As big fans of audio
thrillers, Shots Magazine were excited to read that crime writer Rob Parker is penning an intriguing
trilogy commissioned by Audible Studios.
The first title, Far from
the Tree, will be released exclusively in audio on 2nd
July 2020. Publication dates for the next two titles will follow in due course.
Set in Warrington, Far from
the Tree follows DI Foley, who finds himself in charge
of one of the largest murder cases the country has ever seen. Twenty-seven
bodies are found buried in a woodland trench, as the discoveries unfold, DI
Foley must decide whether to solve the crime if it risks his family.
Parker commented: "To be able to write
a crime trilogy set in the area I grew up in — an area which doesn’t receive
much limelight or exposure — is a real delight, and I’m supremely thankful to
Audible for giving me this opportunity. I’m taking this chance with both hands
and aim to repay their faith in spades and I’m determined to show you ain’t
seen nothing yet."
Read More from the Bookseller HERE
Audible UK are to be applauded for the support they provide
the crime and thriller fiction genre, especially as the importance of
audiobooks increases within publishing. They commission new work such as the pseudonymous
Alex Callister’s thrillers and supporting the genre, including sponsoring one of Crimefest’s annual awards.
After listening to the start
of this trilogy by Rob Parker, it came as no surprise to discover that Far
from the Tree is July’s Audible thriller of the month.
So, what’s in store?
Brendan Foley
has worked to balance the responsibilities of a demanding job and a troublesome
family. He’s managed to keep these two worlds separate, until the discovery of
a mass grave sends them into a headlong collision. When one of the dead turns
out to be a familiar face, he’s taken off the case.
Iona Madison
keeps everything under control. She works hard as a detective sergeant and
trains harder as a boxer. But when her superior, DI Foley, is removed from the
case, her certainties are tested like never before.
With stories
of the Warrington 27 plastered over the news, they set out to solve the crime
before anyone else. The local constabulary is small and under-funded – Brendan
knows they can’t crack this case alone, and he’s not letting a rival force take
over. Not with the secrets he fears are lurking. Their investigations lead them
into the murky underworlds of Manchester and Liverpool, where one more murder
means little to drug-dealing gangs, desperate to control their power bases.
But as Madison
steps into the ring for the fight of her life, the criminals come to them. It’s
no coincidence that the corpses have been buried in Foley’s hometown. The
question is, why? Foley might not like the answer....
Not to be confused with the legendary creator of the Boston
based Spenser
and Hawk series, penned by the legendary Robert
B Parker; the British Robert Parker, better known as “Rob” to his growing
band of readers [and now listeners] hails from the British North West, where his
acclaimed Ben Bracken thrillers are set - A Wanted Man, Morte
Point, The Penny Black, Till Morning Is Nigh
and the standalone post-Brexit country-noir Crook’s Hollow. A
member of the Northern Crime Syndicate and a co-host of the For Your
Reconsideration film podcast, Rob is also a regular voice on the Blood Brothers
Crime Podcast. A champion of encouraging literacy and creative writing, Rob
spends a lot of time travelling to schools giving talks across the country. Rob
Parker lives in Warrington with his family.
Far from the Tree is
the first in a trilogy, and narrated by actor Warren Brown. Currently he can be
seen as 'Sergeant Thomas 'Mac' McAllister' in the highly anticipated reboot of
the Emmy-nominated action series, Strike Back, for Sky/HBO Cinemax. Other
television credits include Doctor Who, Liar, X Company and RTS Best Drama
winning, Good Cop. Film credits include Cargo, Captain Webb and The Dark Knight
Rises. Audio drama for Big Finish include multiple series of Doctor Who,
U.N.I.T. and the standalone Audible series Transference. Through this former
Thai-Boxer, is probably best known for his role of “DS Ripley”, in the BBC
series Luther, co-starring with Idris Elba who plays the eponymous [and troubled]
detective.
For the crime-fiction geeks a little digression
–
Luther is written by Neil Cross, and when I interviewed him
several years ago [for Jeff
Peirce’s THE RAP SHEET] about his own writing, I indicated that I felt he
had read the works of Patricia
Highsmith..………
AK: I’m guessing you must have read Patricia
Highsmith, then.
NC: I’m obsessed by Patricia Highsmith.
AK: [Laughing] So am I. I am totally obsessed
with her Tom Ripley books. In fact, I have what my wife terms my white “Tom
Ripley suit.” Coincidentally, a number of critics have described your first
novel, Burial, as being distinctly Hitchcockian. And it was Hitchcock, of
course, who made a movie from Highsmith’s 1950 debut novel, Strangers on a
Train.
NC: Yes, there’s a psychological marriage
between Hitchcock and Highsmith; they suit each other very well.
AK: So, going back to Highsmith, is it just her
Tom Ripley novels that you enjoy, or do you find pleasure in her other amoral
tales?
NC: I’ve read many of her books and short
stories, though not all of her canon, and of course there are a few that are
just not up to her best work. But one non-Ripley novel that sticks to my mind
is Cry of the Owl [1962], which features a woman who falls in love with her own
stalker. It would barely be publishable today, but in Highsmith’s world it
makes perfect sense.
AK: The weird thing about Patricia Highsmith
was that she was highly acclaimed in Europe, but rather less so in her native
America; in fact, she lived for many years in the UK before making Switzerland
her home. Maybe
Tom Ripley was the precursor to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the amoral, but
charming psychopath/sociopath--the sort of figure who doesn’t settle as well in
the American psyche as he does in the European one.
NC: That links to my theme of “free will
exercised as sin,” [something that] must be punished. And Highsmith just
doesn’t punish, she observes; in fact, she was known to sign books as Tom
Ripley from time to time.
Read the full interview at THE RAP SHEET, from Theakstons
Crime Writing Festival 2010 HERE
Neil Cross told me that he named DS Ripley, Idris Elba /
Luther’s sidekick as played by Warren Brown as a personal homage to Patricia
Highsmith’s amoral character, The
Talented Mr Ripley.
End of digression
So with Warren Brown narrating Rob Parker’s FAR FROM THE
TREE, what’s not to like? If like me, you are an Audible Member [on the
£7.99 / month deal, which allows you one audio credit per month], you can have the
start of the trilogy for just one credit – or for non-members it’s £21.41 –
More information CLICK HERE
We’ll leave the last word to the author and his peers –
‘Working with Audible has been both a joy and a
game-changer. I’m honoured and thrilled to have their faith with this canvas on
which to tell a much larger, more complete story than I could ever have dreamed
previously. Not only this, but to be able to write a crime trilogy set in the
area I grew up in - an area which doesn’t receive much limelight or exposure -
is a real delight, and I’m supremely thankful to Audible for giving me this
opportunity. I’m taking this chance with both hands, aim to repay their faith
in spades and I’m determined to show you ain’t seen nothing yet.’
"...A big departure from Rob’s previous
work, I hope he won’t mind when I say it exceeds his already sky high
standards. A dark, powerful & utterly compelling tale of Northern gangsters
tied together by blood, it just drips with real life."
"Rob Parker doesn’t mess around. Far from
the Tree is a gritty, propulsive [listen]. Drawn in shades of grey, DI Brendan
Foley is a complex, morally ambiguous character I couldn’t stop rooting for. A
punchy, powerful tale well told."
For more information on the work of Rob Parker – CLICK HERE
