• The Bookseller

  • The First Hugo Marston Novel
  • By: Mark Pryor
  • Narrated by: Michael Prichard
  • Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (213 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Bookseller  By  cover art

The Bookseller

By: Mark Pryor
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Max - an elderly Paris bookstall owner - is abducted at gunpoint. His friend Hugo Marston, head of security at the U.S. embassy, looks on helplessly, powerless to do anything to stop the kidnapper. Marston launches a search, enlisting the help of semiretired CIA agent Tom Green. Their investigation reveals that Max was a Holocaust survivor and later became a Nazi hunter. Is his disappearance somehow tied to his grim history, or even to the mysterious old books he sold?

On the streets of Paris, tensions are rising as rival drug gangs engage in violent turf wars. Before long, other booksellers start to disappear, their bodies found floating in the Seine. Though the police are not interested in his opinion, Marston is convinced the hostilities have something to do with the murders of these bouquinistes.Then he himself becomes a target of the unknown assassins.

With Tom by his side, Marston finally puts the pieces of the puzzle together, connecting the past with the present and leading the two men, quite literally, to the enemy's lair. Just as the killer intended.

©2012 Mark Pryor (P)2013 Tantor

What listeners say about The Bookseller

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    90
  • 4 Stars
    80
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    92
  • 4 Stars
    60
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    85
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The summary is a spoiler that muddles

Purchased this as Whispersync through Book Gorilla.
Forget the summary; it skews the timeline.
Simply take Paris, American Embassy security chief on vacation,a good friend who is bookseller, rare books which are not what they seem, a reporter who is not what she seems, local cops who are not what they seem, an old friend who is CIA retired, and several murders. And be prepared to become addicted to Hugo Marsden's way of things (with plot twists).
Michael Prichard does a fine job of differentiating characters and adding snark.

My great disappointment is that there are no more of this series available on audio!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

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

Waiting For Books 2 & 3

This is a compelling story set in Paris. Just wish the whole series was on Audible, and that the narrator was more like David Collaci, a personal favorite.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

Enjoyable, but slow

I enjoyed the Bookseller. My first time reading this author.
Hugo and his counterparts made for a good team and
story. It just moved a little slow.

If you enjoy a book that takes its time getting there,
then this will be a nice leisure, read. Nice and tidy
wrap up at the end. With just some minor twists.

Yes, I will read the next, when\if available. [Smile]

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

Good, solid beginning for a series.

Mark Pryor crafts a mystery from seemingly unrelated murders, rare book intrigue, corrupt police, and drug trade in Paris. Hugo Marston, who works for the US Embassy, gets pulled in when a friend disappears and the police abruptly close the file. The twisted trail through the disparate clues and, initially, the lack of belief/cooperation from the police make for several mysteries that eventually are sorted out and wrapped up.

This is a good beginning installment for a series; I hope the next two books are on Audible soon.

I was not familiar with this narrator, but his performance is more than adequate.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Moves Quickly!

Loved it! Could not stop listening! Finished in one weekend! A must to download and listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

When was this written?

The history and visual descriptions of Paris were cool but I felt like the characters came out of the 1950s. The main character couldn’t so much as look up a phone number without calling his secretary and it didn’t help that the narrator sounded like he was broadcasting a sports event over the radio from the 50’s. The inflection was terrible. I was hoping this series would replace Louise Penny’s series since I have read them all but nope.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Good story in a lovely setting

I enjoyed the author's portrayal of Paris, and especially the background of the booksellers. Who knew that the folks selling used books along the Seine were part of a long, long tradition, and the spots were so difficult to come by. The story was good, too, and overall I liked that as well. What interfered in the full enjoyment was the reader., Michael Prichard has a great voice and there was nothing inherently wrong with his delivery. The problem is that his voice sounded considerably old relative to the age of the book's narrator and this made the listening somewhat jarring.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Set in Paris

What didn’t you like about Michael Prichard’s performance?

The narrator's voice was grating and abrupt--like an old man calling a baseball game . . . It took me a while to get past that and appreciate that he did know how to pronounce French words.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Good story

Would you listen to The Bookseller again? Why?

No, I would not listen to this again - too many books and too little time!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bookseller?

The Nazi - Jewish background and its part in the story line

What does Michael Prichard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Listening always adds to the dramatic effect of a story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Rudimentary Plot w/ Lackluster Narration

I really wanted to like this book especially since the location, Paris, has a special meaning for me. I also like espionage books. There were good descriptive sections on the locations the author used in Paris, which were clearly recognizable and had a feeling of nostalgia for me. However, I felt that the plot was so predictable and a bit cliche. It was was easy to figure out what was happening while the characters at times didn't have a clue themselves, which was clearly inane.
The hardest thing I could not get passed, was that the narrator sounded like he was at least 70 while the main character, Hugo is 42. It made both he and his friend/assistant/former colleague, Tom, seem so old and hasbeen like, especially since they are both ex FBI agents. Also, Hugo's love interest, Claudia is in her 30's. With the narrator sounding so old it was difficult to picture Hugo as a youngish man involved with a young woman; I kept seeing an old man instead. One thing that I did enjoy and appreciate, was the narrarators' portrayals of the female characters, which were really quite funny.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!