The Man by the Sea: A thrilling British mystery with a stunning twist…“An absolute feast for noir and paranormal thriller fans alike. Highly recommended.” ~~ bestthrillers.comJohn “Slim” Hardy, heavy drinker and disgraced soldier turned bumbling private detective, is hired to investigate Ted Douglas, an investment banker who slips out of work every Friday to visit a desolate cove on the … visit a desolate cove on the Lancashire coast. There, he walks to the shore, opens an old book, and begins to read aloud.
His wife thinks he’s having an affair.
Slim thinks he’s insane.
The truth is more incredible than either could imagine.
The Man by the Sea is the sensational debut novel by Jack Benton, a classic story of love, betrayal, murder, and intrigue.
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If you like kind of supernatural mysteries, you will enjoy Chris Ward writing as Jack Benton in his Slim Hardy Mystery Series, this is the first book in this series. Slim plays functioning drunk PI, ex-soldier, hired by a women, Emma, to investigate where her husband, Ted, disappears to every Friday afternoon. What is he doing there on the beach in the cove? Slim starts investigating when he runs into dead end after dead end as the towns people do not want to talk about the history of the town. With the help of the town’s police chief, Slim finally finds out what happened and has a few close calls himself. What or who is on that beach and why. The story keeps moving, is intriguing and is an easy read with good characters. I received a sample from the author, then bought the full ebook, I had to find out what happened that’s how good this book is. I am looking forward to the next two books in the series.
John “Slim” Hardy, heavy drinker and disgraced soldier turned bumbling private detective. Slim is hired to investigate Ted Douglas, an investment banker who slips out of work every Friday to visit a desolate cove on the Lancashire coast. There, he walks to the shore, opens an old book, and begins to read aloud.His wife thinks he’s having an affair. Slim watches Ted and thinks he’s insane. This audio book held my interest with all the love, betrayal, murder, and intrigue.
Very different British police procedural.
Even the twists have twists. Wow! I didn’t see that coming more than once!
The author says he does not normally write in this genre, but I think it was well written and plotted.
I would read more by this author.
Kept you guessing. Cool plot.
it was different
it was well written
Didn’t finish. Just didn’t keep me interested
A fascinating murder? mystery. A PI with drinking issues. Cheating. Intrigue. A real puzzler. A surprise ending. Very entertaining.
I was gifted an Audible version of this book. This is my voluntary review.
I found the narrator’s accent very hard to understand. He did bring character and excitement to the story, though.
he Man by the sea, has really caught my attention from the beginning as the main character – Slim – is the most unexpected person described as a PI as he has many flaws that could impair his effectiveness. The story mixes reality with the imaginary, makes the reader walk with Slim through all the hardships he has to endure to solve the case, which has a very unexpected ending. In spite of his flaws, Slim is relentless in his search that he solves puzzles and produces the culprit. Chris Ward got me hooked in the series and I´ll be looking forward to reading the other available books.
I downloaded a free copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.
Allow a day for this PG investigative procedural set in October concerning Cramer Cove near Carnwell outside Manchester.
Excellent mystery..a little spooky, a little tragic, and a whole lot entertaining. This one will take you by surprise. A great story with an excellent narrator.
I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A really engaging story, really. Slim Hardy is a protagonist that is hard to like, a barely functional alcoholic who has sex with his client almost by accident and keep doing it by inertia, at first and as a way to get what he needs later. And I wouldn’t say that by the end of the book I’ve learned to appreciate him but I certainly found him interesting.
The story begins quite simply: a woman hires Slim because she suspects his husband is cheating on her. But soon it becomes clear that there is something very different going on. And, at the core of it, it’s the dead of a young woman, Joanna Bramwell, happened many years ago.
The author creates an intriguing plot, with a very surprising ending. I will probably keep reading this series.
Kevin E Green does a fantastic job with the narration.
A very tight murder mystery. Well written. Another great series.