The Cryptic Lines

By: Richard Storry

Narrated by: Jake Urry

Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in a sprawling gothic mansion in a remote coastal location, somewhere in the British Isles, the elderly recluse Lord Alfred Willoughby is deciding what is to become of his vast fortune after his death. Whilst his head is telling him to leave nothing at all to his wastrel son, Matthew, his heart is speaking differently. After much deliberation, in a last-ditch attempt to try and show to his son the importance of applying himself to a task and staying with it to the end, he devises a series of enigmatic puzzles cunningly concealed within the lines of a poem - the cryptic lines. If he completes the task successfully and solves the puzzles he will inherit the entire estate; but if he fails he will receive nothing. However, from Lord Alfred's will it emerges that Matthew is not the only interested party. The mysterious old house holds many secrets, and nothing is as it first appears....

©2015 Richard Alan Storry (P)2016 Richard Alan Storry

Cozy mystery

This was such a good listen. For such a short story, it had a really well developed storyline and interesting characters, each with distinct personalities. I listened to this eery mystery in one go as it really kept my attention with its suspense, scavenger hunt, poems, and secrets passageways. And it takes place in a huge, creepy, dark mansion! What more can you want. The narrator did a great job and really helped keep the atmosphere and mood mysterious. I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review and definitely recommend it if you're into gothic mysteries.

A Great Mystery Novel

The Cryptic Lines was a great mystery novel. The basis of the book is that a wealthy man devises a contest for his will. He’s not very fond of his son, so he sets up a scavenger hunt between his son and his solicitor (the person responsible for writing & carrying out his will). This book follows them trying to solve all the riddles and puzzles in order to win the scavenger hunt and the wealthy man’s estate. This book has several twists and turns. I figured out a couple of the twists on my own, but there were quite a few that blindsided me completely. This novel is a quick and enjoyable listen that I cleared in one sitting. I found myself completely intrigued by the story and didn’t even want to pause it. The narrator did a fantastic job with this story. His tone and pacing was great, and he chose good distinctive voices for all the characters. This is an all-around great mystery novel and definitely worth a listen.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Very slow start

Would you try another book from Richard Storry and/or Jake Urry?

maybe

Would you recommend The Cryptic Lines to your friends? Why or why not?

I might but would advise them to stick with it as you want to stop listening because the beginning drags out.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jake Urry’s performances?

His voice is kinda sing songy and hard to keep your attention.

Did The Cryptic Lines inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

The story started out very slow and I was ready to stop it but hung in there and the story line became more interested and the ending was a surprise.

Suspenseful Mystery

This is about a billionaire Lord Alfred Willoughby in large mansion where his adopted son Matthew must find clues to find the fortune. It is full of twists and turns keeping you guessing. I loved the characters especially the butler James. Loved the surprising ending. I recommend to anyone who enjoys a short cozy intriguing mystery. Narration was great goes s along with this British mystery. I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the narrator. THANK YOU!

This was an all-around solid, enjoyable audiobook

Wealthy Lord Alfred Willoughby is worried about what will happen to his estate when he dies. Strictly speaking, his son Matthew should inherit the fortune. But the boy has become a reckless squanderer. Quite cunningly, Lord Alfred decides to teach Matthew the value of gaining something through effort and perseverance. He devises a kind of treasure hunt and to make it even more enticing he involves another totally unassuming competitor in the pursuit of the fortune.Set in an expansive, traditional manor house in Britain, Richard Storry skillfully created the fitting atmosphere and provided vivid descriptions for this charming cozy mystery. The plot becomes far more complex than you would initially expect, and there were some great twists and turns with some revelations at the end that were totally unexpected. The premise is a bit different from the usual murder mysteries and was a lovely change. With its subtle humor and well-written prose, it was an immensely enjoyable and engaging listen.

Set in an expansive, traditional manor house in Britain, Richard Storry skillfully created the fitting atmosphere and provided vivid descriptions for this charming cozy mystery. The plot becomes far more complex than you would initially expect, and there were some great twists and turns with some revelations at the end that were totally unexpected. The premise is a bit different from the usual murder mysteries and was a lovely change. With its subtle humor and well-written prose, it was an immensely enjoyable and engaging listen.

Jake Urry proved to be exactly the right narrator for this story. His rhythm and pacing followed the plot appropriately, switching to a wonderfully ominous tone in the right places. James, the butler, was my favorite character in this story and Jake portrayed him brilliantly, exactly as you would imagine a traditional British butler. He also managed to perform the voices of two elderly female characters with a believable, fitting pitch. There were no issues with the quality of the production at all.

This was an all-around solid, enjoyable audiobook that I would highly recommend to anybody who likes cozy mysteries, British mysteries, mysteries without the standard hunt for murderers. Great entertainment!

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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A poem, a scavenger hunt, a prize!

This is a cute and fun novella about a billionaire setting up a game to find the right heir to his estate and fortune. Lord Alfred Willoughby has been disappointed in his adopted son Matthew, who can't keep any money in his pocket, so now he really has to work for it. He's not the only one, though - Charles, the lawyer, will be Matthew's competitor in the game.

A lot of secrets will be revealed along the way when Charles and Matthew tries to figure out the clues they are given. We'll meet other characters, who works behind the scene and try to help them as good as they can - or as much as they want to. But nothing is really like it seems.

I enjoyed this old-style novella a lot and had me some laughs along the way. Look out for old Meg, she cracked me up! The ending made tears in my eyes and a mystery has never done that to me before! It's very well-written and the characters are portrayed very strong despite that it's a novella - I'm impressed. It reminds me of Hitchcock, Agatha Christie and other classic storytellers.

It's not really suspenseful - I wasn't at the edge of my seat. We are walked through the scavenger hunt, so I'd categorize this as a mystery.

The narrator Jake Urry does a great job and this is the second book I've listened to of his. He is so good at bringing the characters to life and portraying them perfectly. When we start a book we don't know the characters at all, but when Jake Urry starts narrating, he defenitely knows every little flaw of each one of them. Once again I have to say that Jake Urry is one of my favorites.

*This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review*

Good Listen for Sure!

If you like treasure, scavenger hunts, mystery, and old family secrets, this is a good book for you. I definitely recommend it!

Keep going

I found the overly dramatic and exaggerated accent quite grating and I almost stopped listening after the first few minutes. I'm glad I kept going. The excellent story made me overlook the unnecessarily dramatic reading and after a while I didn't mind it so much.

A Little Slow...

MEDIUM: Audiobook

READ BY: Jake Urry

MY RATING: 2.5/5

Published March 3, 2015 by CreateSpace

This is a novella about the very wealthy aging Lord Alfred Willoughby, who is displeased with his son, Matthew. As a result, he has decided to make some changes to his will. Instead of the usual documents, though, Willoughby leaves behind a self-recorded film explaining how he has prearranged a sort of scavenger for his son and his lawyer to play against each other. The one who finds the hidden item first will gain the inheritance.

As with most mystery stories, I cannot give much more plot information without spoiling anything. There are a couple of great twists at the end, though, that I did not see coming at all!

I found this book to be sort of slow. I finished the story, as it wasn’t very long, but the characters and the action were both somewhat flat. I listened to the audiobook version of this, and although it is only approximately four hours long, it took me a few days to get through it, partially because Jake Urry’s voice is very relaxing and when I listened at night I fell asleep quickly.

Readers who like classic, traditional mystery stories may enjoy this more than I did, though the twist at the end did just about make up for the monotony in the rest of the book.

Like reading about people changing their will without telling anyone? (Sorry, I had trouble coming up with more than one of these lol).

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

Absolutely wonderful!!

I am so glad I got to hear this book!! I was hooked from the moment it began. You think you know what going to happen - then you realize you didn't. Great beginning, middle and end!!!

So you know, I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher. However, my rating if this book is completely honest!! I loved it!!