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The Prisoner of Brenda

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The Prisoner of Brenda

By: Colin Bateman
Narrated by: Stephen Armstrong
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About this listen

When notorious gangster "Fat Sam" Mahood is murdered, the chief suspect is arrested nearby. But he seems to have suffered a breakdown. Incarcerated in a mental institution, he's known only as the Man in the White Suit. The suspect remains an enigma until Nurse Brenda calls on Mystery Man, Belfast's finest mystery bookshop owner, to bring his powers of investigation to bear....

©2012 Colin Bateman (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd Modern Detectives Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Funny Witty

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Not a bad story by any means but certainly not the best of Bateman nor this character. Maybe the Mystery Man has ran out of originality.

For fans of the Bookshop Owner with No Name

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Mystery man hasn't changed one bit! Really enjoyed the story, especially the throw away comments.

Another fun outing!

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Original story well written. What makes this audio book for me is the narrator. He really brings the central character to life and makes him likeable despite being a real oddball. If you are looking for detective fiction with a quirky sense of humour this book is for you.

Great voice

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Another very enjoyable outing for the Mystery Man, the owner of No Alibis, the finest crime fiction bookstore in the whole of Belfast (according to the Mystery Man himself). Those of you who have read previous Mystery Man (MM) books will need no introduction - for the rest of you, the narrator of the story is a bookshop owner and part-time detective who takes on cases brought to him by people who have nowhere else to go (or in some instances, cases that simply intrigue our MM). Given that he is borderline autistic, a massive hypochondriac, and an imbiber of huge quantities of pills and medicines of dubious efficacy, it is a wonder that he is able to hold his own in the big bad world outside his book store.



The main premise of this story is that MM, a former mental patient himself, is "employed" by a mental home nurse, the Brenda of the title, to find out the identity of one of her patients, the Man in the White Suit, who she is convinced could not be responsible for the murder he has been incarcerated for. The problem is that the Man in the White Suit never utters a word, and as a result he is a mystery wrapped in an enigma that no-one can solve. Except perhaps the Mystery Man!



The book was very ably narrated by Stephen Armstrong (it had to be an Irish person reading this, no other accent would have worked as well), and his dry delivery really has had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions.



Thoroughly recommended.

Laugh out loud. I did, several times.

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This was my forth mystery man book.enjoyed it right till the ending which was unnecessary and silly. and I'm glad this was the last in the series. VERY disappointed.

crap ending !

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I have enjoyed the 'Mystery Man' series of books and even though this fourth instalment is not the best in the series it's still a good read. However, I found the final chapter to be ludicrous. It's as if the author (Bateman) decided to celebrate the finishing of his latest book by getting blind drunk and then whilst under the influence of drink thought it would be a good idea to add a few extra pages to the novel. So, a good book spoilt by a silly end. Well narrated.

An utterly ludicrous ending.

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Prisoner of Brenda to be better than the print version?

I haven' tried the written version, although I have read some of Colin Bateman's other books; Stephen Armstrong paints a perfect character and brings it off the page

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Prisoner of Brenda?

It is very funny if you give it a chance, I actually laughed out loud listening to it. I like the main character's stay in the hospital best.

What about Stephen Armstrong’s performance did you like?

I love his accent and he has a great sense of timing and pace.

Genuine dark humour

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

These books were my first foray into Crime Fiction, and there's so much more to them than just the detective story; they're very quirky. So if you're not a fan of the genre, give these a go.

What was most disappointing about Colin Bateman’s story?

The writing was a bit of a let down in this one; it wasn't as funny, and actually giving Mystery Man reasons for his odd personality takes away from, rather than gives to, what I liked so much about him.

What about Stephen Armstrong’s performance did you like?

Stephen Armstrong brings the character to life beautifully. I actually think the audio books will be better than reading them.

Do you think The Prisoner of Brenda needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It seemed like it was the last one. Given that it wasn't as good as the others, the Mystery Man is probably best put to rest regardless. It's a shame though, I liked this series much better than Bateman's other works.

Not as good as the other Mystery Bookseller books

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This was a new author for me but am so glad I tried. A crime with laugh out loud (which I frequently did) dry humour, whilst moving the story along. Throwing insights into the strange happenings in a book shop and their owners personality. Give a try well worth it.

Quirky crime story but worth listening to.

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I hate when they do this.
Someone has clipped the audio to try and hide the fact it's from a CD recording.
The result is, you miss the start of some chapters.
Its just annoying.
BATEMAN is ace though, as always.

It's from a CD! 🤣

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