The Ryder Quartet

Volumes 1-4

By: Ian Patrick

Narrated by: Ian Patrick

Four high-octane crime thrillers, each critically acclaimed as separate publications, now collected in a set. Hundreds of five-star reviews of the individual volumes testify to their reputation as action-packed thrillers steeped in authenticity and plausibility, reflecting the real world of police encounters with the dark world of crime.

©2017 Ian Patrick (P)2017 Ian Patrick

Couldn't stop listening.

Listened to all four volumes within one week. This is an accurate account of the crime and corruption faced by people living in Durban, South Africa. The crimes are truly awful and corruption exists at all levels. The story is engaging and the characters well developed. I was quickly drawn into their lives and found myself caring about them. Ian Patrick clearly understands the characters, both good and evil, and captures their wide variety of accents with ease. I highly recommend the audible version.

Thrills all the way and so relevant

I live in the region where these books are set and they are so real and powerful. It's quite depressing, actually, how accurate they are. These crimes take place every day and the locations of the crimes are places known to me in many cases. The characters are the kinds of people I bump into every day, and the accents are very well done.

I thought that the women characters needed a woman's voice, but I don't know whether that is the convention in audio-books. Anyway, the women characters are particularly well created in the books, I thought, and they would benefit from having a woman narrator in the audio version.

That's a small gripe but I thought the thrillers were among the best police crime books I've experienced.

Very satisfying

This was a super set of crime fiction books. I was completely taken in by the mood and atmosphere, the friendly teasing of the detectives (especially their rendition of different versions of the main game at the rugby world cup - that was hilarious), and the struggle between good and evil: cops and robbers. There is a dog in the story who is almost like the main good guy. I won't spoil it for others, but that dog is a champion. The way in which the stories fall into place together - with each one of them being an independent ("stand-alone" as the commentary on the books says) book, is fantastic. I didn't feel that I was listening to (and reading while listening) episodes of the same book, but at the end it felt like I had. It is all a great epic struggle and I couldn't wait for the next chapter in each case. Most of all, this is not just a set of crime fiction thrillers. It is a wonderful essay on the social and political turmoil of South Africa and the way in which crime is destroying the country. This is a really important book to listen to.

A thoroughly good entertaining thirty hours

Where does The Ryder Quartet rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My first one. Very good, I thought.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot is very good in each episode. The four thrillers were immensely satisfying. The second was perhaps not as good as the other three, but I have to say that all together they make a compelling set.

Have you listened to any of Ian Patrick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. First time for me.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and no. Thirty hours is a long time. But each of the books was good to listen to - each over two or three consecutive nights.

Any additional comments?

The reality of crime in the area where I live made this particularly satisfying for me. Without spoiling anything, although the criminals win some, the cops also win some. That is the name of the game in the real world. For me, I want to levy serious primitive justice on these awful thugs. The fact that the cops show some real metal in dealing with them is what I particularly like. But more than that, the way the characters are created, the way that light-hearted relationship bantering is interwoven with fast-paced action and thrills, makes this a thoroughly good entertaining thirty hours of listening pleasure.

Classy thrillers

Wonderful, classy thrillers, all four of them. I read the e-reader versions then got the audible on a free promotion (because I'd bought the digital one) and listened to them along with friends and family. We all agreed: classy and wonderful thrills all the way. Believable characters, Superb ballistics and forensic detail (one of our party works in the field and marvelled at the accuracy of it all). Lovely characters who are believable and witty and funny, and some of them downright evil. Well told by the narrator, who used accents and distinguishing features of the voices quite well.