Playing for the Ashes

By: Elizabeth George

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

Length: 3 hrs

Publisher's summary

"The story begins with my father, actually, and the fact that I'm the one who's answerable for his death. It was not my first crime, as you will see, but it is the one my mother couldn't forgive."

In her astonishing New York Times best seller, acclaimed author Elizabeth George reveals the even darker truth behind this startling confession. Playing for the Ashes is a rich tale of passion, murder and love in which Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers once again find themselves embroiled in a case where nothing - and no one - is really what it seems.

Intense, suspenseful and brilliantly written, Playing for the Ashes will make listeners "search out the sleuthing pair's first six adventures...a treasure", as Cosmopolitan predicted in their review.

©1994 Susan Elizabeth George (P)1994 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, a Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A perfect choice for anyone in the market for first-rate summer fiction." (The Sun, Baltimore)

"Those who haven't discovered Elizabeth George...should rush to read Playing for the Ashes." (US Magazine)

"Gritty and satisfying." (New Yorker)

What a Narrator!!

Derek Jacobi is a fine actor and a great narrator. He can act out all the voices, even the women's voices. I'll listen to anything he reads.

Narration getting better....but the awful music!

I've resigned myself to getting the abridged versions, all narrated at high speed by Jacbi. I can choose a slower speed but can't control the sometimes terrible production values (thus one was. OK) but the musuc--often played over the dialogue is distracting, and often dreadful. Don't they ever listen to their own productions???

Good Story, but...

A good story, but it was a shame to have to listen to an abridged version. The novels written by Elizabeth George are so commplex and subtle, that a more complete version is a fundamental requirement.

Wonderful read

This is a "can't put it down" book. So well written. I could not guess who had down the awful deed until the very end. The narrator is brilliant; makes the book very exciting.

Abridged to the point of confusion!

I was so bummed that so much of this story was missing - it made much more sense when I read the book. The audio book didn't actually explain all the threads of the mystery - there's a whole alibi that never got checked/explained. Loved the book and the performance. Very disappointed in the missing pieces.

Playing for Ashes

Awful sound quality, and the music in between chapters was incredibly distracting. Even the story was good, this was a let-down after listening to This Body of Death.

Poorly done

Storyline was dumb - not well written. The person reading was annoying at best and I didn't like the music.