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Historical

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connie
connie Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

trying to see the world with my ears

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  • The Face of a Stranger: A William Monk Novel #1

    "promising start to the series"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I'm very glad to see this first book of the Inspector Monk series on Audible. Every time I finish an Anne Perry mystery I wish she had edited the thing just once more to tighten dialogue or tidy plot points, but I keep downloading them. They are engaging, with good setting details of Victoian England and fairly interesting characters. She is not a mistress of atmosphere like P D James, but Perry does consistently create better than average atmospheric light historical mysteries without graphic sex or violence and without too much of the dark side.

    Even if you're not enough of a Perry fan to contemplate listening to the entire series, this first instalment has added interest due to the brain injury of the protagonist and a slightly earlier setting than Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. By the way, whoever wrote the publisher's summary in the product description obviously did not read the book--Monk's antagonist is his brain injury irself-- that's what most makes this book worth reading.

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    The Face of a Stranger: A William Monk Novel #1

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 23 mins)
    • By Anne Perry
    • Narrated By Davina Porter
    Overall
    (370)
    Performance
    (236)
    Story
    (230)

    A tragic accident leaves Inspector Monk with amnesia just moments after he solves the murder of a popular Crimean war hero. Forced to redo his entire investigation, a frustrated Monk faces a desperate murderer who will do anything to keep the inspector from discovering the truth twice.

    connie says: "promising start to the series"
  • Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson

    "the best of both Holmes"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I think this listen would please both Holmes traditionalists (because it honours Conan Doyle's style, characterization and voice) as well as those of us who prefer contemporary re-imaginings of the Holmes' character (her prose is more snappy; she inserts more contemporary psychology, but not in an anachronistic fashion). Like Conan Doyle, the author paints the streets of London so vividly that they almost become a character.

    The dialogue is brisk and often humourous; Watson is an intelligent friend, not a buffoon. I had avoided the listen because novels using the Ripper murders can be grisly, but this, while "anatomically correct," avoids sensationalism. The story turns a bit Hollywood towards the end, however, so to me it falls short of 5 star historical detective ficiton.

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    Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 22 mins)
    • By Lyndsay Faye
    • Narrated By Simon Vance
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (973)
    Performance
    (666)
    Story
    (668)

    Breathless and painstakingly researched, this is a stunning debut mystery in which Sherlock Holmes unmasks Jack the Ripper. Lyndsay Faye perfectly captures all the color and syntax of Conan Doyle’s distinctive nineteenth-century London.

    Wadie says: "Excellent!"
  • Except the Dying: A Murdoch Mystery, Book 1

    "Gritty not grisly; above average Vi..."

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    Performance
    Story

    I am biased because I LOVED the Canadian setting -- but that could make this series of interest to other fans of the rapidly-multiplying Victorian-set mystery genre: the Toronto setting helps the listen keep some of the genre cliches at bay. The strength of the novel is its depiction of the daily grind of the poor - The author goes beyond trite description and into the chamber pots and privies. It's also the kind of police procedural that describes more scenes of tea drinking conversations than Hollywood-hopeful action.

    Parts of the listen make it identifiably a first novel, but I really look forward to the rest of the series for summer listening. I am undecided about the narrator - it sounds like a site-read job, but he seems to handle some of the regional accents well and with imagination.

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    Except the Dying: A Murdoch Mystery, Book 1

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    • By Maureen Jennings
    • Narrated By David Marantz
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    (28)
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    In the cold Toronto winter of 1895, the naked body of a servant girl is found frozen in a deserted laneway. The young victim was pregnant when she died. Detective William Murdoch soon discovers that many of those connected with the girl's life have secrets to hide. Was her death on attempt to cover up a scandal in one of the city's influential families?

    connie says: "Gritty not grisly; above average Victorian mystery"
  1. The Face of a Stranger: A...
  2. Dust and Shadow: An Accou...
  3. Except the Dying: A Murdo...
    4. .

A Peek at Jeanette Finan's Bookshelf

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Jeanette Finan
Little Rock, Arkansas 22 REVIEWS / 144 ratings Member Since 2009 3 Followers / Following 2
 
Jeanette Finan's greatest hits:
  • Garment of Shadows: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, Book 12
    Garment of Shadows: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, Book 12

    "Be Careful What You Wish For"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I complained last time when she wrote the Pirate book, can't even remember the name of it now, and wrote a rather snippy review and posted it on both amazon and audible about how I thought it was all fluff and no bite.

    Well folks, I guess the old adage "be careful what you wish for" is true because this one is certainly full of edges. There is certainly a lot more Holmes in this one but the readers who are hoping for a heating up of the relationship between Holmes and Russell are still going to be disappointed. Holmes does not wear his heart on his sleeve and neither does he allow readers to rummage through his private feelings to see if he has any. If he does they are definitely private. Actually I love this about him. It's so true to the Holmes Canon.

    Anyway, the book had so many edges, some of them convoluted that it took me until the end of the book to really figure out was really going on and then I wasn't exactly sure I approved of them. I got a real dose of midleastern politics during 1924 and that helped me get a handle on some of what was going on.

    I am going to give this book 4 1/2 stars in my journal not because I am downgrading the book it's self but because I'm not exactly sure that Holmes, Russell and the Hazar brothers should have been involved in this kind of "game". Just me probably.

    ps: What's with that "other dude" anyway? This is the 12 book in the series for heaven's sake. We don't need someone coming in and being a different voice for Holmes at this late date. Bad idea whoever it was that had it.

  • Leaving Everything Most Loved: Maisie Dobbs, Book 10
    Leaving Everything Most Loved: Maisie Dobbs, Book 10

    "Out of the ball park again"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Leaving Everything Most Loved

    Winspeare said that this was book was going to change the entire playing field and the woman did not lie. She changed almost everything we were familiar with over the course of the book.

    I have loved every one of these stories even when I got a little annoyed with the character of Maisie for clinging to tightly to her past and not moving on as fast as I thought she ought to. I am no longer annoyed. Plus she managed to change everything while leaving all the bare bones of the series firmly in place. This book just came out and I am already wishing for the next one.

    And as for the mystery, I didn't figure it who-done-it until the very end. I absolutely love twisty mysteries and this one had a grand twist at the end. The book reminds us that regardless of how much we want to see Masie and James wrapped in each others arms Winspeare is a mystery writer and any romance that floats by is strictly secondary and is meant to advance the plot only.

    I grew up watching Perry Mason mystery in the early days of TV and my brother and I competed every week to see which one of us could figure out the Grand Denouement first. I'll admit I had an advantage over him for a while because whoever casted the shows had a weakness for weak chins and all I had to do was look to see which character had one and I had the killer. But eventually he figured this out for himself and I had to fall back on thinking which is not usually my brain's default position.

    And I say this in every review that I write for the Maisie books. Winspeare is probably better than any other writer of mysteries set in this era. She does such a good job of setting the atmosphere of time and place that the reader is left as fly on wall as they experience the story in whatever format they have chosen.

    And, as a personal note to whoever reads this comment. I know I am sounding a little gushy but if you have read any of my journal entries in the past you know that I pretty much call them as I see them. It has gotten me quite a few negative votes on amazon and a few on audible. But happily I am not running for election to anything and I paid for my book and am not obligated to write a positive review for anyone so I will continue always to call them as I see them.

  • A Lesson in Secrets: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
    A Lesson in Secrets: A Maisie Dobbs Novel

    "A worthy edition to the series"

    Overall
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    Story

    In this book Masie is asked by the Secret Service to take a job at Cambridge as a Philosophy professor at a college dedicated to the furthering of peace. Masie is tasked with the job of finding out if the staff or students are part of the Communist party and are engaged in activities that are a threat to the Government.

    Maisie is not there more than a day or two before a man is murdered and Scotland Yard is called into investigate. Maisie engages in a delicate dance between investigating subversives for the Secret Service and assisting Scotland Yard (unasked) solve the murder. Maisie turns up a group of students sympathetic to the growing SDP in Germany and warns the Secret Service about their activities. The Secret Service is more concerned with ferreting out Communists than they are Fascists and this creates a certain amount of conflict between Maisie and the SS. At that point my brain switched over to real life and I remembered that it was in just this very period in time that Trinity College in Cambridge was the place that The Cambridge Five met and were recruited by the Soviets and became the most effective espionage agents against the British and American interests in the history of spydom. Using 20/20 hindsight perhaps the SS and Winspear should have expanded Maisies mission to include both groups. But then no one had a clue at the time that that nest of vipers was forming its self so I guess being clueless is appropriate.

    This book is not heavy on plot. The main mystery was the murder and the spy hunt merely peripheral it seemed to me. Meantime, back at the ranch (London) another mystery develops and is left to Billy to investigate. I thought that much more could have been done with this mystery but perhaps Winspear thought Maisie had her hands to full already.

    But is was a lovely visit into Maisie's world. Winspear is a master at creating an atmosphere that drips with authenticity and her secondary characters new and old are always credible

  • Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, Book 9
    Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, Book 9

    "Slightly Flawed"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I ended up kind of conflicted about this story after I finished it. On one hand I liked it very much but there were a couple of things that bugged me. One of them was that some of the character's started taking pot shots at Maisie regarding the way she was handling her new found wealth. They were telling her that trying to help some of the people she cared about was putting them under an obligation to her that was not a good thing. Masie would not be where she is if not for this kind of generosity from Maurice, Lady Compton and to some extent Pricilla. I kind of felt like they were trying to keep her in her place as if they were afraid she would move on with her life and leave her working class background behind like this was some kind of a bad thing.

    As a result I thought that then Maisie, never very secure about herself anyway, over reactes with what seemed to me with teenage angst (and believe me I have seen enough teen age angst to recognize it when I see it) and started clutching her working class background like a hair shirt she was afraid to take off for fear she wouldn't be normal anymore unless she was itching. As a result poor James ended up in the crossfire. Maisie needs to pull herself together, grow a tougher skin and grow up a little.

    But I thought the mystery was good and I could see the basis for some darn good stories in the future. And as ever, Windspeare does a stellar job of nailing the time and place. She obviously is as fascinated with that era as I am.

Jean
Jean Santa Cruz, CA, United States 07-04-11 Member Since 2010

I am an avid eclectic reader

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  • Flying Colours

    "Flying Colours"

    5 of 5 helpful votes

    I have almost finished the Patrick O'Brian series of Capt Aubrey and was looking for something similar in the Audible library when I came across C.S. Forester. I remember the movies about Hornblower but realised I had never read the books. This was most enjoyable story, Hornblower is captured by the French and is on way to Paris to be executed when he escapes. Lots of suspense and information on the French and English navies. Christian Rodska does a good job narrating the story. Looking forward to reading all of this series.

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    Flying Colours

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By C. S. Forester
    • Narrated By Christian Rodska
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    (119)
    Performance
    (83)
    Story
    (83)

    Hornblower becomes a national hero when he escapes a French firing squad. But the 'Terror of the Mediterranean' becomes Europe's most wanted man, forced to fight alone for England - and liberty.

    Jean says: "Flying Colours"

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  • 5.0 (13 ratings)
    SPQR V: Saturnalia
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    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
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    This eagerly awaited fifth book in John Maddox Roberts's Edgar-nominated historical mystery series once again takes the reader back to the Rome of Julius Caesar and the Roman Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger. Decius has won himself a reputation as both an investigator and, most unfortunately, a bit of a playboy. Having been banished by his family for sometimes embarrassing activities to a rather leisurely lifestyle on Rhodes, he is puzzled to be suddenly and unexpectedly summoned home to assist in an investigation.

    Bonnie says: "Each story in series gets better"
  • 4.8 (12 ratings)
    SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion
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    SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 2 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
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    Julius Caesar, as we know, arrived in Gaul (now France) and announced "I Came, I Saw, I Conquered." But when Decius Metellus arrives from Rome, not seeking military glory but rather avoiding an enemy currently in power, he finds that although the general came and saw, so far, at least, he has far from conquered. The campaign seems at a standstill. Decius' arrival disappoints the great Caesar as well. He has been waiting for promised reinforcements from Rome, an influx of soldiers to restart his invasion. Instead he is presented with one young man ridiculously decked out in military parade finery and short on military skills.

    Bonnie says: "I do so enjoy historical novels"
  • 4.9 (10 ratings)
    The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
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    The Affair of the Porcelain Dog

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 6 mins)
    • By Jess Faraday
    • Narrated By Philip Battley
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    London, 1889. For Ira Adler, former rent-boy and present plaything of crime lord Cain Goddard, stealing back the statue from Goddard's blackmailer should have been a doddle. But inside the statue is evidence that could put Goddard away for a long time under the sodomy laws, and everyone's after it, including Ira's bitter ex, Dr. Timothy Lazarus.

    Susie says: "Sherlock Holmes Meets Oscar Wilde"
  • 4.3 (1217 ratings)
    A Royal Pain: A Royal Spyness Mystery
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    A Royal Pain: A Royal Spyness Mystery

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Rhys Bowen
    • Narrated By Katherine Kellgren
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    The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess and conveniently place her in the playboy prince's path, in the hopes that he might finally marry.

    But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise.

    Coffee Lover says: "More Royal Fun!"
  •  
  • 4.4 (1050 ratings)
    Royal Flush: A Royal Spyness Mystery
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    Royal Flush: A Royal Spyness Mystery

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 31 mins)
    • By Rhys Bowen
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    With its posh clientele in the country for the summer, Georgie's housecleaning business has fizzled. So she tries hiring herself out as a dinner and theatre companion. But her first client has quite the wrong idea. To avoid further scandal, Georgie's shipped home to Castle Rannoch, where her summer plans include honoring a promise to Her Majesty to keep Castle Rannoch's divorcedhouseguest from seducing the Prince of Wales.

    Charles says: "Best of the Early Spyness Novels"
  • 4.3 (1019 ratings)
    The Curse of the Pharaohs: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 2
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    The Curse of the Pharaohs: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 2

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 36 mins)
    • By Elizabeth Peters
    • Narrated By Barbara Rosenblat
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    The sun rides high over the British Empire and the light still sparkles brightly in Amelia Peabody's eye as she returns for her second adventure in archaeology and romantic mystery as recounted in her lively journal, The Curse of the Pharaohs.

    Stephen says: "Loved It!"
  • 4.4 (942 ratings)
    Naughty in Nice: A Royal Spyness Mystery
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    Naughty in Nice: A Royal Spyness Mystery

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 12 mins)
    • By Rhys Bowen
    • Narrated By Katherine Kellgren
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    Lady Georgiana Rannoch has once again been called into service by Her Majesty the Queen. This time she's sent to Nice on a secret assignment that's nothing to sneeze at: recover the Queen's stolen snuff box. As much of an honor as it is to be trusted by Her Majesty, an even greater honor awaits Georgie in Nice - as Coco Chanel herself asks Georgie to model her latest fashion. But when a necklace belonging to the Queen is stolen on the catwalk, Georgie has to find two priceless items-and solve a murder. How's a girl to find any time to go to the casino?

    Zielinski says: "Lots of good fun"
  • 4.3 (772 ratings)
    The Wrecker
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    The Wrecker

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 23 mins)
    • By Clive Cussler
    • Narrated By Scott Brick
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    It is 1907, a year of financial panic and labor unrest. Train wrecks, fires, and explosions sabotage the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascades express line and, desperate, the railroad hires the fabled Van Dorn Detective Agency. Van Dorn sends in his best man, and Bell quickly discovers that a mysterious saboteur haunts the hobo jungles of the West, a man known as the Wrecker, who recruits accomplices from the down-and-out to attack the railroad, and then kills them afterward.

    Henry says: "A Must Listen"
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  • 4.4 (727 ratings)
    The Mummy Case: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 3
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    The Mummy Case: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 3

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 56 mins)
    • By Elizabeth Peters
    • Narrated By Barbara Rosenblat
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    The indomitable Amelia Peabody and her husband, known to many as "the Father of Curses", are into archaeology and mischief again. This third in the series brings the reader once more into Egypt and the shady world of black market antiquities. The winter excavation season has hardly yet begun when Amelia stumbles onto what looks suspiciously like a ring of thieves.

    Leanna says: "Excellent!"
  • 4.3 (659 ratings)
    The Race: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 4
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    The Race: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 4

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Clive Cussler, Justin Scott
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    It is 1910, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than 50 days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates - an intrepid woman named Josephine Frost - and that's where Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in.

    Clint says: "Up, Up, Josephine..."
  • 4.5 (597 ratings)
    Lion in the Valley: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 4
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    Lion in the Valley: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 4

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 12 mins)
    • By Elizabeth Peters
    • Narrated By Barbara Rosenblat
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    Amelia Peabody, archaeologist and woman extraordinaire, should have greeted the approaching excavation with transports of joy. Nothing in the world could compare with exploring the muddy, musty corridors of some bat-infested pyramid. And at Dahshoor, to which she was headed, there existed some particularly fine specimens.

    Coffee Lover says: "A Delicious Confection"
  • 4.5 (586 ratings)
    The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 7
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    The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 7

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 54 mins)
    • By Elizabeth Peters
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    This adventure transports Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson to Amarna, the rustic desert site where the two archaeologists first met, beginning the 13-year association that would take them from mayhem to murder in the Egyptian outback.

    Molly says: "Great Series, Greatest Narrator"

Best Sellers

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  • The Hangman's Daughter
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    • Oliver Pötzsch , Lee Chadeayne (translator)

    The Hangman's Daughter

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Oliver Pötzsch, Lee Chadeayne (translator)
    • Narrated By Grover Gardner
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    When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. When more children disappear and an orphan is found dead with the same mark, the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt. Before the unrest forces him to torture and execute the woman who aided in the birth of his children, Jakob must unravel the truth.

    Judith A. Weller says: "Gripping Medieval Mystery"
  • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
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    The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

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    It is the summer of 1950 and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia's family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw.

    Midi says: "Terrific story...spot-on narration"
  • The Eagle Has Landed: Liam Devlin, Book 1
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    The Eagle Has Landed: Liam Devlin, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 53 mins)
    • By Jack Higgins
    • Narrated By Michael Page
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    It was to become known as the most daring enemy mission of the entire war: Operation Eagle, SS Reichsfurher Heinrich Himmler's audacious plan to kidnap Winston Churchill on British soil in November 1943.

    Dave says: "The Eagle has Landed"
  • The Tudor Secret: The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles, Book 1
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    The Tudor Secret: The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By C. W. Gortner
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    The summer of 1553 is a time of danger and deceit. Brendan Prescott, an orphan, has been reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family. Brought to court, Prescott finds himself sent on an illicit mission to the king’s brilliant but enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth. But Brendan is soon compelled to work as a double agent by Elizabeth’s protector, William Cecil, who promises in exchange to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.

  •  
  • The Anatomist’s Apprentice: The Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries, Book 1
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    The Anatomist’s Apprentice: The Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By Tessa Harris
    • Narrated By Simon Vance
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (79)
    Performance
    (68)
    Story
    (68)

    The death of Lord Edward Crick has unleashed a torrent of gossip through the seedy taverns and elegant ballrooms of Oxfordshire. Few mourn the dissolute young man - except his sister, the beautiful Lady Lydia Farrell. When her husband comes under suspicion of murder, she seeks expert help from Dr. Thomas Silkstone, a young anatomist from Philadelphia. Thomas arrived in England to study under its foremost surgeon, where his unconventional methods only add to his outsider status. Against his better judgment, he agrees to examine Lord Edward’s corpse.

    Sires says: "Gruesome but Deftly Plotted"
  • Farthing: Small Change, Book 1
    Play Farthing: Small Change, Book 1
    Farthing: Small Change, Book 1
    UNABRIDGED

    Farthing: Small Change, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 46 mins)
    • By Jo Walton
    • Narrated By John Keating, Bianca Amato
    Overall
    (71)
    Performance
    (57)
    Story
    (61)

    One summer weekend in 1949 - but not our 1949 - the well-connected "Farthing set", a group of upper-crust English families, enjoy a country retreat. Lucy is a minor daughter in one of those families; her parents were both leading figures in the group that overthrew Churchill and negotiated peace with Herr Hitler eight years before....

    Michael says: "Great Fiction and Excellent Readers"
  • A Pale Horse
    Play A Pale Horse
    A Pale Horse
    UNABRIDGED

    A Pale Horse

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 45 mins)
    • By Charles Todd
    • Narrated By Simon Prebble
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (162)
    Performance
    (81)
    Story
    (80)

    Late on a spring night in 1920, five boys cross the Yorkshire dales to the ruins of Fountains Abbey, intent on raising the Devil. Instead, they stumble over the Devil himself, sitting there watching them. Terrified, they run for their lives, leaving behind a book on alchemy stolen from their schoolmaster. The next morning, a body is discovered in the cloisters of the abbey--a man swathed in a hooded cloak and wearing a gas mask.

    Marie says: "A wild ride"
  • The Striker: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 6
    Play The Striker: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 6
    The Striker: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 6
    UNABRIDGED

    The Striker: An Isaac Bell Adventure, Book 6

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Clive Cussler, Justin Scott
    • Narrated By Scott Brick
    Overall
    (181)
    Performance
    (160)
    Story
    (156)

    It is 1902, and a bright, inexperienced young man named Isaac Bell, only two years out of his apprenticeship at the Van Dorn Detective Agency, has an urgent message for his boss. Hired to hunt for radical unionist saboteurs in the coal mines, he is witness to a terrible accident that makes him think that something else is going on, that provocateurs are at work and bigger stakes are in play. Little does he know just how big they are. Given exactly one week to prove his case, Bell quickly finds himself pitted against two of the most ruthless opponents he has ever known.

    tristan says: "Excellent, really enjoyed this one."
  •  
  • The Cold, Cold Ground
    Play The Cold, Cold Ground
    The Cold, Cold Ground
    UNABRIDGED

    The Cold, Cold Ground

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 3 mins)
    • By Adrian McKinty
    • Narrated By Gerard Doyle
    Overall
    (604)
    Performance
    (504)
    Story
    (498)

    Adrian McKinty was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. He studied politics and philosophy at Oxford before moving to America in the early 1990s. Living first in Harlem, he found employment as a construction worker, barman, and bookstore clerk. In 2000 he moved to Denver to become a high school English teacher and it was there that he began writing fiction.

    Alan says: "What a stunning book"
  • His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 3
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    His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 3
    UNABRIDGED

    His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 3

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 28 mins)
    • By Susan Elia MacNeal
    • Narrated By Susan Duerden
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive–a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad–and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine. Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war–and of her own past.

  • The King's Deception: A Cotton Malone Novel, Book 11
    The King's Deception: A Cotton Malone Novel, Book 11
    UNABRIDGED

    The King's Deception: A Cotton Malone Novel, Book 11

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By Steve Berry
    • Narrated By Scott Brick
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Cotton Malone and his 15-year-old son, Gary, are headed to Europe. As a favor to his former boss at the Justice Department, Malone agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to England. But after he is greeted at gunpoint in London, both the fugitive and Gary disappear, and Malone learns that he’s stumbled into a high-stakes diplomatic showdown - an international incident fueled by geopolitical gamesmanship and shocking Tudor secrets.

  • The Attenbury Emeralds
    Play The Attenbury Emeralds
    The Attenbury Emeralds
    UNABRIDGED

    The Attenbury Emeralds

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 34 mins)
    • By Jill Paton Walsh
    • Narrated By Edward Petherbridge
    Overall
    (160)
    Performance
    (92)
    Story
    (91)

    The recovery of the magnificent gem in Lord Attenbury's dazzling heirloom launched a shell-shocked young aristocrat on his career as a detective in 1921. Thirty years later, a happily married Lord Peter has just shared the secrets of that mystery with his wife, the detective novelist Harriet Vane. Suddenly, the new Lord Attenbury—grandson of Lord Peter’s first client—seeks his help to prove who owns the emeralds.

    Michael says: "Classic Sayers"

New Releases

(More Historical New Releases) All Historical New Releases
  • The Queen's Cure
    Play The Queen's Cure
    The Queen's Cure
    UNABRIDGED
    • Karen Harper

    The Queen's Cure

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By Karen Harper
    • Narrated By Katherine Kellgren
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    In late summer of 1562, within a bedchamber at Whitehall Palace, Elizabeth Tudor prays for the recovery of the delirious, fever-racked friend who has served her for twenty-six of her twenty-nine years. Ten days later, with loyal, handsome Lord Robert Dudley by her side, the queen leads her retinue to London’s Royal College of Physicians to enlist two learned doctors in the raging battle against disease and pestilence.

  • Embassy Row: A Mycroft Holmes Novel, Book 2
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    Embassy Row: A Mycroft Holmes Novel, Book 2
    UNABRIDGED

    Embassy Row: A Mycroft Holmes Novel, Book 2

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 28 mins)
    • By Quinn Fawcett
    • Narrated By Alan Stanford
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Paterson Guthrie, Mycroft Holmes' secretary, is accompanying his employer to secret negotiations with the Japanese, intended to secure England's position in Japanese-controlled waters. But many highly placed Englishmen do not wish to ally themselves with a people they consider inferior, and the Japanese are wary of close ties with a society they find increasingly hostile. And why is the flirtatious Miss Gatspy, sometime spy, sometime assassin, lurking around the embassy - is she after information, or Guthrie?

  • Against the Brotherhood: A Mycroft Holmes Novel, Book 1
    Play Against the Brotherhood: A Mycroft Holmes Novel, Book 1
    Against the Brotherhood: A Mycroft Holmes Novel, Book 1
    UNABRIDGED

    Against the Brotherhood: A Mycroft Holmes Novel, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 21 mins)
    • By Quinn Fawcett
    • Narrated By Alan Stanford
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Acknowledged by Sherlock Holmes himself as the smarter brother, and gifted with even greater powers of observation than the famous consulting detective, Mycroft Holmes appears in only four stories in the Canon and remains an enigmatic figure wrapped in the mysteries of international politics and conspiracies. Now, in Against the Brotherhood, we learn of Mycroft's secrets throught the eyes of his new secretary, Patterson Guthrie.

  • Take, Burn, or Destroy: Adventures of Charles Hayden, Book 4
    Play Take, Burn, or Destroy: Adventures of Charles Hayden, Book 4
    Take, Burn, or Destroy: Adventures of Charles Hayden, Book 4
    UNABRIDGED

    Take, Burn, or Destroy: Adventures of Charles Hayden, Book 4

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 19 mins)
    • By S. Thomas Russell
    • Narrated By Nick Boulton
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    1794, the height of the French Revolution - Charles Hayden sets off aboard the ill-fated HMS Themis with orders to destroy a French frigate sailing from Le Havre and to gather intelligence from a royalist spy. On discovering French plans for an imminent invasion of England, Hayden must return to Portsmouth to give warning before it’s too late. But the enemy has been lying in wait for him, and so begins a dangerous chase out into the Atlantic and into the clutches of a powerful French squadron. After a thwarted attempt to masquerade as French sailors, Hayden and his officers are taken prisoner.

  •  
  • His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 3
    Play His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 3
    His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 3
    UNABRIDGED

    His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 3

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 28 mins)
    • By Susan Elia MacNeal
    • Narrated By Susan Duerden
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive–a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad–and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine. Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war–and of her own past.

  • The Price of Numbers
    Play The Price of Numbers
    The Price of Numbers
    UNABRIDGED
    • Thomas K. Carpenter

    The Price of Numbers

    • UNABRIDGED (55 mins)
    • By Thomas K. Carpenter
    • Narrated By Tim Elliott
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    When the Magistrate of the Rhakotis District calls Heron of Alexandria - the greatest inventor the city has ever known - to help him solve a curious disturbance involving the Temple of Bacchus and an agitated numerologist, he learns the true cost of numbers.

  • Dragnet: Old Time Radio - 380 Episodes
    Play Dragnet: Old Time Radio - 380 Episodes
    Dragnet: Old Time Radio - 380 Episodes
    ORIGINAL
    • Frank Burt , James E. Moser , John Robinson

    Dragnet: Old Time Radio - 380 Episodes

    • ORIGINAL (137 hrs and 54 mins)
    • By Frank Burt, James E. Moser, John Robinson
    • Narrated By Jack Webb, Barton Yarborough, Ben Alexander, and others
    Overall
    (0)
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    (0)
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    Dragnet was perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama in media history. The series gave millions of audience members a feel for the boredom and drudgery, as well as the danger and heroism, of real-life police work.

    Actor and producer Jack Webb's aims in Dragnet were for realism and unpretentious acting. He achieved both goals, and Dragnet remains a key influence on subsequent police dramas in many media.

  • Lost Among the Angels: Five Star First Edition Mystery
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    Lost Among the Angels: Five Star First Edition Mystery
    UNABRIDGED
    • Alice Duncan

    Lost Among the Angels: Five Star First Edition Mystery

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 16 mins)
    • By Alice Duncan
    • Narrated By Darlene Allen
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Historical cozy mystery set in Los Angeles, CA, in 1926. Mercy Allcutt, Boston Brahmin, wants to experience life in all its grittiness. How better than by working for a down-on-his luck PI in Hollywood? Once she discovers what PI actually stands for, she knows Mr. Ernest Templeton is the boss for her. Together, they must cope with a stray child, kidnapping, blackmail, murder, a toy poodle, a vamp, a stalker, Mercy's overactive imagination and Ernie's strong protective streak.

  •  
  • The Scarlet Thief
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    The Scarlet Thief
    UNABRIDGED
    • Paul Fraser Collard

    The Scarlet Thief

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 18 mins)
    • By Paul Fraser Collard
    • Narrated By Dudley Hinton
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
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    (0)

    1854: The banks of the Alma River, Crimean Peninsular. The Redcoats stagger to a bloody halt. The men of the King's Royal Fusiliers are in terrible trouble, ducking and twisting as the storm of shot, shell, and bullet tear through their ranks. Officer Jack Lark has to act immediately and decisively. His life and the success of the campaign depend on it. But does he have the mettle, the officer qualities that are the life blood of the British Army? From a poor background Lark has risen through the ranks by stealth and guile and now he faces the ultimate test....

  • The Traitors' Pit
    Play The Traitors' Pit
    The Traitors' Pit
    UNABRIDGED
    • V. M. Whitworth

    The Traitors' Pit

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 50 mins)
    • By V. M. Whitworth
    • Narrated By Laurence Kennedy
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Young cleric, Wulfgar, does not believe that his older brother is capable of treason. Yet Wystan stands accused of plotting to overthrow King Edward and place his cousin, Seiriol, on the throne. It is clear that Seiriol intends to lead an army to conquer Leicester, and he appears unstoppable. With the army gathering force, can Wulfgar unearth the evidence to exonerate his brother before he suffers a traitor's death...?

  • A Man Without Breath
    Play A Man Without Breath
    A Man Without Breath
    UNABRIDGED
    • Philip Kerr

    A Man Without Breath

    • UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 12 mins)
    • By Philip Kerr
    • Narrated By Paul Hecht
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Winter, 1943. Bernie Gunther has left the Criminal Police and is working for the German War Crimes Bureau based in Berlin. Reports have been circulating of a mass grave, discovered deep in the Katyn Forest. Rumour has it that the grave is full of Polish officers murdered by the Russians - perfect propaganda for Germany. But it needs a detective of subtle skill to investigate this horrific discovery. Cue Bernie Gunther...

  • Warlord: The Outlaw Chronicles, Book 4
    Play Warlord: The Outlaw Chronicles, Book 4
    Warlord: The Outlaw Chronicles, Book 4
    UNABRIDGED

    Warlord: The Outlaw Chronicles, Book 4

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 36 mins)
    • By Angus Donald
    • Narrated By Mike Rogers
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    May 1194: Richard the Lionheart is in Normandy, locked in a long and bloody war with the French. By his side are Robert Odo, Earl of Locksley - the former outlaw Robin Hood - and Sir Alan Dale, Robin's protégé, a musician and warrior of great renown. As battles rage and bodies pile up, Alan embarks on a mission to track down the man who ordered his father's death 10 years earlier. But the trail leads him to Paris, deep in the heart of enemy territory - where even Robin might not be able to rescue him.