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The Basement

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The Basement

By: Stephen Leather
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
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About this listen

New York City. With a population of almost 19 million people, it’s easy to remain anonymous - even if you’re a serial killer, torturing and murdering beautiful young women. The killer has another victim right now, locked in a basement somewhere in the city. For NYPD detectives Turner and Marcinko, it’s their job to sift through those 19 million and narrow their list to the one before it’s too late. And they’re sure they have the right man in their sights.

Fusing alternating viewpoints with devastating precision, Leather’s top-notch thriller dives deep into the mind of a demented killer as tension mounts immeasurably. Turner and Marcinko’s prime suspect is screenwriter wannabe Marvin Waller. He is becoming increasingly frustrated by his lack of success and the cops think he might be channeling his anger into murder, yet he doesn’t seem to be at all concerned that they are hot on his trail. As Turner and Marcinko close in on Waller they have to wonder: is he the killer? And if he isn’t - who is? Only time will tell - and time is one thing they do not have.

An unrelenting vice-grip of suspense and fear, The Basement is the ultimate shocker with a shattering climax that will leave you battered, bruised, and broken.

©2011 Stephen Leather (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc. Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction Murder New York

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All stars
Most relevant  
This had me hooked from the beginning. It comes in two stories in one but that’s all I’m saying!

Great storyline

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I must admit to listening to this because I enjoy Luke Daniel's narration but it turns out that I enjoyed the story too.The deliciously narcissistic main character leaves you teetering between dislike and admiration that anyone can be so incredibly self assured in their endevours.Daniels reads him perfectly and I honestly didn't see the end coming though when you sit and think about it afterwards the author was extremely clever and you can see it with hindsight.Worth a couple of hours of your time definitely.

Interesting and excellent narration.

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A disturbing story told from two perspectives. One from the point of view of the main protagonist Marvin Waller, the other from the serial killer, which is graphic and chilling. Even though it's a dark story the great opening line pulled me in. It's fast moving, suspenseful and seems to be going in the expected direction until the huge and totally unexpected twist at the end which, for me, would have benefitted from a little more development or explanation to round out the 'why' factor.
An expertly delivered narration by Luke Daniels.

Compelling and scary!

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I only 'discovered' Stephen Leather early last year. But I made haste to read all of his novels since.

This is a standalone mystery/thriller. It's very hard to give a synopsis without being tempted to give huge chunks of the plot away! Suffice to say, the main character (a struggling screen writer), is everything you want in a villain - obnoxious, smart mouthed, devious, psycho... You itch to slap him and you pray that they'll be able to find a way to get him.

The outline of the novel is thus: women are being abducted in New York City, but their bodies are never found. We get to experience an abduction which in some scenes are quite sexually explicit, but not gratuitously so.

Stephen Leather has an easy storytelling style and Luke Daniels narrates in just the way you'd imagine it was written. The jumps from scene to scene, which occasionally happen mid sentence, are delivered beautifully. The exuberence in the delivery when the protagonist is talking about an idea for a screen play, is so well played against the somber tones of the captivity of the latest victim...

I hope I've teased your imagination. If you're already a Stephen Leather fan (who isn't?) then you won't need any persuading. If you're not - then come join the club!

A Bit Saucy, but Very Tastefully Done

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Would you try another book written by Stephen Leather or narrated by Luke Daniels?

I'm a massive Stephen Leather fan, but this was pure S##T. It's like a Woody Allen script, a pompous prat walking about talking to himself.

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephen Leather again?

Yes, the narrator No.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Loves the sound of his own voice.The main one, I'm not sure of his name, he just annoyed me.

What character would you cut from The Basement?

Luke Daniels

Terrible!

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so boring
give up by chapter 4,couldn't grasp the story at all.kept thinking it would improve bet it got worse

rubbish

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Really not a good book, very easy to work out. Listened to the end and hoped I was wrong but I was disappointed.

Predictable, easy to work out the murderer, have it when the author tries to be clever and does it badly

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