• The Mystery Woman

  • Ladies of Lantern Street Series, Book 2
  • By: Amanda Quick
  • Narrated by: Justine Eyre
  • Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (734 ratings)

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The Mystery Woman  By  cover art

The Mystery Woman

By: Amanda Quick
Narrated by: Justine Eyre
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Publisher's summary

The new Ladies of Lantern Street novel from Amanda Quick explores the crimes, passions, and paranormal secrets of Victorian London.

Under the plain gray skirts of Miss Beatrice Lockwood’s gown, a pistol waits at the ready. For Beatrice is a paid companion on a secret mission - and with a secret past - and she must be prepared to fight for her life at any moment.

Yet she is thrown oddly off guard by the fierce-looking man who joins her in foiling a crime outside a fancy ball - and then disappears into the shadows, leaving only his card. His name is Joshua Gage, and he claims to know Beatrice’s employers. Beyond that, he is an enigma with a hypnotically calm voice and an ebony-and-steel cane....

Joshua, who carries out clandestine investigations for the Crown, is equally intrigued. He has a personal interest in Miss Lockwood, a suspected thief and murderer, not to mention a fraudster who claims to have psychical powers. The quest to discover her whereabouts has pulled him away from his mournful impulses to hurl himself into the sea - and engaged his curiosity about the real Beatrice Lockwood, whose spirit, he suspects, is not as delicate as her face and figure.

He does know one thing, though: This flame-haired beauty was present the night Roland Fleming died at the Academy of the Occult. Guilty or not, she is his guide to a trail of blood and blackmail, mesmerism and madness - a path that will lead both of them into the clutches of a killer who calls himself the Bone Man....

©2013 Amanda Quick (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Mystery Woman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    397
  • 4 Stars
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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    5

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

SADLY Ms QUICK I HAVE TO GIVE THIS PNR 3.5 STARS

Well I really love Amanda Quick aka Jane Ann Krentz, and have just about everything that has been/is being released by her ...... so you can imagine how it grieves me to say that this story was sadly lacking the usual intensity. It was like eating chilli without much spice - edible? yes, nourishing? maybe, enjoyable? perhaps - but it just had no real kick to it that makes you lick your lips and go Mmmmmm.

Everything was just NICE - the characters were nice, the story was a well written nice historical PNR, the romance had a nice slow build-up and was nice - well you get the picture and it smacked of events that happened from her past books. There were a few sexual encounters but these weren't explicit.

Worth a credit? I find her books irresistible and I can't help myself from downloading them so I guess that's a YES - but I wanted, and was expecting, more than 'nice' from a paranormal book, by a great author that has murder, mysteries and secrets.

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14 people found this helpful

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

Predictable but still interesting with past echos

I came across Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz) Arcane series years ago as well as her Harmony series (Jayne Castle) and she became one of my must have authors under her various pseudonyms.

This is an Historical, Mystery, Paranormal, Fantasy romance

The Ladies of Lantern Street are private investigators, with the Flint & Marsh agency, who accomplish their tasks discretely for their clients by posing as Paid Companions, Governess's or in other guises. Each has a paranormal talent.

Beatrice Lockwood in her new profession with Flint & Marsh is hiding from her past after her previous employer was murdered.

Joshua North doesn't believe in the paranormal but has the reputation of being able to find things, is after Beatrice believing she is blackmailing his sister.

Unfortunately if you have read/listened to Amanda Quick's previous books you will feel this book contains reflections/echos of earlier stories, both from the Arcane Arc and various stand alone novels. Nightmare gas anyone, I could list many more such instances but it would spoil an enjoyable listen and reveal too much of the plot.

This is still well worth the listen and well worth the price (Audible version)

The narration by Justine Eyre, whilst not on a par with Anne Flosnik, Joyce Bean or Josephine Bailey does not totally ruin the listen

I would recommend this this book to all that like Historical paranormal fantasy and even those who, like male lead in the book, do not.

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9 people found this helpful

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

No Guns Allowed?

As usual, The Ladies of Lantern Street Series is excellent. The Mystery Woman story is well constructed and follows the standard Jayne Ann Krentz formula. The only problems I ever have with her books is her need to explain every mystery down to the last detail by having her villains confess to each criminal action or her by having her leading characters lay down every single fact. It gets very, very annoying. The other flaw in her otherwise great stories is her aversion to firearms of any kind. You will not find a single story by the author where guns are used to an advantage by any of her leading ladies or gentleman. She just flat won't allow it. Of course, in real life guns are used daily to both save lives and take them. It's an aspect of life that will never go away; except in Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick, or Jayne Castle stories. If you didn't already know, they are all the same person.

With these exceptions in mind, I highly recommend this paranormal series. They are outstanding stories!

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6 people found this helpful

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

Narration saves a bland story

I love Justine Eyre's narration - it definitely made this story more interesting. Unfortunately, I felt like fast-forwarding through sections of this book because the story bogged down in places.

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5 people found this helpful

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

The reader totally ruins the interest in this book

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

a reader less inclined to making every word sound like "purple prose"

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

simply not the author's best effort

What didn’t you like about Justine Eyre’s performance?

constantly overdone melodramatic reading

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment in the author and disgust at the reader.

Any additional comments?

gave up on listening after 24%. Obtained the print copy and completed the book. Much better.

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5 people found this helpful

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

Spooky romantic suspense in Victorian London

Justine Eyre performed the narration. Nice job. I particularly liked the scenes with the coffin, the dead-but-pristine body, and the eyes of Anubis. Halloween, anyone?

For historical romantic-suspense, Amanda Quick is gold standard. Her formula may not be every readers' cuppa, but it has stood the test of time — and I'm talking decades. She likes her heroines intelligent, kind-hearted, and spirited (but not annoyingly "fiesty"). Her heroes are unexceptional: smart, tough, rich, fairly cynical but noble — what's not to love?

This book follows some of the same tropes as her earlier publications, including 'Til Death Do Us Part. We have a virginal heroine living on the fringes of society and a soul-sick hero with a scarred face and tormented past. True love does the trick for these two!

The murder mystery twists along until the hero realizes something at the 11th hour. Then it's all hands on deck, fast! (A sad conclusion really, but I saw it coming.)

It's good but not great or memorable. No complaints from me. I still pick up a novel by Quick / Krentz / Castle when I want something fairly formulaic and reliable. I know the plot will hold together, the characters will be likable, the language won't be offensive or vulgar, the sex won't be grossly graphic, and the proofreading will be thorough.

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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

new series new voice

the Mystery Woman is a story in typical JAK/Amanda Quick style. (not super original, but still in a style I do so enjoy)... a feisty heroine, a misunderstood hero, a pocket pistil and a murderer to catch.

this is book 2 in the ladies of lantern street series. it has a para normal flavor, and the narration was great. (Justine eyre narrated this and the previous AQ book...her accent is definitely different however she might be a good change of pace from Anne Flossnick... give her a shot and you'll like her)

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2 people found this helpful

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

Amanda Quick does it again!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I would definitely recommend this to a friend. It was an enjoyable book. I enjoyed the first book of this series and I am looking forward to the next one.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joshua was my favorite character. I loved his sayings and how he interacted with Bea.

Which character – as performed by Justine Eyre – was your favorite?

That is hard to say I guess I would say Bea.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Bea realized she would never be alone again.

Any additional comments?

Jayne Anne Krentz writes under several different names, several different genres and it is amazing how good she is in all of them. I am always looking for her out of print books and I am glad that she is reissuing some of them.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Mystery Woman

Would you consider the audio edition of The Mystery Woman to be better than the print version?

I didn't enjoy the audio version of this one. I was really dissapointed. Listening to Joshua was almost painful

Who was your favorite character and why?

Beatrice was a good character, typical of the series

Would you listen to another book narrated by Justine Eyre?

I'm not sure. The voice for Beatrice was fine but the voice for Joshua took me out of the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I wanted to like it more than I did.

Any additional comments?

I will read in again next month to see if I like it better than the audio version. I'll read the third one if it comes out. I liked the story but the romance fell flat for me, maybe it was the voice.

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2 people found this helpful

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

In a hurry to meet a deadline?

Any additional comments?

Good hero. Good storyline. Not near enough romance. I felt like the author was in a hurry to finish writing it so she could get to the next one. I adore Amanda Quick novels. There just wasn't the emotion in this one I have come to expect.

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1 person found this helpful