• The Veiled One

  • A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery, Book 14
  • By: Ruth Rendell
  • Narrated by: Robin Bailey
  • Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (124 ratings)

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The Veiled One  By  cover art

The Veiled One

By: Ruth Rendell
Narrated by: Robin Bailey
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Publisher's summary

Concealed by a shroud of dirty brown velvet was what looked like a heap of rags. In a desolate subterranean car park of a Shopping Centre, Dorothy Sanders pulled back the velvet curtain revealing the grim discovery of a woman’s body. Inspector Michael Burden, for a while conducting the investigation without the help of Wexford’s intuitive genius, blunders down a number of blind alleys before uncovering the truth. Who would garrote a middle-aged housewife and leave her body in the parking garage of a suburban shopping mall? Chief Inspector Wexford is no sooner on the case than a car bomb's explosion lands him in the hospital. It's now up to Mike Burden to step in and solve the case. He's got a suspect . . . but will he be able to make him talk?

©1988 Ruth Rendell (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Veiled One

Average customer ratings
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5/5*

Most excellent book and reader. Much more captivating than "Tree of Hands." Recommended highly. I'm going to follow this reader.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

I just couldn't finish it. Too fast narration.

At times the narrator was going so fast I could not keep up. Between the accent and speed I couldn't tell you if the story was good or not. It's not a race!

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1 person found this helpful

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

Could not get into story. Did not finish.

I endured considerable tedium up to chapter 10, then checked the ending to see who did what to whom, before calling it quits.

The narrator affected a bored persona, probably intentionally. But if the narrator affected boredom, how did he expect me to remain engaged?

Also, the narrator voiced the two detectives with similar pitch, accent, and voice quality. Since the author did not identify the speaker changes promptly, I had to stop listening repeatedly and refer to the kindle text to learn who was talking to whom.

If the suave, bored narrator didn't expect the listeners to care, and the author didn't present the sad cast of characters with any sympathy or interest, I think I wasted my time.

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1 person found this helpful

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

I kept falling asleep while listening. I may get another!

Wexford was interesting & support characters well fleshed out. There was enough mystery and the narrator was pleasant to listen to. This series has enough going for it to encourage further investigation.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Narration Frustration

I really got frustrated trying to listen to this one. I was constantly adjusting the volume, as some characters seemed to shout, and with others (Burden) the narrator's voice fell away and became unintelligible.

I am a big fan of Rendell's Inspector Wexford series as a rule, but perhaps I need to stick to print.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good book, not a great book

Too much social commentary for my taste. Otherwise, a good book but nearly unintelligible narration.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Great classic mystery

Ruth Rendell at her best! Since I need 15 words, I’ll say it again: Ruth Rendell at her best!

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

Riveting

It’s wonderful to hear Inspector Wexford’s voice coming from one of my favorite readers; I miss his talent & look for any book he’s read. Rendell’s series is like an old friend rediscovered through this aged but still delicious tape to streaming edition.

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