As always, Freeman delivered another fabulous Jonathan Stride novel. I have loved the author and the series for many years which is no surprise when I keep getting interesting, compulsively addictive thrillers. The characters are real and the building of suspense is perfect.

Sorry, I thought I would not be able to listen and review this title, but t still appears on my bookshelf on my NG app, It may be due to me sampling the start of the narrator. I will update my review once I finish listening to it (over my holiday break).

thank you

This story is not at all what I was expecting.

A deathbed confession brings to light a cold case from many years past. As these clues are brought forward, friendships, partnerships, and marriages are put to the test.

I didn’t know who the “bad guy” was as it could have been anyone for any reason.

This was an incredibly easy read for me, the perfect fast and furious police procedural complete with emotionally complex characters, numerous red herrings and beautifully converging plot lines.

I absolutely raced through this one despite not having read any of the previous 9 novels in the series. This was perfect as a stand alone book as plot points from the rest of the series were explained, but of course this just makes me want to go back to the beginning and live through them with the characters.

This was action packed but not in an overly cheesy way. Sure, some of the situations the characters found themselves in felt overly dramatic and not necessarily the "norm" but I was able to suspend my sense of disbelief and focus on the engaging plot.

I'll add one small critique about the portrayal of women in this book - focusing on their physical appearance is a pretty outdated concept and generally doesn't propel the plot in any way, especially when they are young, movie-star gorgeous and get around in skimpy outfits. That being said, I liked that there was a variety of female characters.

I will admit to flip-flopping between suspects and falling for a couple of red herrings throughout the story, however in the end I was spot-on for one of the reveals. Usually I'm upset if I pick the culprit, but this one was so deliciously tricky I wasn't even mad! Even better was that I didn't pick the second reveal, and ultimately how the two cases intertwined. I felt very satisfied with the ending and I felt like this book delivered two thoroughly engaging thrills for the price of one!

The books setting, Duluth, Minnesota added a fantastic regional vibe. The narrator Joe Barrett gave a convincing accent to this Australian's ears, and I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent pacing and tone he gave the characters.

I found this to be a great introduction to Brian Freeman and I am already adding the previous Strike books to my bulging TBR list. I love how his writing flowed so effortlessly and he managed to present complex characters in a believable way, while still delivering a fast paced plot.

Jonathan Stride’s life is sent into a tail spin when a very close friend confesses a secret on his death bed, a secret that will have alarming consequences for Stride and one that will inevitably send him on a journey towards the truth. Not only to clear his own name, but also that of his ex wife.
Running parallel to this story line ,his semi adoptive daughter Kat runs into trouble when she finds herself with a stalker.
The author has again produced a terrific fast moving tale with many twists and turns ,some that you may see coming and some you definitely won’t. Fans of the Jonathan stride novels will welcome back the regular characters that add so much depth to these novels, while first time readers will be equally impressed by the clever plot and great writing.

As always, the characters, their description, and back stories, were done so well here. I liked how all the stories came together. I think Cat's antics have reached their limit and hopefully she will begin to mature and take accountability of her actions in future installments.

Funeral For A Friend, is my first Brian Freeman read. So...this is also my first read in the Jonathon Stride book series. Funeral For A Friend is Book 10 in the series and works great as a stand alone novel. The author helpfully, and deftly, fills in pertinent information from the prior books in the series.

Brian Freeman hits the mark with this compelling mystery detective and psychological suspense novel. His characterization of Jon Stride and the cast of characters is interesting and genuine.

I am listening to the audio version of Funeral For A Friend. It took me just a bit to adjust to the narrator. Happily, after about one hour of listening at a slow speed, I was able to speed up the audio and followed alone just fine. Now I can say, I love the audio narration!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone publishing for providing this advance audiobook copy of Funeral For a Friend.

‘Funeral for a Friend’ by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing)

Ten books into Brian Freeman’s Jonathan Stride series, “Funeral for a friend” traverses a literary tightrope that few authors can manage: the novel works equally well as a standalone for a first-time reader, or as part of the fuller Stride canon for his longtime fans.

For those fans, Freeman brings back a welcomed cast of characters. There is Stride, of course, a Duluth detective with uncommonly common sense, and Stride’s wife, Serena, their “adopted” daughter, Cat, and Stride’s partner, Maggie Bei, among them.

Here, though, the stakes are higher than they have been before. In this novel, Maggie is forced, in response to a decades-old murder, to ask her partner the unthinkable: “Did you kill him?”

With Freeman’s masterful diversions, deceptions and angular plotting, you’ll be asking yourself the same question — and likely hoping for the same answer as is Maggie. After all, when Stride’s lifelong friend declares in confidence on his deathbed that the detective has nothing more to worry about the body he buried for him, it borders disbelief that Stride wouldn’t know what he’s talking about. Tie this to the secrets Stride has kept for decades about the murder victim’s connection to his ex-wife, and unraveling this whodunit takes on multiple dimensions.

As always, Freeman’s characters here are as developed as his plot, and even if this is your first foray into the Stride universe you’ll come to know Serena, Stride, Cat, Maggie and others as family.

Narrating the familial cast in the 9 1/2-hour long audio version of the novel is Joe Barrett, whose talents range from the adventure-thriller of a Freeman novel to the literary depths of William Faulkner and John Irving. Barrett, who also voices Freeman’s popular Frost Easton series, again brings depth to Stride’s world in this new story.

I really enjoyed this audiobook; although, I have not read any of the other novels in the series. I was not even aware that this was a series much less the 10th installment. Toward the beginning of the book, the author invested significant portions of narrative rehashing previous adventures. Then I realized this book is part of a larger whole. In my opinion, it stands alone very well and did not need all of those references to backstory.
I listened to this book at 2x speed over the course of one day when I was working on an art project. It was very enjoyable. The mystery was complex enough to keep me entertained and guessing. At the same time, it was not so complicated as to be confusing. There were several interwoven storylines that worked very well together.
I got a kick out of the narrator's Minnesota accents. I have read very few books set in Minnesota. I would definitely listen to another audiobook in this series or by this author.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

The narrator uses a convincing mid-west accent that instantly places me in Duluth. Nice mystery that slowly unfolds as the onion skin of past and present confusions are peeled away.

I finished this book in two days. Pretty good for someone who normally works 14 hour days 4 days a week. The story was riveting. I could not wait to see how al the twists and turns were going to come out.

The story begins with a deathbed confession from Jonathan Stride's best friend Steve Garske that he had his back and buried the body of a man Stride killed. Or did he? The body was found in the yard of his best friend with a bullet hole in the skull. Obviously Stride is hiding something and is put on leave from the Duluth Police Department until the whole thing is sorted out.

Twists and turns ensue as the story unravels before our eyes. This story keeps you guessing until the end..

I enjoyed Funeral For a Friend. It was dark and gritty, something I appreciate in writing. I would compare it to the writings of David Joy or Ace Atkins. I read this book without reading the other books and there were times I knew I was missing the bigger picture or pivotal moments. However, the story was just as enjoyable.

So, a new Stride novel is about to come out. I haven't actually reside the first nine and i knew that going in. It's not at all necessary to enjoy this book. There are there intertwined mysteries to solve here. One was pretty obvious from almost the beginning. The other two were much more engaging to follow.

The story itself was good. There was so just so much machismo. The women were all overly sexualize, especially the younger ones. And the men were so desirable and scarce that the women were all competing for them. In the one alternate case the character was just noticeably insane. I think the narrator lent a hand in that depiction making every woman sound like a Louis Anderson in drag character. Then again, the men all sounded like they were doing a Long Distance Dedication (yeah, I remember those).

A little bit of female characters not defined by their sexuality would have taken this book from a good story to a good book.

This is the most recent offering in the Jonathan Stride series which is set in Duluth, MN. Freeman does a great job of capturing the setting and characters. I found the ending a bit convoluted, but this was a quick enjoyable read. Narration by Joe Barrett is well performed.

Outstanding new episode for the Jonathon Stride series! The narrator definitely helps bring an already very strong plot and characters to life by enhancing the characters personalities with the unique voices he gives them as well as enhancing the emotions of the moment. If you haven't read/listened to the Stride series, you are seriously missing out. Drama, murder, mystery, love, hate, action and so much more rolled into a very cohesive and entertaining plot to keep you listening for hours!

I enjoyed this detective, mystery novel. I listened to the audio version which was done well. The narrator read a bit too fast for me but he did change voice and tone for all the characters so it was easy to stay up with the flow of the novel. Jonathan stride is the main character - he is a police detective. His best friend tells him on his deathbed that he hid a body that he assumed Jonathan killed seven years ago. The mystery to solve the murder takes off from there. To add to the suspense, Cat, a young women that Jonathan and his wife, Serena, have taken in to live with them and come to love, has a deadly stalker. Cat feels very threatened. The stalkers identity was a big surprise for me. Both mysteries come to a head at the end of the novel. It is quite suspenseful. This novel is actually number 10 in the Jonathan Stride series. It was the first one I read and I feel it was good as a stand alone but now I will read some of the others in the series to pick up some of the back stories. It is a quick and enjoyable read.