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Title: The Death of Kings

Author: Rennie Airth

Narrator: John Curless

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-03-17

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 36 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In the fifth novel in the John Madden mystery series, Inspector Madden is called upon to assist Scotland Yard on a notorious decade-old murder case. On a hot summer day in 1938, a beautiful actress is murdered on the grand Kent estate of Sir Jack Jessup, close friend of the Prince of Wales. An instant headline in the papers, the confession of a local troublemaker swiftly brings the case to a close, but in 1949, the reappearance of a jade necklace raises questions about the murder. Was the man convicted and executed a decade before truly guilty, or had he wrongly been sent to the gallows? Inspector Madden is summoned out of retirement at the request of former Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair to re-open the case at Scotland Yard. Set in the aftermath of World War II, The Death of Kings is an atmospheric and captivating police procedural, and is a story of honor and justice that takes Madden through the idyllic English countryside, post-war streets of London, and into the criminal underworld of the Chinese Triads.

Members Reviews:

Not quite up to the excellent standard of the series

I had preordered the book and was very much looking forward to this new installment in the series. However, though the cast of beloved characters is still there, moving in the shambles of post-war England, the plot moves sluggishly. There is something not quite believable in the re-opening of an old case; furthermore many readers will have guessed what happened and why well before Madden who in the past had shown himself far more astute. Was justice done in the end? Not all will agree. Altogether, fairly unsatisfactory. Hopefully the next one will be back on track.

Really sad at the outcome even if I had suspected it ...

An old case is drug up by an anonymous letter and a mysterious pendant. Because Angus was nominally in charge and the killer was hanged, any doubt upsets the old man. John steps in to casually investigate until a police investigation can be justified. Old secrets and dangerous connections are dug up. Really sad at the outcome even if I had suspected it for a while.

Good as always

This book was as good as always, but I bet you won't guess the end. The background is is right and gives you a good understanding of what England was like after the war.

Good read

Good story but not as fast moving as the others in the series.

... read all the other John Madden stories and really liked them. Rennie Airth is a fine writer who ...

I've read all the other John Madden stories and really liked them. Rennie Airth is a fine writer who seems to enjoy introducing philosophical and moral questions, and I like reading about them. But this time John Madden has lost his way, deciding to abandon his training as a (former) enforcer of the law in favor of acting as judge and jury. Worse yet, he plays God, and the fact his colleagues blandly accept it is totally implausible. In the end, only the murderer does the right thing, no thanks to John Madden. A major disappointment!