This is the story of a journey: not just as physical journey, but an emotional one. When Desmond's wife kicks him out and takes up with someone new, he is reminded of an earlier kicking out: this time, by the mother of his son, who refused to allow him any share in the child from the moment she discovered she was pregnant. In a reckless moment, Desmond decides to drive off in search of them; his wife having kept his car, he travels in his work vehicle, a coach.

I began with a little synopsis because it's important to have the context of the story. The coach, for example, is a major player in this novel. It moves the plot forward, provides comic relief, and most importantly emphasises the quirkiness of Desmond's character. More on him in a minute. It also is a haven, the one constant in a life turned upside down.

I found Desmond very endearing. In some ways he's just an ordinary, fairly nondescript bloke, but he has a vulnerability and a way of approaching things that is slightly to the side. It's done very subtly by the author, which makes for a compelling read. The characters are all very realistic and alive. Along his journey Desmond meets many different people and the interactions are a joy.

I don't want to give spoilers of course, but I found the ending satisfying and in keeping with the book's hopeful tone. Desmond really takes his destiny into his own hands and moves from being a passive, slightly hard done by man into one who is comfortable in his own skin. I really enjoyed that.

A couple of minor criticisms: I did find the story became a little repetitive towards the end, but shortly after things picked up. I also wasn't keen on the cursing, as well as some crudities that I could have done without. The story overall was good, though, a blend of simplicity and good jokes that I enjoyed.

Let's talk about the narrator. Rory Barnett did a phenomenal job. He was Desmond. The novel is written in first person and Barnett got Desmond's voice spot on: a bit weary, a bit injured, but with a doggedness that drove him on. I think the narration made the book and I wouldn't recommend consuming it any other way. Barnett did the other characters really well too, including the women: he performed it, not just a straight reading although it was the unabridged audiobook. He made it feel like a play.

In conclusion, a really nice offering from Deborah Moggach. I believe this is an early work from 1988 originally, but I think it's aged well although it is firmly set in the 80s with a lot of pop culture references and attitudes. I'm really glad I listened to it.

I received an arc so thank you to Netgalley and the publishers. I provided this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

Driving in the Dark by Deborah Moggach was originally published in 1988.

The book centres on Desmond, a former driving instructor turned coach driver whose marriage to Laney his wife has come to an end. She has unceremoniously thrown him out of the marital home. Now Desmond is forced to live in a flat above one of his brother-in-law’s shops in London. He isn’t happy in his new situation.

Reaching a crossroads in his life, he decides to seek out his estranged son Edward. (Desmond had a relationship with Edwards’ mother, Leslie, before he married Lannie. Lelsley however didn’t want Desmond in her life and wanted to raise Edward on her own.) Desmond sets off in the coach he drives for work to find his son that he has never met. His chases down leads and travels across London and then zigzagging across the country chasing clues.

Whilst being sympathetic to Desmond’s quest of wanting to find his son and have a meaningful relationship with him, I couldn’t really warm to him. I found him quite a bitter man and his attitude toward women quite awful. The book itself was written and set in the 1980s, and it does contain attitudes of the time, which are quite different to attitudes today. I had to remind myself of this several times whilst listening to the audiobook in order to continue listening.

I was initially attracted to listening to the book due to the artwork of the cover, which gave me the impression might have a “cosy” feel to the book. I also wanted to read the book based on the blurb - I thought that the book might be literally a journey of redemption as Desmond seeks out his son Edward. I felt somewhat misled by the blurb and the artwork on the book’s cover.

The book however was expertly narrated by Rory Barnett.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bolinda Audio, for making this e-audio-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. (2.5 rounded up to 3/5)

Desmond is disillusioned. His wife has just thrown him out and although he enjoys his job driving coaches that is all he has left. He does however have a son from a brief relationship with a woman who didn't let him see the son, just sent a picture. Desmond didn't try very hard to change this and he now regrets it. He has built up a narrative of what his son, Edward is like and how his childhood so far has been.

He makes a snap decision to search for Edward in his huge coach and spends time travelling around places in England while we learn more about Desmond and his views. The book was set and written in the 80s which is why it sounds authentic for that time but the story is slow going with not much going on and feels repetitive at times. Having said that it was enjoyable enough.

The narrator was perfect for Desmond and I would listen to other books read by him.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bolinda for the DRC.

Thank you to Bolinda audio, the author and NetGalley for a LRC in exchange for an honest review.

Before I start my review I need you to consider something. If you are the kind of person who can easily employ suspension of disbelief then by all means carry on and read this book - you will love it! If, however, you are the kind of person who cannot resist the urge to scream out "That's ridiculous!" mid read and consequently throw the book against the wall, then you should probably put this book back on the shelf and walk away, as there are a couple of things that are just plain preposterous - in the real world there would be severe consequences to these actions but they are just glossed over. Apart from this glaring oversight, Driving in the dark, first published in 1988, is a gentle tale about one man's emotional, psychological and quite literal journey, after his wife throws him out of the marital house. Desmond, embarks on a quest across the UK to try and track down the son he's never known (Quite why he has only thought to do this after 11 years is beyond me but hey, who am I to judge!). I say 'quest', as this book can be said to fit the 'knight-errant' archetype, in that Desmond wanders alone across the country on his steed (his coach) in a quest to find a lost person (his Son Edward) with time to reflect on his failures and become a better person.

The narration by Rory Barnett was a perfect match. I will certainly seek out more titles enriched by his dulcet tones. I would also encourage you to go and read his Blog - there is a very interesting article entitled 'My On-Air Duel with an AI Audiobook Narrator'.

In short, Desmond ambles through Ambleside like a man out of step with the world, chasing shadows of the life he might have lived.

Along with my Amazon review, this is a SPOILER-FREE review.
Please note that my review on GOODREADS is slightly different and contains a spoiler right at the end and is therefore clearly marked with a spoiler warning ⚠

What a lovely book. Deborah Moggach‘s book follows a coach driver searching for the son he has never met. Along the way he has mundane adventures coloured vibrantly by quirky characters. A perfect summer read

I decided to have a change from my usual diet of crime fiction and really enjoyed this tale of a coach driver looking for his son. Written in the first person, from the perspective of Desmond, the driver, this is a story about marriage, breakups and fatherhood. I loved listening to the tale of Desmond's quest which takes him all around the country. One minute it is laugh out loud funny, and the next incredibly sad. Deborah Moggach is a great writer and I will definitely be seeking out her other books.

I really enjoyed the narration by Rory Barnett who brought the character of Desmond to life.

Deborah is one of my favourite authors and I was intrigued to listen to this book, published some years ago, to see how her writing has changed. The answer is that she has always been a brilliant author, with such fantastic characterisation. This was a superb story amplified by brilliant narration.

3.5/4
This is a new, audiobook, edition of a title from 1988 about a man who has never quite understood the world. It feels like a sad tale about a man who never really understood the motives of those he chose to surround himself with or lived up to the expectations.
I liked the narration, and the voice for the main character seems appropriate. Some of the others characters accents sounded (to my ears) acceptable, but others just weren't attempted.
The story itself still works, but Desmond's attitudes are slightly at odds with today's sentiments, however, I suppose that is in part the point of the story. I do feel that his constantly roving quest to find his son became a little repetitive by the second half of the tale and it was only because I wanted to see if he eventually arrived, that I stuck with it to the end.
We not only learn more about Desmond as the story progresses, but also delicate snapshots of the lives of those he encounters on his travels. The author does seem to have a gift for examining human nature, and this is the great strength and secret delight of this book.

I thought the premise of this story sounded interesting. The narration seems right for Desmond, the central character, on a quest to find the son he’s never seen. But I found him dull and rather uninteresting and the flat nasal delivery became more of an irritation than an interest. I don’t know why this story just didn’t deliver for me. It became rather contrived and far fetched as he roamed the country in a coach, with various encounters which helped him on his mission to locate his son. I didn’t feel excitement about developments and whilst it’s very well written, this failed to keep my attention. A rather generous 3* as it’s probably just not to my taste rather than the story or author lacking.
My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

'Driving in the Dark' is a simple but highly effective and moving story about an ordinary man - maybe even a dull man - reflecting on his life and trying to change his fortunes. Desmond is a coach driver, a decent, hardworking man who only ever tries to please people. He hasn't succeeded with his wife, the tempestuous Eleni, who throws him out of his own home on a whim. Nor did he succeed with Lesley, the mother of the son he has never met, who had no interest in including him in her life as a parent. But driven to the brink of despair, he makes a snap decision to drive off - in his employer's coach - and try to track down his boy before it's too late.

Desmond is a really likeable, sympathetic character. He's the sort of person who has spent his whole life being nothing but harmless and decent, and has had that exploited and thrown back at him by selfish people. He is bewildered and disappointed by life and other people, a bit angry too, but not in a dangerous way. His quest to find his lost son takes him all around the country, following up the most tenuous links as he tracks the child from temporary home to another, meeting all sorts of people along the way. Often like him they are bit beaten up by life.

It's set in the 1990s (it's not a story that would work well in the age of social media and the internet) and I found it quite nostalgic. The pacing is good - it's neither breathless nor dragging -and it's often funny. Moggach writes quite realistically - Desmond is a convincing middle aged working class man, despite Moggach not being that herself. The observation is spot on and there are plenty of insightful comments throughout. It was only let down a bit by the ending which I found rather unconvincing.

The narration on the audiobook is excellent, the narrator having a voice that's pleasant to listen to and sounds just like I'd imagine Desmond to sound. He doesn't go over the top with different voices, but you can tell the characters apart. The pacing is good and he keeps the pitch even too - I'm not a fan of shouty narration. The story works really well as an audiobook and I'm glad I listened to it rather than read it as I think I enjoyed it more in that format.

If you like character driven stories with a good premise and plot as well, or are interested in 90s nostalgia, this is a great choice, and I'd recommend it in audio form.

Driving in the Dark was an enjoyable entertaining audio book. Desmond sometimes made me exasperated, sometimes emotional and he occasionally made me snigger out loud. A naive man's somewhat unique view of life, marriage and fatherhood. Overall though I liked him.
At first I didn't like the narrator's voice but he became Desmond and he was adept at changing for other characters, singing and even yodelling.
For me it was a lovely nostalgic look back at the world before technology.

I loved this! It really reminded me of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, combined with The List of Suspicious Things. Super good, super heartfelt and super recommended!

I wasn’t sure about the narrator at first but soon realised the voice was actually perfect for Desmond. I enjoyed the tale but didn’t find anything particularly original about it. These sort of books always seem entertaining in a gentle easy sort of way.

Desmond is disillusioned. A coach driver, recently separated from his wife after telling her about the child he’s never met, the product of a brief fling with a client 11 years ago. With nothing left to lose Desmond takes the coach on a detour through England to track the boy down.

Driving in the dark is a fairly short novel, told in the first person, Desmond shares his discontent, and sometimes his self loathing. A quiet, Everyman sort of tale, in which I suppose Desmond is the hero, but the side characters he picks up along the way actually steal the show.

I enjoyed the narration on this title, it felt appropriate for the story and the characters.

I note that the title is several years old, and I assume is being newly audiofied, I love this we need more recordings of older titles, but I did wonder if it may have had slightly more impact on me had I read it on its original release. I feel there have been a lot of Desmond like characters in the years in between.


My gratitude to Bolinda Audio via NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧