A World Full of Weeping

By: Keith McCarthy

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

An invitation to stay with childhood friends seems an excellent idea to aid Helena's recovery after her cancer treatment. Helena grew up with the Hickmans and had spent many happy holidays with them. The fact that they live in a castle surrounded by forest makes it an even more perfect spot to recuperate.

But when a man is found burned to death in a car, the apparently irrelevant though horrific incident creates unexpected disturbances. Helena and Eisenmenger, caught in the middle of it all, cannot understand why. But the unpleasantness grows and worse is to come, for secrets are unearthed that concern not only the Hickmans, but also Helena and her past.

©2006 Keith McCarthy (P)2006 Isis Publishing Ltd

Critic reviews

"A dark, densely imagined world in the demanding tradition of P. D. James." ( Kirkus Reviews)

The vocabulary alone makes it worth hearing

One of the most intelligent writers of the genre. Complex characters, a captivating story, and very well written. Makes our everyday language, particularly in the U.S., seem merely skeletal. I relished every word and Se?n Barrett instantly became my favorite reader (yes, I am partial to his English accent).

Forensic Pathologist in a British Crime Story

Fleming, are on their way to visit child hood friends of Helena's at their 18th century house built in the shape of a castle.

There's a lot of backstory in this case involving the death of Helena's parents some eight years before, the relationship between Helena and the now grown children of the Hickmans. This wasn't a problem. The author managed to include the information in a way that allowed me to catch up and understand what was going on there.

However,the emotional and professional connections between the detectives investigating the death of the man in the car and the subsequent deaths wasn't really all that interesting.In fact another reviewer described it as a soap opera and I concur. I began to wish that the police would spend a little less time lusting after one another and more time investigating. I also have to say that I think the author is uncomfortable when it comes to writing sex scenes.

At one point I was about ready to give up on this one. However, I stuck it out and it did improve enough that I stayed with it to the end. The professionals in this book, none of the professionals except Dr. Eisenmenger, behave very professionally. Luckily for the mystery some are competent.

Narratation is good. There was a couple of points where a sentence or so was repeated. I don't know if it was something the author did stylistically or an error in the editing, but it wasn't very annoying.

Without a doubt would listen to another book read by Sean Barret.

"A World Full of Weeping"

The narrator's voice is soothing to listen to, yet kept me ready to hear the next tidbit of information that the author slipped in.I couldn't wait to find out who did what and when.

Fabulous

Another good story from Kieth. Sean Barrett the classic narattor brings the characters to life. Kieths books should be listened to in sequence so that you don't hear what happenned in a previous book that you haven't listened to yet. Google to find out when each book was released.

Badly Edited

Any additional comments?

Not a bad story or performance. This one's in the same style/quality as previous books in the series. Unfortunately, ISIS did a sloppy job and there are more than a few errors/re-takes in this one that haven't been edited out.
Also, it would be helpful if Audible numbered the books in this series to make it easier for those of us who want to listen to them all in the right order.

Concise, well-written author; beautiful narrator!

I am now on my 5th Keith McCarthy novel in this "mystery" series. He is truly a wonderful writer - witty, concise, and compelling. The reader, Sean Barrett, is completely convincing as every character he reads!
The only reason I don't give 5 stars is because the endings of McCarthy's novels tend to be wrapped up too quickly, and come to a final head a bit too quickly.
Even with this, though, I love these books!

great story and plot

as usual, this story and it's characters did not disappoint. the narrator's voice is the perfect fit for this series