Blog Tour: Audiobook Review of Cut Short by BD Spargo
Today I am helping end the blog tour for Cut Short by BD Spargo. This is a debut novel crime thriller/police procedural and the second in the series is also available now!
Book Description:
Detectives can’t bury their mistakes, murderers can.
DCI Liam Doyle is haunted by the demons from his past and the challenges of the present: a broken marriage, a tarnished reputation, and a troubled young son who needs him. He’s newly moved out of south London – and out of his comfort zone.
When a murdered woman is found at a Lancashire beauty spot in his new patch. Doyle is tasked with finding her killer, along with his new detective sergeant, Anna Morgan.
As the investigation progresses, it becomes clear that things are not as they seem. A clever killer has created a complex web of deceit and is always one step ahead of Doyle … and the bodies are mounting up. Is the past the key to unlocking the present? When the stakes get higher, Doyle’s need to find the killer becomes personal and the detective is plunged into a desperate race against time. Will Doyle succeed before he has another dead body on his conscience?
Played out across the rugged Lancashire landscape, Cut Short is a gripping crime thriller layered with plot twists and sprinkled with humour. This fast-paced novel, the first in a series featuring DCI Liam Doyle, will have readers on the edge of their seats.
If you have enjoyed books by authors such as Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, JD Kirk and Alex Smith, you won’t want to miss Cut Short.
Cut Short
Series: DCI Liam Doyle #1
Author: BD Spargo
Narrator: Aubrey Parsons
Audio Published: February 6, 2026
Audiobook: 9 hours 43 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: March 8-14, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
Cut Short is a gritty crime thriller/police procedural taking place ‘across the pond’ in Lancashire, England. I enjoyed this one and the fact that this is a debut novel is impressive! Cut Short takes place in present day with flashbacks to 1996 and 1999. Animal lovers be on the lookout for the deaths of two animals: I’ll first mention there is a death of a rabbit, which is just a minor two sentences. A larger warning in regards to beginning of the novel as we have a very brutal murder of a dog. It is necessary to the story and I was prepared for an animal death but wasn’t expecting what we got.
As this is the first novel in the series, we meet DCI Liam Doyle and he is just starting his job in a new location and what a start: a body! And things are just not what they seem. We also meet many more characters which a reader may or may not like. I like DS Anna Morgan and adore Pathologist Doctor Vedhika Gupta! Gupta is my favorite character! We get to know these characters along with Doyle and we get to see into his past and personal life, which is far from perfect. These characters all came off as ‘real’ to me.
As the case grows and more is discovered; the reader goes along with Doyle to work to solve the case. The story speeds up and I was really wanting to know how it was going to end! Cut Short is a fast paced novel that you don’t really want to put down and stop listening. The narrator Aubrey Parsons did a great job! He became DCI Doyle for me.
In addition to the grittiness of the story, we also get some humor in the novel to lighten the mood at times. I was surprised to find myself laughing at times with the humor. Now remember, this is a British author, so we have British humor!
Fortunately, the second in the series is available now in kindle and paperback. I’m optimistic that the second will be available on audio soon!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Audible US
Amazon UK
Audible UK
About the Author:
Fast approaching fifty; without enough money for a sports car, BD Spargo decided to express his mid-life crises by turning to crime …
Thankfully for pretty much everyone this meant writing crime fiction rather than anything more nefarious. Originally from London, he spent his early career working in television and theatre including on the Ruth Rendall Mysteries broadcast on ITV.
A life changing accident necessitated retraining and a change of direction going on to work in mental health services. This culminated in ten years managing a groundbreaking forensic psychiatric service. He now lives in Lancashire with his family and is getting acclimatised to the rain.
Contact BD:
Website
Bluesky
X @BDSpargo
Instagram @BDSpargo
See the whole blog tour:
Book Review: Unholy Murder by Lynda La Plante
Unholy Murder
Series: Tennison #7
Author: Lynda La Plante
Published: August 24, 2021
416 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 27, 2021- January 5, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
A coffin is dug up by builders in the grounds of an historic convent – inside is the body of a young nun.
In a city as old as London, the discovery is hardly surprising. But when scratch marks are found on the inside of the coffin lid, Detective Jane Tennison believes she has unearthed a mystery far darker than any she’s investigated before. However, not everyone agrees. Tennison’s superiors dismiss it as an historic cold case, and the Church seems desperate to conceal the facts from the investigation. It’s clear that someone is hiding the truth, and perhaps even the killer. Tennison must pray she can find both – before they are buried forever . . .
In Unholy Murder, Tennison must lift the lid on the most chilling murder case of her career to date . . .
Jessica’s Review:
Compared to other books I have recently read, this one was a success!!! YES!! Unholy Murder is the seventh book in the Tennison series, but it can be read as a standalone. I have not read any of the other in the series and did not feel like I have missed anything as past situations are mentioned. I did like Tennison and am interested in how she got her start in a male dominated field, especially for the time period this novel takes place in.
I was confused at first with references to using maps, the phone book, and more until I found a review that mentioned the time period: This novel takes place in 1982 based on when the Pope visits the UK where this novel takes place. Once I knew the time period I actually enjoyed the trip back in time where the things we take for granted were not in existence and we had ‘old school policing’. And with Tennison also being a woman in this time period: It really was a boys club then.
Unholy Murder has an intriguing premise that actually delivers: a coffin is dug up and it has a nun inside and it appears she was buried alive!?!? What happened to her and why??? Secrets and lies, the Catholic Church and more: Bring it on! And this novel became so much more than I expected with its twists and turns.
It is a police procedural, so we get to see how things were done in the 1980s, which includes autopsies. Not a fast-paced novel, but it is detailed and it does move and I never lost interest in the story. I was fully involved and cared about the characters you should care for.
I enjoyed this novel and if you enjoy crime dramas/police procedurals, Unholy Murder and my guess is that the whole Tennison series will be for you.
I received a copy to read and review from Bookish First.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK