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    A Necessary End: A Novel
    A Necessary End: A Novel
    A Necessary End: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    A Necessary End: A Novel

    Written by Holly Brown

    Narrated by Khristine Hvam and James Patrick Cronin

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    How far would you go to get what you wanted? The author of Don’t Try to Find Me returns with a taut, riveting novel of psychological suspense—a domestic drama full of secrets and twists—about a woman determined to have a child, her ambivalent husband, and a pregnant teenager with a secret agenda of her own.

    “I know now that there was no other way things could have turned out. Tragedies are inevitable, just like the great love stories, like us.”

    Thirty-nine-year-old Adrienne is desperate to be a mother. And this time, nothing is going to get in her way.

    Sure, her husband, Gabe, is ambivalent about fatherhood. But she knows that once he holds their baby, he’ll come around. He’s just feeling a little threatened, that’s all. Because once upon a time, it was Gabe that Adrienne wanted more than anything; she was willing to do anything. . . . But that was half a lifetime ago. She’s a different person now, and so is Gabe. There are lines she wouldn’t cross, not without extreme provocation.

    And sure, she was bitten once before by another birth mother—clear to the bone—and for most people, it’s once bitten, twice shy. But Adrienne isn’t exactly the retiring type.

    At nineteen, Leah bears a remarkable resemblance to the young woman Adrienne once was. Which is why Adrienne knows the baby Leah is carrying is meant to be hers. But Leah’s got ideas of her own: Her baby’s going to get a life in California; why shouldn’t she? All she wants is to live in Adrienne’s house for a year after the baby’s born, and get a fresh start.

    It seems like a small price for Adrienne to pay to get their baby. And with Gabe suddenly on board, what could possibly go wrong?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 7, 2015
    ISBN9780062395573
    Author

    Holly Brown

    Holly Brown lives with her husband and toddler daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she's a practicing marriage and family therapist. She is the author of the novel Don't Try to Find Me, and her blog, ""Bonding Time,"" is featured on the mental health website PsychCentral.com.

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    Reviews for A Necessary End

    4/5

    36 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Another good yarn involving Inspector Banks, the Good. He might be good, but not perfect as he flirts with a colleague. This time he is offset by Dirty Dick, aka DS Dick Burgess, who is in charge of the investigation. The case is the murder of a police constable at a political demonstration. Robinson is hard to beat for a police procedural that takes an interesting look at 1990s society in England.
    • 4/5
      I'm reading these in order. Inspector Banks is my new favorite detective!
    • 3/5
      Ok, mildly interesting for all the Yorkshire settings, although the story felt a little thin. Rounded up from 2.5* as it was my 104th book this year which means I hit my target 11 days early
    • 5/5
      Really liked this one. Looking forward to getting number4
    • 3/5
      This is one of the earlier Inspector Alan Banks novel There is a demonstration in Eastvale a Copper is killed, Banks with the help of Dick Burgess investigate this. All suspicion points to a farm were some misfits live. Its not all strait forward Banks does his best and discovers who the murderer was.
    • 3/5
      The third book in the Alan Banks series by Peter Robinson, “A Necessary End”, deals with the stabbing to death of a policeman during an anti-nuclear demonstration. Suspicion centres on the residents of a 60s-style commune in a nearby farm: the owner of the farm, Seth Cotton; his reclusive girlfriend, Mara Delacey; and a young man with a violent history, Paul Boyd. The commune is also home to a whacky astrologer, Zoe, and a Marxist artist, Rick.Helping Inspector Banks in this case is an old acquaintance from his London days, Detective Superintendent Dick Burgess. Perhaps “helping” is not the right verb here. Banks is not very fond of Burgess’ abrasive and cocky attitude, not to mention his constant bragging about his (yet to be proven) sexual conquests. The duo try to work together but very quickly Banks realises that if he wants to save his career he needs to find the killer before Burgess does.The plot of this book is one of the best so far in the series, especially thanks to the fact that most of the characters turn out to be something different from the stereotypical roles assigned to them initially. The dead policeman turns out to be a bully that relished the freedom police work gave him in beating people up. The violent Boyd has to run away lest he be blamed for a crime he did not commit. And the real killer, and his motives, turn out to be quite unexpected. This is a most enjoyable book.
    • 5/5
      This book is a cracking good read. It is nicely paced, contains real clues through the text to the perpetrator and kept my interest to the last page. What more does one require of a piece of crime fiction?This book does have an extra dimension, although, I suspect, that it is an unintentional one: it clearly portrays some of the primitive attitudes which prevailed a mere 23 years ago, when this was written. I am not naive enough to believe that we have totally expunged the thuggish Superintendent 'Dirty Dick' Burgess types, but at least, they are unable to operate in such an open way now.This book filled a snowy Sunday when there was little to do but curl up in front of a blazing fire with a good book. I started it at about 11 am and, barring meal times, it kept me entertained until bed time: thank you Mr. Robinson.
    • 5/5
      An excellent, excellent book. Chief Inspector Banks at his best so far. Politics, idealism, anti-establishment and fanaticism on both sides of the law make this an intriguing novel which keeps you guessing all the way through. The characters are easy to identify with and all have their own interesting stories.Alan Banks also makes an enemy of 'Dirty Dick' Burgess who is brought up from London to head the investigation of the murder of a policeman. His tactics leave something to be desired and anger the residents of the area including Chief Inspector Banks. This is definately one not to miss.
    • 4/5
      A policeman is killed during an investigation, and inspector Banks researches into the victim's past as well as the craftspeople at "Maggie's Farm". Well drawn characters of both suspects and Banks, and the bully of a detective brought in from London to assist.
    • 4/5
      During an anti-nuclear rally, a policeman is stabbed to death and it's up to DCI Banks to figure out if it was manslaughter or something more nefarious. This is another good installment in a solid series where the characters are very believable and the mystery not easily guessed. The Yorkshire atmosphere is coming across as very genuine as well and that adds a lot to the overall story.
    • 4/5
      The Inspector Banks series is a good one, and this third in the series is as good as the other two that I have read. In this book a police constable is killed in an anti-nuclear demonstration in Banks' town of Eastvale. Was the murder just a result of hot tempers in the heat of the moment, or was there something more planned and more sinister here? Banks needs to find out, but before he can do much investigating an old acquaintance from the London PD is sent to help. Banks knows that Dirty Dick lives up to his name, and finds that he has to continue investigating on his own in order to get to the real reason behind the killing. Robinson is an excellent writer whose characters are real and three-dimensional. I love Inspector Banks, and can't wait to continue to read this series.
    • 3/5
      When a demonstration results in the death of a police officer from another jurisdiction, Supt. Burgess, aka "Dirty Dick," is sent from London to lead the investigation into the homicide. Attention begins to focus on the residents of Maggie's farm as two residents were among those arrested at the demonstration. Burgess' reputation precedes him. Chief Inspector Banks begins investigating on the side when it becomes clear, Burgess is willing to stick the murder charge to the first suspect for whom he can make a case strong enough to possibly stick. With many of the protesters already suspicious of police, Burgess' actions jeopardize the rapport Banks built with the people of Eastvale since his arrival. The installment compels the reader, but some things seem to drag down the plot. Readers do not need to know every time a character lights a cigarette, particularly when all the characters seem to be chain smokers. If a future installment doesn't feature some of the characters developing lung cancer, Robinson missed out on the plot he's setting up.I listened to the audio version narrated by James Langton who did a good job with the voices although they were perhaps not as British sounding as they could be.
    • 3/5
      Banks' temporary superior, DCI Burgess, has some of the funniest lines--you can just imagine laughing at him were you to run across him in reality. I didn't care for the "flirtation" with Jenny--not because he's marrier, but because it made him seem weak and downright indecisive. I thought the "killer" was different characters at different times, although the reasoning was a lot clearer. Maybe if Banks had focused on the case a bit more he would have solved it sooner. There never was any doubt that Burgess would ever solve it, not in a million years.
    • 4/5
      This was first published in 1989 and thus seems terribly dated with Alan Banks and other characters smoking heavily everywhere and casually drinking and driving, no mobile phones, having to make all calls via land lines and few computers in use. Despite that, it does actually capture a different time period and the mood of the times, even though it is a distant memory now. The plot concerns the death of a policeman during a local protest rally about nuclear power and as always Robinson's characters have depth to them and are believable. A clever plot twist when the killer is finally revealed, not at all what you expect.
    • 3/5
      The concept of the book is interesting but pretty unbelievable from the get-go (a birth mother being allowed to keep her parental rights but live with the adoptive family for a year after the baby is born? With her very need provided for?) I found it hard to like many of the characters, except for Trevor. The book started off well, then slowed pace…by this point I was too invested to stop reading. The ending sped up and worked for the story. Not a bad read altogether. *I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*
    • 3/5
      A Necessary End by Holly Brown3 StarsWhat's It About?How far would you go to get what you wanted? author, Holly Brown returns with a taut, riveting novel of psychological suspense—a domestic drama full of secrets and twists—about a woman determined to have a child, her ambivalent husband, and a pregnant teenager with a secret agenda of her own.“I know now that there was no other way things could have turned out. Tragedies are inevitable, just like the great love stories, like us.” Thirty-nine-year-old Adrienne is desperate to be a mother. And this time, nothing is going to get in her way. At nineteen, Leah bears a remarkable resemblance to the young woman Adrienne once was. Which is why Adrienne knows the baby Leah is carrying is meant to be hers. But Leah’s got ideas of her own: Her baby’s going to get a life in California; why shouldn’t she? All she wants is to live in Adrienne’s house for a year after the baby’s born, and get a fresh start. It seems like a small price for Adrienne to pay to get their baby. And with Gabe suddenly on board, what could possibly go wrong?What Did I Think?Holly Brown did a great job of keeping the reader guessing. Nothing was what it seemed to be. The four characters that furnish the points of view in the story are believable but you can see immediately all the mistakes that were being made. You wanted to yell at them to "STOP IT". The baby, Michael was just a chess piece in their individual schemes. The ending was incomplete as far as I was concerned. Of all the many ways this could have concluded it seemed that someone...the author... her editor...someone...chose the one that was the most upsetting and made left the most unanswered. The book is certainly worth the reading time and will appeal to those that enjoy physiological suspense.
    • 4/5
      This is a much better successor to Gone Girl than most of the books that've been marketed that way in the past couple years - pity it didn't take off so well. Adrienne is a tremendous character, manipulative, dangerous, but thoroughly real in the way of real people who will do anything other than admit that they've done bad things.
    • 5/5
      A Necessary End by Holly Brown is a very highly recommended, dark, sometimes funny, sometimes perversely skewed novel of psychological suspense about an adoption among disagreeable people.

      Adrienne, a 39 year old 2nd grade teacher, is desperate to be a mom. She is a member of a web site dedicated to connecting potential parents with a birth mother. She and Gabe, her husband, work on a profile that she is sure will attract a birth mom and they will get the baby she wants more than anything. She thought she had arranged an adoption before with a birth mother, but that didn't work out. She is sure this time will work. They have written the perfect profile page.

      Gabe, a car salesman, isn't quite sure he wants to be a father, but he does know that he wants to keep Adrienne happy. If looking for a baby will do that, then hopefully it won't interfere too much with his recreational poker playing. But he was used to Adrienne always putting him first...

      When 19 year old Leah responds to their profile and has Adrienne fly her out to California, she has an agenda of her own. Leah looks like a prettier, younger Adrienne and she claims the birth father looks like Gabe. Leah has some unconventional demands. If the baby gets to live in California, she wants to live there too and she expects Adrienne and Gabe to make it happen - if they want the baby. She wants to live with them for a year, be paid $400 a month, and they have to pay for health insurance costs for her and the baby. Then, after a year, Leah will sign the adoption papers for the baby Adrienne is sure the baby is a boy and that it is meant to be her son.

      Even though their lawyer advised them against it, Adrienne, Gabe, and Leah sign a contract containing all of Leah's stipulations. What could possibly go wrong?

      Admittedly all these characters are unlikeable, self-centered, and calculating, so why did I enjoy this novel so much? I wanted to shake every last character here and tell them, "Snap out of it!" and then ask, "Why would you agree to that?" and "What's wrong with you?" Oh, but then things started to get darker and diabolical and twisty and nothing is quite as it seems. I'll admit I raced through this novel and stayed up way-to-late finishing it. It is that good. This is a perfect stuck-overnight-at-the-airport book!

      The presentation and the writing is perfect. The chapter alternate between Adrienne and Gabe narrating the story. Also included are past conversations of Adrienne with the failed first birth mother and their relationship. While this is ostensibly a book about birth mothers and a couple looking for a baby, it becomes a much different novel as more facts are revealed. Just when I started to get comfortable, a new little fact would be revealed that made me sit up and think, "What...?" Assume nothing while reading A Necessary End, but make sure you read it.

      Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of HarperCollins for review purposes.