Death in Kashmir

Publisher's Summary

When young Sarah Parrish takes a skiing vacation to Gulmarg, a resort nestled in the mountains above the fabled Vale of Kashmir, she anticipates an entertaining but uneventful stay. But when she discovers that the deaths of two in her party are the result of foul play, she finds herself entrusted with a mission of unforeseen importance. And when she leaves the ski slopes for the Waterwitch, a private houseboat on the placid shores of the Dal Lake near Srinagar, she discovers to her horror that the killer will stop at nothing to prevent Sarah from piecing the puzzle together.

©1984 M.M. Kaye (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

The wrong Narrator

What would have made Death in Kashmir better?

The narrator has a plesant voice but no range. No character has a distinct voice. Men and women all sound the same which makes for a boring listen. I read M.M. Kaye's Death in mystery series and know them to be an exciting series. This narrator just put me to sleep.

What didn’t you like about Shibani Ghosh’s performance?

She was unable to create distinct characters. I think the best narrators are good actors who create and project a range of personalities.








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8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Let down for M M kaye lovers

Is there anything you would change about this book?

No! Wonderful book

What other book might you compare Death in Kashmir to and why?

M M kaye's mysteries have the charm of Daphne Du Maurier and the fun of Agatha Christie

Would you be willing to try another one of Shibani Ghosh’s performances?

NO!

Was Death in Kashmir worth the listening time?

It was not,but only because the reader literally buthchered it.I asked audible to please try and get these mysteries. A death in Berlin and Zanzibar are worth a listen.I will try all they get of the wonderful M M Kaye.Her biographies would be a welcome as well. These books are meant to be read by a cultured British voice. They were read in the 90's by Virginia Mckenna to great effect. They are all about British colonialism. The heroines are British. The main characters are British not Hindi . Ms Ghosh might be fine reading a book from an Indian's perspective.

Any additional comments?

nough said

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Narrator to bad to continue

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I do not think anyone could enjoy this book with this narrator.

Simply put, this book is populated with 1940's English citizens, the main character is English, all the other characters are English and there is some mild 1940's style racism. However, the book is narrator by an Indian woman. Not only does this jar with the style of the book, but also feel fairly distasteful when she reads some of the aforementioned racism. Additionally, she is simply not very good, she has no noticeable change in expression and sometimes it's hard to tell when a passage ends and another starts.

I couldn't finish, I just found myself tuning out.

If you’ve listened to books by M. M. Kaye before, how does this one compare?

I have heard this book read by another narrator a few years ago, and I enjoyed it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Shibani Ghosh?

Anyone

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Death in Kashmir?

I was unable to finish listening past the first few chapters due to the narration.

Any additional comments?

I think this should be removed from the Audible library. I cant imagine that anyone would enjoy listening to this with this narrator.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Wonderful book, wrong narrator.

I have enjoyed reading all of M. M. Kaye's books over the years, and I was looking forward to listening to this book. Whoever selected the narrator must have been unfamiliar with M. M. Kaye and her books. It is a delightful story, but the audible version has been ruined by the poor narration. I hope they issue a new version with a narrator who is able to speak and understand English.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great story, but the narrator ruins the experience

How did the narrator detract from the book?

It's an interesting idea, having someone with an Indian accent read the book, but Ghosh's narration is very harsh. I had an audiotape recording of the book, read by Virginia McKenna, which was amazing. Despite how much I love the story, I had to stop listening after less than an hour because she was giving me a headache. I was unable to focus on the beauty of M.M. Kaye's writing because the narrator's forceful speech was so jarring. It's really a shame, because I adore this book, but I will be returning this recording.

Was Death in Kashmir worth the listening time?

Story? Yes. Narration? AVOID.

Any additional comments?

I have loved M.M. Kaye's mysteries since I discovered one in France. Death in Zanzibar was the only English book available, so I read it, and became an instant fan. Death in Kashmir is a great story. M.M. Kaye's descriptions are extremely vivid, her characters are charming, and the plot moves quickly.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great story. Horrible narrator.

Would you try another book from M. M. Kaye and/or Shibani Ghosh?

I highly recommend M.M. Kaye's books. She writes a riveting story. The narrator for this story almost ruins it. All characters sound alike. She is hard to understand and speaks in a choppy manner. She pauses at odd moments and runs different characters speeches together so that they seem to come from one character.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The Narrator Disappoints

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Recommend the book - Yes, but I would never recommend this audio version. I adore M.M. Kaye's Death In mystery series and even requested more titles in the series after Death in Zanzibar was added to Audible's library.

When I saw that Death is Kashmir had been added to Audible's library I immediately purchased it and looked forward to a pleasant evening listening to this great story. Unfortunately, Shibani Ghosh ruined my listening experience...there was no character distinction, pauses in the wrong places, and no presence of emotions.

The quality of the narrator is vital in any audiobook, and whomever selected Ms. Ghosh to perform the narration completely missed the mark.

Would you be willing to try another one of Shibani Ghosh’s performances?

Unfortunately I will avoid any audiobooks where the narration is performed by Shibani Ghosh.

Any additional comments?

In my excitement at seeing this title available, and even noting an unknown narrator, I did not use the sample player...lesson learned.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Horrible narrator

What a terrible choice to hire a narrator with a thick INDIAN accent to perform a book about BRITISH people that just happens to be set in India!!! Awful and distracting.

Terrible narration!

The story is good, the narration is unbearable. I wish I could get it with a different reader.

British accents preferred for English characters

This novel takes place in India but all the main characters are British. I feel that the narration would have been much enhanced by having someone read who spoke the Queen's English with an English accent. The mispronunciation of so many words detracted from a very well written story.

Dreadful Narration

This is a very good book, but the narrator really spoils it. All of the punctuation is in the wrong place and emphasis is put on the wrong words and places as well. Maybe it would be better if she'd actually read the book first. Such a shame.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great story spoiled by narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Death in Kashmir to be better than the print version?

I love this book. It has a great story, full of atmosphere and mystery and, even though I know the ending, love to re read it every so often. I was so pleased to find an audio recording but was deeply disappointed by this version due to the poor narration.

What did you like best about this story?

This is a good old-fashioned mystery with a likeable heroine. The beautiful description of the different places adds to the atmosphere, sometimes colourful, sometimes mysterious and sometimes just plain creepy.

How could the performance have been better?

I have heard this book read by Virginia Mackenna and her voice seemed perfect - her very crisp English tones fit the time in which the"Death In ..." books are set. I appreciate that choosing an Indian reader may have been an attempt to add to the atmosphere but the pronunciation, the pace and the emphasis are frequently wrong, most distracting. It is also difficult to follow which character is supposed to be speaking, very confusing even if you are familiar with the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

If this book were to be available, read by Virginia Mackenna, I would definitely buy it as a replacement copy

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Absolutely dreadful

I cannot understand why a foreigner was chosen to read a very English period story. She couldn't correctly pronounce even the simplest words. M M Kaye writes wonderful dated pieces, totally ruined by the narrator. This is the second book by her that has the wrong person reading and I shall be returning it

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Disappointing performance

Despite this book being one of my favourite MM Kaye books I was sadly disappointed. Initially I was thrilled to hear an Indian accent in the actor, but how disappointed was I to find out that not only was her pronunciation very strange, but her intonation made the book extremely difficult to follow. Such a shame! And this despite my ear being attuned to indian accented English, having grown up there. Shame, a sad disappointment ....

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good book spoilt by poor narration

Monotonous narration, mispronounciations, poor phrasing = disappointing. Does poor justice to a good author - so much so I am tempted to stop listening and return the book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful