the wrong places. The reader is left confused.