Coffin, Scarcely Used
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Hopjoy Was Here
- A Flaxborough Mystery, Book 3
- By: Colin Watson
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2
Net curtains twitch furiously, and neighbours have observations to make to Chief Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love about the inhabitants of 14, Beatrice Avenue. Nice Gordon Periam, the mild-mannered tobacconist, and his rather less nice (in fact a bit of a bounder) lodger Brian Hopjoy had apparently shared the house amicably. But now neither man is to be found, and something very disagreeable seems to be lurking in the drains.... Then a couple of government spooks turn up, one with an eye for the ladies - the drama is acquiring overtones of a Bond movie!
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A Shot in the Dark
- Mydworth Mysteries - A Cosy Historical Mystery Series 1
- By: Matthew Costello, Neil Richards
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Parker
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 210
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 183
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 181
Sussex, England, 1929. Mydworth is a sleepy English market town just 50 miles from London. But things are about to liven up there, when young and handsome Sir Harry Mortimer returns home from his diplomatic posting in Cairo, with his beautiful and unconventional American wife, Kat. No sooner have the two arrived, when a jewel robbery occurs at Harry's aunt's home - Mydworth Manor. The police are baffled and overwhelmed with the case. But Harry and Kat have an edge in the hunt for the dangerous culprit.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A good start.
- By justthisonce on 02-09-20
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Murder Offstage
- A Posie Parker Mystery Series, Book 1
- By: L.B. Hathaway
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4 out of 5 stars 33
Like your mysteries cozy and set during the Golden Age of Crime? This is the first audiobook in the Posie Parker mysteries, although this novel can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story in its own right. Set in London in 1921, Murder Offstage is full of intrigue and red herrings. When Posie Parker’s childhood friend is robbed of a priceless jewel and becomes a suspect in a cold-blooded murder case, budding detective Posie vows she will clear his name.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Unbelievable
- By Robert on 02-20-20
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Bump in the Night
- A Flaxborough Mystery, Book 2
- By: Colin Watson
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
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Story5 out of 5 stars 4
Tuesday nights have suddenly turned quite ridiculously noisy in the country town of Chalmsbury, where the good folk are outraged at having their rest disturbed. It begins with a drinking fountain being blown to smithereens - next the statue of a local worthy loses his head, and the following week a giant glass eye is exploded. Despite the soft-soled sleuthing of cub reporter Len Leaper, the crime spate grows alarming.
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The Tomb of the Honey Bee
- A Posie Parker Mystery, Book 2
- By: L.B. Hathaway
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4 out of 5 stars 38
When famous explorer Alaric Boynton-Dale disappears, Posie uncovers many dark secrets: an aristocratic family torn apart by hatred, a bizarre murder at an English country house, and a cryptic clue left behind by Alaric which is sweet as honey, but deadlier than poison. In an action-packed case where simply everyone has a motive for wanting Alaric dead, Posie's investigation starts off in the English Cotswolds, takes her through the glamorous South of France, on to the mysterious island of Ortigia in Italy, and then into the Tombs of the Pharaohs in Egypt.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Reminds me of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody
- By E. Hamilton on 01-21-20
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Murder in the Mill-Race
- British Library Crime Classic
- By: E. C. R. Lorac
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Story4 out of 5 stars 12
When Dr Raymond Ferens moves to a practice at Milham in the Moor in north Devon, he and his wife are enchanted with the beautiful hilltop village lying so close to moor and sky. At first they see only its charm, but soon they begin to uncover its secrets - envy, hatred and malice. Everyone says that Sister Monica, warden of a children's home, is a saint - but is she? A few months after the Ferens' arrival her body is found drowned in the mill-race. Chief Inspector Macdonald faces one of his most difficult cases in a village determined not to betray its dark secrets to a stranger.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very enjoyable
- By peter on 02-07-20
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Hopjoy Was Here
- A Flaxborough Mystery, Book 3
- By: Colin Watson
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2
Net curtains twitch furiously, and neighbours have observations to make to Chief Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love about the inhabitants of 14, Beatrice Avenue. Nice Gordon Periam, the mild-mannered tobacconist, and his rather less nice (in fact a bit of a bounder) lodger Brian Hopjoy had apparently shared the house amicably. But now neither man is to be found, and something very disagreeable seems to be lurking in the drains.... Then a couple of government spooks turn up, one with an eye for the ladies - the drama is acquiring overtones of a Bond movie!
-
A Shot in the Dark
- Mydworth Mysteries - A Cosy Historical Mystery Series 1
- By: Matthew Costello, Neil Richards
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Parker
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 210
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 181
Sussex, England, 1929. Mydworth is a sleepy English market town just 50 miles from London. But things are about to liven up there, when young and handsome Sir Harry Mortimer returns home from his diplomatic posting in Cairo, with his beautiful and unconventional American wife, Kat. No sooner have the two arrived, when a jewel robbery occurs at Harry's aunt's home - Mydworth Manor. The police are baffled and overwhelmed with the case. But Harry and Kat have an edge in the hunt for the dangerous culprit.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
A good start.
- By justthisonce on 02-09-20
-
Murder Offstage
- A Posie Parker Mystery Series, Book 1
- By: L.B. Hathaway
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 33
Like your mysteries cozy and set during the Golden Age of Crime? This is the first audiobook in the Posie Parker mysteries, although this novel can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story in its own right. Set in London in 1921, Murder Offstage is full of intrigue and red herrings. When Posie Parker’s childhood friend is robbed of a priceless jewel and becomes a suspect in a cold-blooded murder case, budding detective Posie vows she will clear his name.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Unbelievable
- By Robert on 02-20-20
-
Bump in the Night
- A Flaxborough Mystery, Book 2
- By: Colin Watson
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
Tuesday nights have suddenly turned quite ridiculously noisy in the country town of Chalmsbury, where the good folk are outraged at having their rest disturbed. It begins with a drinking fountain being blown to smithereens - next the statue of a local worthy loses his head, and the following week a giant glass eye is exploded. Despite the soft-soled sleuthing of cub reporter Len Leaper, the crime spate grows alarming.
-
The Tomb of the Honey Bee
- A Posie Parker Mystery, Book 2
- By: L.B. Hathaway
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 38
When famous explorer Alaric Boynton-Dale disappears, Posie uncovers many dark secrets: an aristocratic family torn apart by hatred, a bizarre murder at an English country house, and a cryptic clue left behind by Alaric which is sweet as honey, but deadlier than poison. In an action-packed case where simply everyone has a motive for wanting Alaric dead, Posie's investigation starts off in the English Cotswolds, takes her through the glamorous South of France, on to the mysterious island of Ortigia in Italy, and then into the Tombs of the Pharaohs in Egypt.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Reminds me of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody
- By E. Hamilton on 01-21-20
-
Murder in the Mill-Race
- British Library Crime Classic
- By: E. C. R. Lorac
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 12
When Dr Raymond Ferens moves to a practice at Milham in the Moor in north Devon, he and his wife are enchanted with the beautiful hilltop village lying so close to moor and sky. At first they see only its charm, but soon they begin to uncover its secrets - envy, hatred and malice. Everyone says that Sister Monica, warden of a children's home, is a saint - but is she? A few months after the Ferens' arrival her body is found drowned in the mill-race. Chief Inspector Macdonald faces one of his most difficult cases in a village determined not to betray its dark secrets to a stranger.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very enjoyable
- By peter on 02-07-20
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Murder at Maypole Manor
- A Posie Parker Mystery #3
- By: L.B. Hathaway
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4 out of 5 stars 23
Lies, spies, film stars, and murder. New Year’s Eve, 1921 Posie has been asked to accompany Inspector Richard Lovelace of Scotland Yard on an undercover mission. Their destination is a glittering New Year’s Eve party at Maypole Manor, the clifftop home of Lord Robin Glaysayer. With a blizzard raging outside, when a killer strikes, the Inspector and Posie’s skills are tested to breaking point as they try to find the murderer before he attacks again.
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5 out of 5 stars
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What An Absolute treat..!!.. Audible, please acquire the rest of the series
- By John on 01-17-20
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The Black Cat Murders
- Heathcliff Lennox, Book 2
- By: Karen Menuhin
- Narrated by: Sam Dewhurst-Phillips
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 479
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 442
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 438
Who killed Sir Crispin Gibbons? A wedding invitation and news of mischief that could be murder takes Lennox to the Earl of Bloxford's country estate. He, soon, finds himself in a world of purloined artworks, forgeries, and a priceless Bloxford beauty. But who are the Bloxford beauties? And why are they the focal point around which death swirls?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It!
- By Juanita on 12-22-19
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The Winter Mystery
- Jenny Starling, Book 2
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4 out of 5 stars 77
Jenny Starling is spending Christmas in a snowed-in country house cooking all the traditional food she loves. But the family she’s working for are not full of the seasonal spirit. In fact, they seem to hate each other. On Christmas Eve, someone is found dead on the kitchen table. And the head of the family is blaming Jenny! But with an incompetent detective called in, and seemingly no motive for the murder, Jenny will have to give the police a hand. She will stop at nothing to clear her name and find the real murderer.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Scientifically inaccurate (spoilers!)
- By Natalie on 02-02-20
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The Riverboat Mystery
- Jenny Starling, Book 3
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Jenny Starling has a job on a luxury paddle steamer working for a wealthy businessman. All she has to do is cook for his small number of guests. But things quickly turn sour. Then she discovers the body of one of the passengers in the store cupboard. Who wanted him dead and why? Jenny will have to ignore many red herrings and follow the clues to get to the bottom of a complex and intriguing murder mystery. This is the third of a series of enjoyable murder mysteries with a great cast of characters and baffling crimes which will keep you in suspense to the final second.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Riverboat Mystery
- By barbara on 01-23-20
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The Vanishing of Dr Winter
- A Posie Parker Mystery Series, Book 4
- By: L.B. Hathaway
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
Cambridge. Christmas 1922. Posie Parker has cleared a space in her hectic schedule to try to unravel a tragedy in her own family. But Posie’s past is hiding around every turn in the old university town. She finds herself taking on a new case which is positively teeming with ghosts, shadows, and secrets, where nothing is quite what it seems.
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4 out of 5 stars
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best of the series
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-20
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The Teatime Mystery
- Jenny Starling, Book 6
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective. Please note this book was first published as Just Not Cricket under Faith Martin’s pen name Joyce Cato. Jenny Starling is doing the catering for the village cricket match. But she’s not expecting one of the players to turn up dead. Everyone from the village has turned out to watch the match, and with this being the club’s centenary, Jenny Starling has been hired specially to provide her stunning food for the event.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another hit
- By Janet Phillips on 02-07-20
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Murder at the Dolphin Hotel: A Gripping Cozy Historical Mystery
- A Miss Underhay Mystery, Book 1
- By: Helena Dixon
- Narrated by: Alex Tregear
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 151
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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Story4 out of 5 stars 132
June 1933. Independent, young Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family’s hotel, The Dolphin, on the tranquil English coast. But when several rooms are broken into and searched, including Kitty’s own, she quickly realizes that something out of the ordinary is afoot at the hotel. Soon, rumors are flying in the cozy town that someone is on the hunt for a stolen ruby. A ruby that Kitty’s mother may well have possessed when she herself went missing during the Great War.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!
- By Meg on 01-05-20
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The Castle Mystery
- Jenny Starling, Book 4
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Jenny Starling has her dream job cooking for Lord and Lady Avonsleigh in a genuine castle. Then one of the castle’s treasures, a fabulously jewelled dagger, is used to murder a staff member. The victim is found stabbed through the heart in the conservatory. Lady Avonsleigh insists that Jenny help the police find the murderer. But how can Jenny solve this case when the murder was committed in front of several reliable witnesses, none of whom saw a thing?
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2 out of 5 stars
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n/a
- By brenda schleuning on 02-01-20
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A Testament to Murder
- Murder Will Follow, Book 1
- By: Vivian Conroy
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
At the lush Villa Calypso on the French Riviera, a dying billionaire launches a devious plan: at midnight each day he appoints a new heir to his vast fortune. If he dies within 24 hours, that person takes it all. If not, their chance is gone forever. Yet these are no ordinary beneficiaries, these are men who crossed him, women who deceived him and distant relations intent on reclaiming the family fortune. All are determined to lend death a hand and outwit their rivals, and retired Scotland Yard detective Jasper, in pursuit of the prize.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Tightly Woven Tapestry Of Suspects
- By John on 02-24-20
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And Dangerous to Know
- Rosalind Thorne Mystery, Book 3
- By: Darcie Wilde
- Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
Trust is a delicate thing, and no one knows that better than Rosalind Thorne. Lady Melbourne has entrusted her with recovering a packet of highly sensitive private letters stolen from her desk. The contents of these letters hold great interest for the famous poet Lord Byron, who had carried on a notorious public affair with Lady Melbourne's daughter-in-law, the inconveniently unstable Lady Caroline Lamb. Rosalind is to take up residence in Melbourne House, posing as Lady Melbourne's confidential secretary. There, she must discover the thief and regain possession of the letters.
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5 out of 5 stars
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thumbs up
- By Amazon Customer on 01-22-20
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The Birthday Mystery
- Jenny Starling, Book 1
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4 out of 5 stars 87
Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective. Jenny Starling is catering the 21st birthday party of upper-class twins Alicia and Justin. She arrives at their parents' country house and is immediately met by the police. A young man has drowned in the pond. Was it an accident or murder? But the birthday party goes ahead. Then, just after midnight, everyone gathers for a champagne toast...and one of the guests falls down dead. The police are baffled, and there is a whole party full of suspects.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Birthday Mystery
- By barbara on 01-17-20
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Lady Takes the Case
- By: Eliza Casey
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
England 1912. Danby Hall is the only home Lady Cecilia Bates has ever known. Despite the rigid rules of etiquette and her mother's fervent desire to see her married off, Cecilia can't imagine life anywhere else. But now, with an agricultural depression sweeping the countryside, the Bates family's possession of the hall is suddenly in peril. A possible solution arrives in the form of the imperious American heiress Annabel Clarke. The Bates and their staff arrange a grand house party upon the heiress's arrival. Then a guest dies after sipping from a glass meant for Annabel....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable characters, but too many loose ends.
- By Kestrel on 02-10-20
Publisher's Summary
In the respectable seaside town of Flaxborough, the equally respectable councillor Harold Carobleat is laid to rest. Cause of death: pneumonia.
But he is scarcely cold in his coffin before Detective Inspector Purbright, affable and annoyingly polite, must turn out again to examine the death of Carobleat's neighbour, Marcus Gwill, former prop. of the local rag, the Citizen.
This time it looks like foul play, unless a surfeit of marshmallows had led the late and rather unlamented Mr Gwill to commit suicide by electrocution. ('Power without responsibility', murmurs Purbright.) How were the dead men connected, both to each other and to a small but select band of other town worthies? Purbright becomes intrigued by a stream of advertisements Gwill was putting in the Citizen, for some very oddly named antique items....
Witty and a little wicked, Colin Watson's tales offer a mordantly entertaining cast of characters and laugh-out-loud wordplay.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- D R
- 02-17-20
Disappointing was expecting more
I bought these stories because i had recorded & listened to BBC dramatised plays of Colin Watson books about 25 years ago
these books lack the dry humour of inspector Purbright thus the reading is just dry
1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Portrait Artist
- 02-23-20
Dreadful!
I had hoped that Simon Shepherd would bring a professional actor's quality performance to this story. How wrong could I be? This was the worst recording I have heard to date. His rendering of this story was monotonous and menacing. I was unable to distinguish between the story telling and the characters and I could not finish Chapter Two. My favourite time to enjoy Audible stories is when I am relaxed and not rushing around so I listen in bed. On this occasion I, eventually, fell into a troubled sleep which turned into a nightmare where I felt I was being strangled. I am so disappointed. Mr Shepherd is a good actor but I am returning this production as, in this case, his performance is abysmal and, actually, quite disturbing.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ms p j rann
- 02-17-20
What fun
I came across Colin Watson in the 70's through the TV dramatisations, that encouraged me to read the books and I loved them. Although this recording does not quite capture the idiocyncracies and laid back sophistication of Inspector Purbright it was pretty good and as the reader warmed to his work the book improved. However I recommend the other two books 'A bump in the Night' and best of all 'Hopjoy was Here'. Watson is funny, macabre and has a cynical perception of small town life (well he was the editor of a local newspaper). It's nice to see that he is rude about everyone.
Please please can we meet Miss Teacup one of my favourite characters in his ouvre - more would be most appreciated.