Gentlemen and Players

A Novel

De: Joanne Harris

Narrado por: Steven Pacey

Gentlemen and Players
Audere, agere, auferre.
To dare, to strive, to conquer.

For generations, privileged young men have attended St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys, groomed for success by the likes of Roy Straitley, the eccentric Classics teacher who has been a fixture there for more than thirty years. But this year the wind of unwelcome change is blowing, and Straitley is finally contemplating retirement. He is joined this term by five new faculty members, including one who holds intimate and dangerous knowledge of St. Oswald's ways and secrets. Harboring dark ties to the school's past, this young teacher has arrived with one terrible goal: to destroy St. Oswald's.

As the new term gets under way, a number of incidents befall students and faculty alike. Beginning as small annoyances, they are initially overlooked. But as the incidents escalate, it soon becomes apparent that a darker undercurrent is stirring within the school. With St. Oswald's unraveling, only Straitley stands in the way of its ruin. The veteran teacher faces a formidable opponent, however -- a master player with a bitter grudge and a strategy that has been meticulously planned to the final move, a secret game with very real, very deadly consequences.

A harrowing tale of cat and mouse, this riveting, hypnotically atmospheric novel showcases New York Times bestselling author Joanne Harris's astonishing storytelling talent as never before.

Four stars across the board

First Joanne Harris book..... I didn't think I would like it an hour or so in - But I slowly started to warm up to it. By the end - I was thinking I should listen to it again.

Thanks, J

Good but in need of a serious edit!

Great performance but a bit too long in places. Will listen to her next book

Yep.

Nice twisty plot, well developed, believeable characters, super narrator. Kept me intrigued and guessing for all 13 hours.

One of my favorite mysteries....ever!

I have recommended this book to many people, none of whom have actually read it. It is too bad, because after listening to hundreds of books on Audible, "Gentlemen and Players" stands out. This mystery is twisty, fun, complex and above all, entertaining. I tried "Runemarks' after I read this and it did not grab me, but I would like to read more by Joanne Harris.

Frusty Olde British Prep School and Murder

Harris is at her best in creating the atmosphere of inside and outside the world of the British upper crust prep school: the kindly, the snooty, the beastly, the acceptable and the invisible. It's a wonderful juicy mystery with characters worth caring about and thinking about.
BUT added to that is the best narrator in Audible Steven Pacey who is fantastic here but would be worth listening to even if he were reading all the "begets" in The Bible!