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Yvette

San Jose, CA, United States

ratings
885
REVIEWS
31
FOLLOWING
1
FOLLOWERS
42
HELPFUL VOTES
185

  • The Banishment

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By Marion Chesney
    • Narrated By Jill Tanner
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (41)
    Performance
    (17)
    Story
    (17)

    Marion Chesney’s beloved Daughters of Mannerling series showcases the proud and lovely daughters of Sir William and Lady Beverley--six exceedingly beautiful and privileged young ladies. Isabella’s first season in London is a disaster, with not a single offer of marriage. All possible suitors find her dull, while she believes none of the contenders for her affections are worth catching. Making matters worse, her father gambles away the family fortune and their opulent estate at Mannerling to the roguish Mr. Judd.

    Marcheta says: "reminded me of Georgette Heyer's books"
    "Great book ... the first of a great series!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I loved this book! It is well written (by Marion Chesney, aka Marion Chesney (M.C.) Beaton) & well read by Jill Tanner. I ran across it (& a few more of the same series) in the Public Library several years ago, and have not been able to find the recordings anywhere since. I have enjoyed it more each time that I have listened to it, which is (in my opinion) one of the hallmarks of a very good book.

    Audible, PLEASE get the rest of this series!!!

    3 of 3 people found this review helpful
  • The Harper's Quine

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 25 mins)
    • By Pat McIntosh
    • Narrated By Andrew Watson
    Overall
    (3)
    Performance
    (3)
    Story
    (3)

    At the May Day dancing at Glasgow Cross, Gil Cunningham sees not only the woman who is going to be murdered, but her murderer as well. Gil is a recently qualified lawyer whose family still expect him to enter the priesthood. When he finds the body of a young woman in the new building at Glasgow Cathedral he is asked to investigate, and identifies the corpse as the runaway wife of cruel, unpleasant nobleman John Semphill. With the help of Maistre Pierre, the French master-mason, Gil must ask questions and seek a murderer in the heart of the city.

    Yvette says: "I really enjoyed this book!"
    "I really enjoyed this book!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Thanks to those who recommended this book to those who enjoyed the Brother Cadfael books. They were right. I loved this book from beginning to end, and Andrew Watson did a really great job. I will be following the entire series.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Death in Kenya

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 2 mins)
    • By M. M. Kaye
    • Narrated By Robin Miles
    Overall
    (4)
    Performance
    (3)
    Story
    (4)

    When Victoria Caryll is offered a position at Flamingo, her aunt's family estate in Kenya's Rift Valley, she accepts - knowing full well that the move will give her a chance to see Eden DeBrett once again, the man she was previously engaged to. But she doesn't realize that coming to her aunt's home will introduce her to an unstable region still recovering from the bloody Mau Mau revolt, and to a household thrown into grief by a recent murder.

    Yvette says: "Great Mystery!"
    "Great Mystery!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Great mystery by M M Kaye, and great reader in Robin Miles. And, I didn't guess the murderer.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Terrible Tide

    • UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By Charlotte MacLeod
    • Narrated By Christina Frank
    Overall
    (4)
    Performance
    (4)
    Story
    (4)

    Holly Howe is just beginning to succeed in the cutthroat world of New York modeling when a car accident ruins her good looks forever and she is forced to retreat to the backwoods of Canada, to recuperate in her brother’s ramshackle country house. But Howe Hill is a wreck - dusty, ugly, and utterly lacking in modern facilities - and her brother is no more hospitable. So when Holly hears of a job in town taking care of Mrs. Partlett, an elderly, widowed invalid, she leaps at the opportunity. If nothing else, the Partlett mansion must have indoor plumbing....

    Cheryl says: "A cozy mystery by MacLeod ruined by poor reader."
    "Great story, but ..."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I read this years ago in a library book, and enjoyed it so much that I hunted it down in a used book store. It is another of Charlotte McLeod's fun, well written, and very well plotted, stand alone mysteries. However, it was almost ruined by the reader & the bad production values.

    I suspect that Christina Frank could have done a better job, but it seemed like they recorded the first read-through, instead of letting her go through it a few times to become familiar with the text and punctuation before recording. My opinion of the bad production quality was reinforced by several small dubbed-over sentences here and there. The dubbed-over bits were significantly louder than the surrounding parts, and the dubbing was also a little bit echoed.

    I enjoyed the story, but I wish that Audible would use better production teams to do their recordings. I am getting increasingly hesitant to buy Audible's recordings of some of my old favorites. I am never sure if they have bothered to find good readers & good production teams.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Come Away, Death

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 52 mins)
    • By Gladys Mitchell
    • Narrated By Patience Tomlinson
    Overall
    (9)
    Performance
    (8)
    Story
    (8)

    Sir Rudri Hopkinson, an eccentric amateur archaeologist, is determined to recreate ancient rituals at the temple of Eleusis in Greece in the hope of summoning the goddess Demeter. He gathers together a motley collection of people to assist in the experiment, including a rival scholar, a handsome but cruel photographer and a trio of mischievous children. But when one of the groups disappears, and a severed head turns up in a box of snakes, Mrs Bradley is called upon to investigate.

    Yvette says: "Great book, but you have to pay attention!"
    "Great book, but you have to pay attention!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    If you liked other Mrs Bradley mysteries, you should like this one. But if you don't pay careful attention to everything going on, you might think that it is a travel log with a little mystery at the end. Gladys Mitchell includes the necessary information to solve the mystery, but she has hidden it in a wealth of detail. I enjoyed it very much, especially Patience Tomlinson's reading of it.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
  • A Pint of Murder: Madoc & Janet Rhys, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 56 mins)
    • By Charlotte MacLeod
    • Narrated By William Dufris
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (32)
    Performance
    (28)
    Story
    (27)

    Old Agatha Treadway baked her own bread, canned her own vegetables - and died of botulism in her very own kitchen. Accident, says Dr. Druffitt. Murder, says neighbor Janet Wadman. And says it again when she finds the doctor dead, too. Detective Inspector Madoc Rhys, of the royal Canadian Mounted Police, agrees. But who's the killer...? The town miser, who wants the one thing only Mrs. Treadway could have given him? The miser's son who's panting for the doctor's daughter? Widow Druffitt, who's holding secret meetings with unlikely people? The hired girl who listens at keyholes? The hired man who hides in haylofts?

    connie says: "cute Canadian cozy"
    "At Last!!! A Charlotte MacLeod mystery novel!!!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    This is a great cozy mystery written in Charlotte MacLeod's gently humerous way. She wrote around three dozen intelligent, funny, carefully crafted mystery novels in her lifetime, in more than one series, and some stand-alones. I have been hoping for years that Audible would get some of them, and they finally have one. I enjoyed it immensely, and I really hope that the rest of this series (Madoc & Janet Rhys series) will be recorded & be made available on Audible, too. William Dufris did a great job as reader!

    And please, Audible, try to acquire Charlotte MacLeod's "Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn" series. It was recorded by Books On Tape, and read by Mary Peiffer. (I requested them a few years ago, but no luck so far.)

    5 of 5 people found this review helpful
  • The Pigeon Pie Mystery: A Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 39 mins)
    • By Julia Stuart
    • Narrated By Hannah Curtis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (56)
    Performance
    (46)
    Story
    (45)

    When Indian Princess Alexandrina is left penniless by the sudden death of her father, the Maharaja of Brindor, Queen Victoria grants her a grace-and-favor home in Hampton Court Palace. Though rumored to be haunted, Alexandrina and her lady's maid, Pooki, have no choice but to take the Queen up on her offer. Aside from the ghost sightings, Hampton Court doesn't seem so bad. The princess is soon befriended by three eccentric widows who invite her to a picnic with all the palace's inhabitants, for which Pooki bakes a pigeon pie. But General-Major Bagshot dies after eating said pie....

    Yvette says: "The best thing I've heard for ages!!!"
    "The best thing I've heard for ages!!!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    The Pigeon Pie Mystery is wonderful! Julia Stuart has written a funny, "cozy" mystery. It is an extremely well researched story full of wonderfully complex characters who interact with each other in unexpected, yet completely believable, ways. The author makes you really care about her characters. The setting is a real place, and by the end of the book you feel like you have been there, too.

    Hannah Curtis is a totally perfect reader for this. You never have to guess which character is speaking, as her characterization is remarkably good, without ever being overdone. And her accents are pitch-perfect.

    I enjoyed it hugely, and did not guess who "done it" before the end. It was definitely worth the credit, and I will listen to it again.

    15 of 15 people found this review helpful
  • When Maidens Mourn: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery, Book 7

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 19 mins)
    • By C. S. Harris
    • Narrated By Davina Porter
    Overall
    (52)
    Performance
    (45)
    Story
    (44)

    Best-selling author C.S. Harris has received numerous awards for her historical fiction. Set in Regency England, this seventh series installment finds aristocratic investigator St. Cyr and his reluctant bride, Hero Jarvis, entangled in a dangerous mystery involving the myth of King Arthur and Camelot.

    Judith A. Weller says: "A Regency Mystery which is a Great Read."
    "Wonderful book! Wonderful author!!!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    There is a reason that a lot of Audible members have given this book five stars - it is Fantabulous!!! The author is amazing. The characters are very well-rounded & complex. The reasearch must have been exhaustive. The reader has, as is usual for Davina Porter, done a wonderful job of bringing this book to life.

    I have just one question ... When do we get the rest of the books in this series??? This is the seventh, and Audible also has the sixth. Please, please, please tell me that we will get the first five books also.

    5 of 5 people found this review helpful
  • Surfeit of Lampreys

    • ABRIDGED (3 hrs and 40 mins)
    • By Ngaio Marsh
    • Narrated By Anton Lesser
    Overall
    (29)
    Performance
    (11)
    Story
    (10)

    The Lampreys revel in their eccentricity and entertain their guests with complicated charades. But when one game goes wrong and rich Uncle Gabriel is found murdered in a most grizzly manner, the only person capable of solving the crime is Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn.

    Yvette says: "Good ... But what did they leave out?"
    "Good ... But what did they leave out?"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I enjoyed this book, but I only got this version because there was no unabridged version available. This is an interesting book, with some wonderfully creapy bits toward the end. It is also very well read by Anton Lesser.

    My only problem is that I just keep wondering "what did they leave out?". I want the unabridged version. I have looked around for it in other places, I and I just can't find one. I would really appreciate it if Audible could get, or produce, an unabridged version of this book.

    5 of 5 people found this review helpful
  • The Deception

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By Marion Chesney
    • Narrated By Jill Tanner
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (17)
    Performance
    (17)
    Story
    (16)

    Ever since Sir William gambled away Mannerling, the revered family estate, the Beverley daughters have tried to marry well enough to recover their home. Abigail’s two older sisters have failed, so she develops a plan to recover Mannerling once and for all. She sets her sights on Harry Devers, the wicked son of the estate’s current owner.

    Yvette says: "A fun addition to a great series!"
    "A fun addition to a great series!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    This is a charming and funny story. It is not the very best of the six in this series, but it is well worth the credit. The reader is one of the best things.

    I have greatly enjoyed this series, but I can't understand why Audible does not have ALL SIX! Each book can stand alone, but there are several underlying stories, & a few mysteries, that follow the length of the series. Without all six, the series has a big gap in the middle & NO ENDING!!!!!!! What will happen to the youngest sister ... and what will happen to the house (clearly evil)? Will it burn down??? Will the house entice another family/owner to their doom??? Will we ever know?????????? And what the heck is the governess' real identity?????

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
  • The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 55 mins)
    • By Susan Wittig Albert
    • Narrated By Peggity Price
    Overall
    (34)
    Performance
    (22)
    Story
    (22)

    Nominated for both the Agatha and Anthony awards, national best-selling author Susan Wittig Albert introduces a garden club of lady sleuths in Depression-era Alabama. The Darling Dahlias have just inherited a new clubhouse and garden, complete with two beautiful cucumber trees. But before long, these genteel ladies must unravel the mystery about what’s buried beneath one of these trees and the enigma of the dead body that soon turns up.

    M. Byerly says: "Reminiscent of a more simple way of life"
    "Enjoyed it! But ..."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I really did enjoy this book, but I couldn't help thinking (at the end) that it needed fewer plants & more character development.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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