Caffeinated Reviewer | From the Dust by David Swinson
8th Jun
Retired police detective Graham Sanderson returns to his family home in a small town in Upstate New York to look after his brother Tommy after the death of their father. When the local chief asks for help with a murder, Graham fears the worst in From the Dust by David Swinson.
From the Dust
by David Swinson
Narrator: Jonathan Davis
Length: 8 hours and 15 minutes
Genres: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible | Libro.fm *affiliate
Rating: 
Narration: 5 Speed: 5 cups
When a murder occurs in a small town in Upstate New York, retired police detective Graham Sanderson, is drawn back into a vortex of violence, deception, and a series of murders which get dangerously personal.
Graham Sanderson thought he’d left it all behind. His years as a Washington, DC, homicide detective, his tragically dead wife, pain, violence. Taking over his father’s house in the remote Finger Lakes region of rural New York, and looking after his shut-in brother, Tommy, seemed like a respite. That is, until the first body is found.
The chief of the town’s small police jurisdiction, who is also a family friend, asks for Graham’s assistance. Graham’s instincts immediately kick in and he soon discovers there’s more to the area – the people, its brutally quiet, sophisticated hierarchies – than he or his family ever knew.
David Swinson’s latest novel is a soulful, rural noir story about the extremities to which it pushes a community, the fear it instills in the hearts of adherents and doubters alike, and need for it nevertheless. As Graham delves deeper into the strange and then stranger circumstances of the murders, his own beliefs become challenged. What do you finally stand for when you’ve got nothing left to lose?
Graham is a recently retired and widowed DC Homicide detective who moves back to his ancestral home to take care of the home and his brother, Tommy. Tommy suffers from PTSD and agoraphobia. Graham is enjoying the quieter pace, drinks on the back porch, and time with his brother. When the local sheriff tells Graham about a recent murder, he is surprised, but it’s not long before the sheriff asks for his assistance. It seems they have a few murders and are looking for connections. Graham agrees to help, and it’s not long before he fears the worst is this suspenseful, small-town murder mystery thriller.
Narrated by Jonathan Davis, Swinson delivers a well-crafted police procedural with a touch of romance, interesting events and characters that kept me engaged. When one murder turns into two, it made sense that the Sheriff, Graham’s childhood friend, reached out for advice. The murders and how they were woven together, and the suspects had a believability that kept me guessing.
If you are looking for a tight, well drawn suspenseful tale, I highly recommend grabbing From the Dust, particularly on audio. Jonathan Davis delivered an array of voices and gave an atmospheric performance. I will definitely grab more titles from this author.
About David Swinson
David Swinson is a retired police detective from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, having been assigned to Major Crimes. Swinson is the author of the critically acclaimed Frank Marr Trilogy – The Second Girl, Crime Song and Trigger, and the standalones, A Detailed Man, City on the Edge and Sweet Thing.
About Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Davis is a critically acclaimed narrator and voice-over actor. He is a three‐time winner and fifteen‐time nominee of the coveted Audie Award. Davis’s documentary narration credits include films and programming for National Geographic Television, National Geographic Channel, VH1, and PBS.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat.
