• Mrs Pargeter's Principle

  • By: Simon Brett
  • Narrated by: Simon Brett
  • Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (135 ratings)

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Mrs Pargeter's Principle  By  cover art

Mrs Pargeter's Principle

By: Simon Brett
Narrated by: Simon Brett
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Publisher's summary

For Mrs Pargeter, it is a matter of principle that she should complete any of her late husband's unfinished business. Amongst his many bequests, perhaps the most valuable is his little black book, in which he listed all the people who ever worked for him, with details of their particular skill sets. This means that whenever Mrs P has a crime to solve, she can readily contact someone with the relevant expertise.

Attending the funeral of the respected Sir Normington Winthrop, because his name is in the book, Mrs Pargeter sets out to discover the connection between Sir Normington and her late husband. Her investigations will draw her into a shady world of gunrunners, shifty politicians - and a kidnapped vicar.

©2015 Simon Brett (P)2016 Isis Publishing Ltd

What listeners say about Mrs Pargeter's Principle

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

More Mrs. Pargeter, Please!

As much as I enjoy the Feathering series, I find Mrs. Pargeter is truly more to my taste: a lovely cozy heroine in a lovely cozy mystery. If you are a fan of a Dorothy Gilman's books, I think you will enjoy this as well. I am just sad that there are (so far) no other books of this series available on Audible. Audible, are you listening?

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Going back to "Fethering"

I have enjoyed most of the books in the "Fethering" series by this author, so I thought I'd try one of these books. I won't be listening to another. Firstly, I found the protagonist to be annoyingly gullible. Secondly, there were too many characters in this book to keep track of. Therefore, for me, this was not an easy listen. I like to listen while I'm going about my daily chores, and I found myself thinking, "who is this guy?" Nope. Going back to Fethering.
For those who are interested, there are no sexual situations nor vulgar language in this book

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fun start, PC finish!

What did you like best about Mrs Pargeter's Principle? What did you like least?

I liked her resourcefulness but hated that she was only open-minded with liberal ideology but judgmental with traditional. Example: the vicar who slept with his housekeeper was portrayed as good-natured and funny but businessmen and women were portrayed as money-hungry and snobbish.

Would you be willing to try another book from Simon Brett? Why or why not?

I don't know. If I could figure out whether or not he would try to beat me over the head with his political viewpoint I would consider it.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Narration was good.

Could you see Mrs Pargeter's Principle being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Only if the story-line were written more balanced.

Any additional comments?

The main characters were written well.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Silly story

Kind of weak. Silly characters. But I'll keep on listening to anything read by Simon Brett!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Gratifying Escapism

This is one of the best in the series that I have listened to so far, along with "Mrs. Pargeter's Point of Honor". These stories are not realistic mysteries or likely in any way - rather they are just how I would like a story to turn out - pure fantasy in fact. There is an appropriate amount of suspense and danger, but lots of easygoing conversation among mostly pleasant, friendly and caring people. Problems are solved with plenty of money, good food and drink, and Mrs. Pargeter's well-meaning interference actually works! And one of the best things is how long they are - good value for the money! You can see the ending coming miles away but still it's quite gratifying when the bad guys are defeated, and the good characters we have grown fond of find love by the time the book ends.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Repetitive and Tedious

I have enjoyed past entries in the Mrs. Pargeter series but found this one very difficult to listen to—boring and repetitive. The series has lost its charm for me.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful performance!

it's just so rewarding to hear a piece of writing read as the author intended. Simon Brett brought the characters that he created with such tour de force that it whetted my appetite for more. i love the story, the humour, and the wonderfully realized characters in this novel.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Made my top 10 in Genre and my library goes back many years

The most wonderful thing is the characters. You can see them and visualize saying: “want to have lunch next week?” This is rare. And I should know as I suspect my library over last years nears 1000 listens. Don’t miss this. There are not enough stars to rate this one!!! I cannot wait to tell my friends of this discovery.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just right

Simon Brett is a master. All the elements combine to form a magnificent potion — better than champagne.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not For Me

Not For Me ! Story does not make sense. Cannot get into it. It is seldom I do not finish a book but just cannot listen to this. Can I give this book back ?

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