The Stone Gallows By Colin David Ingram Narrated by Mark F. Smith

Stone Gallows by Colin Ingram Narrated by Mark Smith Iambik Audiobooks

The Stone Gallows
By Colin David Ingram
Narrated by Mark F. Smith
Length:11 hrs and 41 mins
Iambik Audiobooks
Release Date:12-01-11

Narrator Mark F. Smith

Mark F. Smith narrates so well that you really get drawn into the story. His secondary characters are excellent. Smith, puts a lot of drama into his rendition and his female characters are well done. I loved his reading of  tough guy, scum bag, Gary, the live in boyfriend and father of Marie's new baby. To my ears I didn't feel that Smith had a gruff or deep enough voice to be the bully or strong arm man. He just doesn't sound like a tough guy. Cameron was a bit wimpy and Smith does convey that personality trait. Having Cameron take on and threaten tough guys didn't mesh with his insubstantial character. About half way through the book Smith for some unknown reason starts over enunciating some of the words. It was flowing smoothly, he was narrating extremely well and then out of nowhere he slows down and seems fixated on each syllable of a word. Other narrators also fall into the over enunciation problem. I've wondered if it's something they are told to do in acting class. It just sounds unnatural. Luckily, Smith does such an outstanding job with the characters, regional accents and nuances of the material that it is still a pleasure to listen to him. I really busted out laughing when he did the prostitutes voice. Smith is not afraid to use a wide range of pitches and variety in his renditions. A wee bit more of a Scottish accent would have gone far to keeping the listener in Glasgow.

I found The Stone Gallows to be a very funny and well written book. It had many lines that made me laugh. I always love a mystery that has humor in it. Cameron Stone, a fairly new member of the police force, is doing surveillance on Grearson, a man suspected of trafficking girls from Poland. A boring job at best. His partner Coombs, a more experienced detective turns out to be a maverick, more interested in having a beer than sitting in a car watching a suspect. Coombs leaves Cameron to watch alone while he goes for a pint. When Grearson finally does leaves his house Cameron calls Coombs on his cell. He races to the pub and Coombs jumps in the car. Cameron in his excitement of not loosing sight of Grearson, is careening out of control at high speed, when suddenly in front of him, is Marie and her baby. Unable to stop, he slams into them, killing them instantly. Now he is the most hated man in Glasgow. Depressed, and miserable, his wife leaves him, neighbors shun him and people call him baby killer. Cameron hits bottom and ends up living in one of the worst neighborhoods in Glasgow. He finds work as a private detective and takes on jobs that police want settled fast and dirty. Cameron, proves to be a competent P.I. and in time starts putting his life back in order. His attractive upstairs neighbor Liz, does much to restore his battered self esteem, even as people still torment him with name calling and personal attacks. It seems Cameron Stone is the butt of an endless series of vicious attacks even in the slums of Glasgow. The worst attack is when gas is poured through his mail slot and his second story apartment goes up in flames. When Cameron's four year old son is kidnapped he finally figures out who is behind the attacks and kidnapping. I look forward to listening to further books about Cameron Stone. I appreciate very much that Iambik Audiobooks sent a downloadable copy of The Stone Gallows for a review.