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The Consequence
To rogue ex-cop Jack Carlin, running a thug out of town and giving his stolen money to a kid struggling to escape the criminal lifestyle is all in a day’s work. Until it turns out the money belonged to a dangerous drug cartel seeking revenge against anybody who might have been involved in taking what was theirs.
With his act of charity ending in bloodshed, Jack won’t let the killers – or his guilty conscience – go unpunished. But how far is he willing to go to enact his own revenge plan? And what happens when the consequences start to hit a little too close to home?
From the best-selling author of The Hunted, The Consequence is a tense, darkly funny thriller about the limits of taking the law into your own hands.
With his act of charity ending in bloodshed, Jack won’t let the killers – or his guilty conscience – go unpunished. But how far is he willing to go to enact his own revenge plan? And what happens when the consequences start to hit a little too close to home?
From the best-selling author of The Hunted, The Consequence is a tense, darkly funny thriller about the limits of taking the law into your own hands.
Audible Audio
Published September 9, 2021
6 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Gabriel Bergmoser
18 books267 followersGabriel Bergmoser is a Melbourne based author and playwright. After starting out in the youth theatre scene with his early plays Windmills, Life Without Me and Hometown, Gabriel completed his Masters of Screenwriting at the Victorian College of the Arts. He co-founded the independent production company Bitten By Productions, entering the Melbourne theatre scene with the one-act comedy Reunion and the futuristic Babylon Trilogy of noir thrillers. Gabriel's 2015 Beatles comedy We Can Work It Out opened to sell out shows and rave reviews – it has also been performed in Queensland and returned to Melbourne stages for the 2018 Fringe Festival.
In 2015 he won the prestigious Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award for his pilot screenplay based on Windmills and was flown to the International Emmys in New York to accept. The same pilot was later nominated for the Monte Miller Award. In 2016 his first young adult novel, Boone Shepard, was published by Bell Frog Books; it was later shortlisted for the Readings Young Adult Prize the day after the sequel, Boone Shepard's American Adventure was released. The third book, Boone Shepard: The Silhouette and the Sacrifice, was released in 2018 and a television adaptation is currently in development with Pirate Size Productions.
His 2016 plays The Lucas Conundrum, Regression and The Critic opened to excellent reviews while his early 2017 play Springsteen sold out its entire season. His play Heroes was nominated for the 2017 Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing and went on to win several awards, including five for Best Production and three for best script, on the 2017 VDL One Act Play Festival circuit. His first musical, Moonlite (featuring original songs by Dan Nixon) was performed as part of the 2018 Midsumma Festival; it received rave reviews, sold out its entire season, and was later selected for the highly sought after Home Grown Grassroots development initiative. His 2019 play, The Trial of Dorian Gray, sold out its entire season, was extended, then sold out again. Several of his plays have been published by Australian Plays.
In 2019 Gabriel signed a two book deal with Harper Collins, with the first, The Hunted, scheduled for publication in July 2020. The Hunted will be published in the UK by Faber with translation rights having sold to Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Italy and France. The film adaptation is currently being developed in a joint production between Stampede Ventures and Vertigo entertainment in Los Angeles, with Gabriel writing the screenplay. He has since signed a second two book deal with Harper for his YA coming of age novel The True Colour of Little White Lies and a follow up.
In 2015 he won the prestigious Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award for his pilot screenplay based on Windmills and was flown to the International Emmys in New York to accept. The same pilot was later nominated for the Monte Miller Award. In 2016 his first young adult novel, Boone Shepard, was published by Bell Frog Books; it was later shortlisted for the Readings Young Adult Prize the day after the sequel, Boone Shepard's American Adventure was released. The third book, Boone Shepard: The Silhouette and the Sacrifice, was released in 2018 and a television adaptation is currently in development with Pirate Size Productions.
His 2016 plays The Lucas Conundrum, Regression and The Critic opened to excellent reviews while his early 2017 play Springsteen sold out its entire season. His play Heroes was nominated for the 2017 Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing and went on to win several awards, including five for Best Production and three for best script, on the 2017 VDL One Act Play Festival circuit. His first musical, Moonlite (featuring original songs by Dan Nixon) was performed as part of the 2018 Midsumma Festival; it received rave reviews, sold out its entire season, and was later selected for the highly sought after Home Grown Grassroots development initiative. His 2019 play, The Trial of Dorian Gray, sold out its entire season, was extended, then sold out again. Several of his plays have been published by Australian Plays.
In 2019 Gabriel signed a two book deal with Harper Collins, with the first, The Hunted, scheduled for publication in July 2020. The Hunted will be published in the UK by Faber with translation rights having sold to Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Italy and France. The film adaptation is currently being developed in a joint production between Stampede Ventures and Vertigo entertainment in Los Angeles, with Gabriel writing the screenplay. He has since signed a second two book deal with Harper for his YA coming of age novel The True Colour of Little White Lies and a follow up.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 8, 2021
*audiobook*
First impression of Gabriel Bergmoser's writing...if you like dark, gritty, descriptive (especially of cringe-inducing events/scenes), twisty, with great characterisation, this is for you!
If you don't, well...you know what to do (or rather, not do).
The author paints quite a bleak picture of (fictional) Melbourne organised crime. If the real thing is half as messed up as he makes it sound, well...
I quite enjoyed being inside the head of Jack Carlin, for the most part. And I really did feel sorry for him. Which is more than I can say for most of the other characters. Although I would understand if you couldn't handle too much of the bleak tone of this story at once. It can be a bit much at times.
One thing that particularly impressed me was how fast paced it was, always engaging. It just flew by... I don't remember a dull moment!
I could also do with more of narrator Gregory Caine in my life! Especially for this kind of story. His voice was perfect for the role, and really brought out the different characters' personalities.
I tried to think of negatives, of which there was really only one. The language was pretty colourful, so if that's not your thing, this may not be for you.
I have a few other GB books on my Want To Read shelf, and The Consequence has me excited for those!
First impression of Gabriel Bergmoser's writing...if you like dark, gritty, descriptive (especially of cringe-inducing events/scenes), twisty, with great characterisation, this is for you!
If you don't, well...you know what to do (or rather, not do).
The author paints quite a bleak picture of (fictional) Melbourne organised crime. If the real thing is half as messed up as he makes it sound, well...
I quite enjoyed being inside the head of Jack Carlin, for the most part. And I really did feel sorry for him. Which is more than I can say for most of the other characters. Although I would understand if you couldn't handle too much of the bleak tone of this story at once. It can be a bit much at times.
One thing that particularly impressed me was how fast paced it was, always engaging. It just flew by... I don't remember a dull moment!
I could also do with more of narrator Gregory Caine in my life! Especially for this kind of story. His voice was perfect for the role, and really brought out the different characters' personalities.
I tried to think of negatives, of which there was really only one. The language was pretty colourful, so if that's not your thing, this may not be for you.
I have a few other GB books on my Want To Read shelf, and The Consequence has me excited for those!
December 28, 2022
Bergmoser's The Hunted was such a great read and this Audible freebie, although short, proves that book was no fluke.
In The Consequence, ex-cop Jack spends his days basically single-handedly taking on organised crime in Melbourne. His methods are not what most would consider morally or lawfully acceptable but they tend to be effective nevertheless.
Even if the plot is a little basic, the characterisation is excellent. And with Bergmoser's pacing and skill for writing action scenes, there's no chance to get bored.
Although the main storyline is resolved, there is enough of an open ending for Bergmoser to revisit Jack.
3 1/2, heading towards a 4 of 5
In The Consequence, ex-cop Jack spends his days basically single-handedly taking on organised crime in Melbourne. His methods are not what most would consider morally or lawfully acceptable but they tend to be effective nevertheless.
Even if the plot is a little basic, the characterisation is excellent. And with Bergmoser's pacing and skill for writing action scenes, there's no chance to get bored.
Although the main storyline is resolved, there is enough of an open ending for Bergmoser to revisit Jack.
3 1/2, heading towards a 4 of 5
September 22, 2022
5 stars for the Audible exclusive thriller.
From the author of The Hunted (which was one of my favourite books read last year) we get another hard hitting and brutal tale from the darkest places of Australia's underworld.
Ex-cop Jack Carlin tries to do an honourable thing in a world where honour means nothing and soon finds the good deed he attempted just brings chaos and death to his life.
The action in this one is fast paced and gritty and having these scenes read to you rather than conjuring them up in your own head really ramps up the adrenaline.
As much as I love a physical book I'm in no way adverse to audiobooks, I do however like to have a book to read along with the narrator. It's a minor criticism here that takes nothing away from the full star score.
A great adventure from a excellent thriller writer of a new breed. This makes me want to jump into The Inheritance immediately so if you've not read or listened to any Bergmoser yet then please do..... NOW!
From the author of The Hunted (which was one of my favourite books read last year) we get another hard hitting and brutal tale from the darkest places of Australia's underworld.
Ex-cop Jack Carlin tries to do an honourable thing in a world where honour means nothing and soon finds the good deed he attempted just brings chaos and death to his life.
The action in this one is fast paced and gritty and having these scenes read to you rather than conjuring them up in your own head really ramps up the adrenaline.
As much as I love a physical book I'm in no way adverse to audiobooks, I do however like to have a book to read along with the narrator. It's a minor criticism here that takes nothing away from the full star score.
A great adventure from a excellent thriller writer of a new breed. This makes me want to jump into The Inheritance immediately so if you've not read or listened to any Bergmoser yet then please do..... NOW!
November 10, 2022
One of my recent audio book listens, THE CONSEQUENCE by Gabriel Bergmoser features hardman, rogue ex-cop Jack Carlin who's the sort of bloke that finds running thugs out of town, and handing over all of the money he stole to a struggling kid de rigueur. The drug cartel, whose money it was, isn't quite so laid back about the whole thing, and their idea of revenge is swift and deadly.
Leaving Carlin with a couple of big problems - a guilty conscience and a desire for some revenge of his own. Hence the title of this hard-boiled, hard-nosed, gritty outing available from Audible.
It's a fast paced novella (just shy of 4 hours listening time), full of morally ambiguous goings on, gritty and pointed, dotted with some non-too-deep introspection, bucket loads of violence and mayhem, and a mandatory fraught family backstory to give Carlin a bit more depth than you'd originally think was going to show up.
The hassle with all audio books of course, is the voice of the narrator, and this one comes with an Australian accent so broad I was tempted to look under the couch for the ghost of Chips Rafferty. It might be that this alone makes for a bit of a challenge for younger readers / listeners used to a more urban version of the local lingo. But press on if you can, the story is worth it, and it really feels like a movie script in the making.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
Leaving Carlin with a couple of big problems - a guilty conscience and a desire for some revenge of his own. Hence the title of this hard-boiled, hard-nosed, gritty outing available from Audible.
It's a fast paced novella (just shy of 4 hours listening time), full of morally ambiguous goings on, gritty and pointed, dotted with some non-too-deep introspection, bucket loads of violence and mayhem, and a mandatory fraught family backstory to give Carlin a bit more depth than you'd originally think was going to show up.
The hassle with all audio books of course, is the voice of the narrator, and this one comes with an Australian accent so broad I was tempted to look under the couch for the ghost of Chips Rafferty. It might be that this alone makes for a bit of a challenge for younger readers / listeners used to a more urban version of the local lingo. But press on if you can, the story is worth it, and it really feels like a movie script in the making.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
February 1, 2022
4.5 stars
A retired cop tries to do something for a kid in trouble, which then backfires terribly drawing him into a chaotic web of the Australian underworld.
I first come across Gabriel Bergmoser on an old fantastic podcast 'Movie Maintenance', which was a group of aspiring writers who made story pitches to fix film duds (think clever remade versions of flops like Suicide Squad, Indiana Jones 4 etc). Gabe's story ideas on the podcast were always fun engaging pitches full of clever twists and strong character development.
Searching through Audible looking for a new book to listen to, I was stoked to find that Gabe had managed to make the leap to successful published author. The Consequence is a short novel, but manages to still pack a real punch. We're pulled into the moral grey world of Jack Carlin who still can't help but involve himself with the criminal underworld after getting kicked off the force. The narrative moves at an intense pace, yet still kept me trying to work out the core mystery from start to finish.
Very enjoyable, will be sure to find more of Mr Bergmoser's books.
A retired cop tries to do something for a kid in trouble, which then backfires terribly drawing him into a chaotic web of the Australian underworld.
I first come across Gabriel Bergmoser on an old fantastic podcast 'Movie Maintenance', which was a group of aspiring writers who made story pitches to fix film duds (think clever remade versions of flops like Suicide Squad, Indiana Jones 4 etc). Gabe's story ideas on the podcast were always fun engaging pitches full of clever twists and strong character development.
Searching through Audible looking for a new book to listen to, I was stoked to find that Gabe had managed to make the leap to successful published author. The Consequence is a short novel, but manages to still pack a real punch. We're pulled into the moral grey world of Jack Carlin who still can't help but involve himself with the criminal underworld after getting kicked off the force. The narrative moves at an intense pace, yet still kept me trying to work out the core mystery from start to finish.
Very enjoyable, will be sure to find more of Mr Bergmoser's books.
October 8, 2021
This is the first of Bergmoser's books I have listened to as an audiobook, and it works so much better this way. A fast paced, murder mystery that streaks past you, keeping you involved in the story right to the end.
In Parts 3 and 4, the author writes some very nice lines where the main character examines his life. These lines propel this audiobook into a new zone, which I am grateful for. The story is gritty and dark, living in the streets of Melbourne. For a while, I found the over-used Australian accent a bit too much, but by the time the story kicked in, I was used to it and actually started to like it.
I will be looking for another one of Bergmoser's novels. I am still of the opinion that these were written to be made into movies, so the imagery within them is thin, but the story makes up for that, and would allow for them to be made anywhere. A great listen.
In Parts 3 and 4, the author writes some very nice lines where the main character examines his life. These lines propel this audiobook into a new zone, which I am grateful for. The story is gritty and dark, living in the streets of Melbourne. For a while, I found the over-used Australian accent a bit too much, but by the time the story kicked in, I was used to it and actually started to like it.
I will be looking for another one of Bergmoser's novels. I am still of the opinion that these were written to be made into movies, so the imagery within them is thin, but the story makes up for that, and would allow for them to be made anywhere. A great listen.
September 2, 2025
In this audiobook, we’re introduced to ex-rogue cop Jack Carlin—a straight-talking, no-nonsense bloke who knows how to hold a grudge. When a simple act of ‘justice’ lands him in the crosshairs of a brutal drug cartel, Jack is forced to confront not only the killers but also his own guilty conscience.
True to Gabriel Bergmoser’s style, The Consequence is gritty, darkly funny, and relentlessly fast-paced. Jack Carlin is a character who grabs you from the first scene, and the twists keep you hooked until the very end.
If you’re after a thriller that packs equal parts grit, humour, and suspense—this one is a must-listen. 5/5
True to Gabriel Bergmoser’s style, The Consequence is gritty, darkly funny, and relentlessly fast-paced. Jack Carlin is a character who grabs you from the first scene, and the twists keep you hooked until the very end.
If you’re after a thriller that packs equal parts grit, humour, and suspense—this one is a must-listen. 5/5
September 24, 2021
An excellent, gritty thriller set in the dark underbelly of Melbourne. Full of suspense and packed with some innovation action, this story was made all the better by Greg Caine's fantastic narration. Thanks to Gabe for supplying me with a free review copy. If you've got audible, get onto this (it's free for members).
October 5, 2022
For Jack Carlin, leaving the police force doesn't mean that he's done running drug dealers out of town. But his rogue attitude and bold moves have caught the attention of one of Melbourne's infamous drug cartels, and soon their hot on his tail and looking for revenge.
This one was a fun, quick read that I enjoyed listening to over a few hours of travel.
This one was a fun, quick read that I enjoyed listening to over a few hours of travel.
October 25, 2023
I was hoping that this would come out in print so I could add it to the overall page count but nonetheless this is still a fantastic listen. It is very dark, a crime story that easily blends facets of the true horror sub genre. But a really enjoyable story that finds you rooting for characters despite the decisions they make.
September 22, 2021
A thrilling journey from beginning to end. The gritty, visceral imagery and story hooked me in from page 1. This is a must read!
dnf
April 23, 2022Not grabbing me at all.
July 28, 2022
What a totally different to The hunted… I could still get the sense it was Gabriel’s writing but the plot of this one was not as interesting sadly
October 5, 2022
Enjoyed this book, wasn’t as into the story line as the Hitchhiker but still enjoyed it.
October 11, 2022
I finished this a few days ago and can’t even remember what happened in it.
October 28, 2022
Loved this audiobook. Another engaging fabulous read by Gabriel. I love everything written by this author. Narrated really well. Highly recommend!
November 22, 2022
A true Australian Ripper, that never lets up for Ex Cop turned Vigilante of Justice Jack Carlin. I hope there are more books with this character because I feel Jack is just getting started.
October 22, 2025
Jack Carlin out here doing the criminal underworld job for them 🤭
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews