Maggie Matheson - The Senior Spy

An uplifting comedy spy thriller

De: Ian Hornett

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

A captivating spy story, brimming with more twists and turns than a Golden Ager’s hula-hoop convention, Hornett’s debut comedy novel introduces the world to Britain's latest, and most endearing, special agent, Maggie Matheson.
Fans of Richard Osman's Murder Club books and The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson will simply love this book.

“A laugh-out-loud spy thriller with a twist. Maggie is a thumping good story which keeps you guessing to the end”
“Hilarious... you’ll fall in love with eccentric Maggie in minutes..."
“Maggie will remind generations of grannies that you’re never too old to wield a knitting needle…”

81-year-old Maggie has everything: a warm flat, fresh sea air, good friends, and someone who comes to cut her toenails once a month. But when a mysterious young man contacts her after a near-death encounter with a pizza peel, her cosy, comfortable life is set to become decidedly less cosy and considerably more uncomfortable... which is just as well, since Maggie is bored stiff.

Meet Maggie Matheson: octogenarian, tea lover, bridge enthusiast, and kick-ass spy.

Ruined by Narration

Sadly, Virtual Voice ruined this book for me. While the voice was pleasant to listen to, it did not do the story justice. There were many humorous moments in the story that fell flat due to the virtual voice not understanding and conveying the humor. Also, the storyline involved several different accents that virtual voice did not incorporate. Maggie was supposed to be doing an Italian accent poorly. Another character was foreign and struggled with the English language. Also, virtual voice kept saying "end quote" which I believe is a flaw in the system. Virtual voice did not differentiate voices when doing other characters. This sort of made it confusing keeping up with who was who and who was speaking. All that being said, virtual voice was better than some of the awful narrators I've listened to. But I would not choose another book read by virtual voice unless it was a self help or instructional book.

As for the content of this book...pick up an actual copy and read it. I think my experience would have been so much better if I had. Maggie as a former spy in her 80s. She's been called back into service for some particular mission. Lots of characters and quirky situations.

A Good Story Undone by a Robotic Narration

I really wanted to love this audiobook. The story itself is engaging and well-written. It is the kind of story that makes you want to keep listening late into the night. Unfortunately, the narration completely derails the experience.

The Virtual Voice starts off passable but quickly becomes a distraction. It reads like it's reciting a textbook, not telling a story. There's no emotion or nuance. Just a flat, mechanical delivery that strips away all the tension, humor, and heart the author worked so hard to build.

Worse, there are moments when the speech pattern is so unnatural it yanks you right out of the scene. Instead of being immersed in the world, you're left wondering why anyone thought this was a good idea for storytelling.

I’d love to rate this higher, but the narration makes it hard to recommend. Going forward, I’ll be steering clear of anything using this kind of synthetic voice. A real narrator makes all the difference.

Maggie Matheson is a character I truly enjoyed!

Personally I enjoy a spy novel such as this, very little cursing, no gorie details, no sexual descriptions to embrace me with. Story line was believable, enjoyable, and moved quickly! Only drawback was the narration. Would prefer an actual person reading but that would be my only complaint!

Tedious story, bad virtual reading

This was disappointing. The book itself is derivative, wordy, and way too long for the content. Virtual reading is more than disappointing. I bought it on sale and just had to stop half way through. So sorry it wasn’t better.

Virtual Voice Is a Terrible Idea

Virtual Voice is incapable of parsing the meaning of what it is reading. It misplaces the emphasis on words, clearly NEVER reading more than one ahead, making the text difficult to follow if not downright annoying, I had to stop listening. I really can't judge the actual book because of this.