The House in the Woods

Atticus Priest, Book 1

By: Mark Dawson

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Four murders. Two detectives. One mystifying crime.

On Christmas Eve, DCI Mackenzie Jones is called to a shooting at a remote farmhouse. Ralph Mallender believes his father lies dead inside. When three more bodies are discovered, it's clear a festive family gathering has turned into a gruesome tragedy.

At first it seems like an open-and-shut case: a murder suicide committed by Ralph's volatile brother Cameron. Then new evidence makes Mack suspect the man who reported the crime is in fact the perpetrator.

But Mack isn't the only one with a stake in the case. Private investigator Atticus Priest has been hired to get Ralph acquitted. That means unearthing any weaknesses in Mack's evidence.

Irascible, impatient, and unpredictable, Atticus has weaknesses of his own. Mack knows all about them because they share a past - both professionally and personally. This time round, however, they aren't on the same side. And as Atticus picks at the loose ends of the case, everything starts to unravel in a way neither of them could ever have predicted....

©2020 Unputdownable Limited (P)2020 Tantor

Good start

I enjoyed this book. I was familiar with and liked the narrator, and that helped with the initial draw and kept me listening. The first third seemed ok but wasn’t especially intriguing. By the end I really enjoyed the main character, and the overall story was good. I’ll give the next book a listen. I hope it comes out soon after this first.

House in the Woods

very good story... kept my interest in the story told. Plot twist were unexpected

You will NEVER guess whodunnit and why!!!

First of all, Simon Vance is an awesome narrator! Next, this story is easy enough to follow but it is so full of twists and turns! So ingenious! And it’s basically clean (only a handful of cuss words), no sex, and it’s not gory. All of the text and the settings and the action are about the mystery of a quadruple murder on Christmas Eve! Stick with it, as it starts slow. You may not get a good feel for Atticus Priest until you are a few hours into the book. But he turns out to be a lot better than it seems he’s going to be. I enjoyed this book so much!

A good story with terrific narration.

I enjoyed this book and I’m glad to have a new series to add to my collection. You get a sense of who the bad guy might be right from the very beginning, but there’s a very good twist at the end. Loved the narration by Simon Vance, it was his voice that made the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books so great. Five stars.

Pager Turner

Completely enjoyed this book. I already added Atticus Priest Book 2 to my library. I hope Mac is a part of that story as well. Atticus and Mac have great chemistry. This story was a roller coaster of who could have been the killer. I love thrillers that you don't figure out who the killer is until the end. This book is a keeper.

A tightly written mystery

loved the characters, the performance, and the story. Atticus is a treat of a detective.

really good listen

this was a really good listen, i had no idea till the very end who the person was, well done and i can listen to Simon Vance all day long, he is a great narrator and does great voices too.

Great mystery and excellent narration

Everything made sense and followed logically, which makes the story very compelling. I thought I’d guessed the culprit midway through—and then began to question myself. Turned out I was right but for all the wrong reasons. That was fun. I really enjoyed this book.

Nobody puts Dawson in a box

I have been reading Mark Dawson for years and tried to stay away from this book. The protagonist isn't an assassin. Need 8 say more? This should have been outside Dawsons ability. It isn't. It is a great listen.

A different Mark Dawson!

With 33 books by Mark Dawson in my Audible library I may seem a fan of his novels and novellas. I used to be back in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but then I grew frustrated by the decreasing quality of his plots especially in his John Milton series. His earlier John Milton novels as well as his Beatrix Rose novels were outstanding, but the quality decline in the Milton series caused me to stop listening.

With A House in the Woods author Mark Dawson is suddenly back better than ever. This is an outstanding mystery novel that is very different from the action and adventure novels previously released by Dawson. It has a deeper and more sophisticated plot than any of his prior novels. I'm almost two years late listening to it. I'm glad I finally gave the Atticus Priest series a try.

Narrator Simon Vance is superb as usual.