The Priest

By: Gerard O'Donovan

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

A killer is stalking the dark streets of Dublin. Before each attack, he makes the sign of the cross; then he sends his victims to God. After a foreign politician’s daughter is brutally assaulted and left for dead, her body branded with burns from a blazing cross, the case falls to Detective Inspector Mike Mulcahy. Mulcahy is one tough cop, but this crime is beyond comprehension – and "the Priest" is a nemesis more evil and elusive than any Mulcahy has ever faced. As media frenzy erupts and the city reels in terror, Mulcahy teams up with ambitious journalist Siobhan Fallon in a desperate bid to stop the Priest in his tracks before he can complete his divine mission of murder.

©2011 Gerard O'Donovan (P)2011 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"It is difficult to believe that The Priest is Gerard O'Donovan's first novel, so gripping and assured is it. And, one asks, in crime-writing terms, is Ireland becoming the new Scotland?" ( The Times, London)

"A sure command of plot and pacing, a lively sense of locale and a quirky sense of character… compelling." ( Irish Independent)

Good book, subpar narration

While the book itself is enjoyable, I found myself unable to completely enjoy it because of the narration. Call me picky, but when I listen to an audiobook with Irish characters, I want to the narrator to either be Irish or be able to do a convincing Irish accent. Most of the time the characters either sounded Cockney or had the kind of stereotyped "Irish" accent you hear the non-Irish put on for St. Patrick's Day. To make matters worse, no one even coached him on proper pronunciation of the Irish words, so I found myself gritting my teeth every time he pronounced the Garda Siochana as "the Gardee Shiksana." Arghh. My advice is to get this book in print.

Excellent listen

If you could sum up The Priest in three words, what would they be?

Predictable but great

What did you like best about this story?

Like I said it was predictable in a lot of ways but the author did such a good job of telling the story that you really didn't mind in fact the build up in a lot of ways added anticipation.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I like Michael Kramer's voice and enjoyed the way he narrated it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really that type of book, it deals with some pretty intense subject matter, but I couldn't stop recommending it to friends.

Any additional comments?

First book I read by the author but am looking for others now.