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The Castle

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The Castle

By: John Sutherland
Narrated by: John Sutherland
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About this listen



Alex and Pip are in desperate need of an escape. Their stressful roles as hostage negotiators are eased only by the fact that they get to come home to each other every night.

When an old friend invites the couple up to the Scottish Highlands for an extended break, Alex and Pip jump at the chance. It's the rest they both need.

But soon after they arrive at the castle, they hear the sound of gunshots, and their perfect escape turns into a perfect nightmare. The remote mountainous landscape is now the setting for a terrifying kidnap plot targeting one of the other guests.

In the desperate hours that follow, Alex and Pip must call on all their years of negotiating experience to keep everyone alive. But with Pip gravely injured and the net closing in, it might be her life that needs saving most of all...

©2025 John Sutherland (P)2025 Orion Publishing Group Limited Crime Thrillers Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Highlander Exciting

Critic reviews

Thrilling... a great read. (Kate London)
Authentic, atmospheric, beautifully plotted with characters you want to succeed. If you like Tartan Noir this one's for you. (Mari Hannah)
Lightning paced thriller set in the Scottish Highlands. Akin to a homage to the high octane 70s thrillers of MacLean and Bagley. Great characters, unrelenting tension, and swashbuckling action. A triumph. (Neil Lancaster)
Unputdownable (Nihal Arthanayake)
All stars
Most relevant
I loved this book. Entirely listenble and gripping. I couldn't wait to hear what happened next. John is a gifted writer who combined suspense with compassion.

I was fascinated by the negotiation skills employed by Alex. And the dedication to justice of the best of our British Police Force. Even if we fail in this country, the ground rules of decency and morality are in place.

couldn't stop listening.

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I really enjoyed this thriller, the narration by the author was expertly delivered and it was oddly satisfying to have the sense of the story being told to me personally.

The hero of the piece is a police negotiator and the way John Sutherland leans into the strengths of that role while combining so many elements of police processes and procedures gave this book an all too authentic feel. I had to remind myself this was fiction at times

Nothing went the way I’d expected and my enjoyment was all the greater due to this

When words appear to speak louder than actions

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The best thriller 2025 and it's only April. The plot and continued suspense throughout was excellent. The audiobook narration was perfect. Please John , always narrate your character Alex Lewis. I could listen to your voice narrating any book. I am looking forward to what you follow it up with. Please don't end the series with The Castle.

The Best Thriller 2025!

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I really enjoyed the pace of the book and how the author makes you really build a relationship with the different characters even the unlikeable ones

Great thriller

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Confession: The author is a friend of mine.

That said, I have read a lot of books in this genre and I rate John's books among the best of those I've read. The Castle is the third book in the Alex Lewis series, following The Siege (Book 1), and The Fallen (Book 2). Alex is an experienced negotiator with the Police (UK London Met) and finds himself in impossible situations where he has to dig deep to achieve the best outcome for everyone. The author pulls on his expertise in this field as a retired Borough Commander and Hostage and Crisis negotiator with the London Met. This gives authenticity to the plot and the narrative.

John narrates the book himself and is incredibly easy to listen to. The great thing about this is that you get to hear the story animated as the author imagined it when writing it. To me, this brings real life to the narrative. His narration is first class.

My favourite Sutherland novel is The Fallen, but The Castle is a superb read/listen.

Another Cracking Page Turner From John Sutherland

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