Revenge in Rubies

A Harriet Gordon Mystery, Book 2

By: A. M. Stuart

Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Harriet Gordon receives word from a friend about a tragic death, she and Inspector Curran are thrust into a web of family secrets that threatens to destroy them both in this all-new mystery from the author of Singapore Sapphire.

Singapore, 1910 - Harriet Gordon has found fulfillment at last. Her young ward, Will, has settled into his new home with Harriet and her brother, Julian. And Harriet’s employment as a typist at the Straits Settlements Police Force has given her an intriguing way to occupy her time and some much-needed financial independence. But when her friend and employer, Inspector Robert Curran, is called to the scene of a brutal murder and Harriet is asked to comfort the victim’s family, her newfound sense of contentment is abruptly shattered. 

Sylvie Nolan, the new and much-younger wife of Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan, has been bludgeoned to death in her bedroom. The tightly knit military community in Singapore quickly closes ranks to hinder Curran’s investigation, and Harriet realizes that her friendship with the colonel’s sister might prove useful. 

But to get close enough to the family’s secrets, Harriet must once again face her painful past, and Curran is forced to dredge up some long-buried secrets of his own. And when more shocking deaths occur that all seem linked to Sylvie’s murder, Harriet and Curran discover that they too are in the sights of a callous killer....

©2020 A. M. Stuart (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Why Change the Narrator?

For my money, this just wasn't as good as the first in the series. It may be because the narrator drove me up the wall. The reading was oddly wooden, and with a strange kind of 'little girl' kind of voice thing going on that drove me BATS. I actually only kept listening because I liked the first one, and Harriet, so much. All that having been said. This wasn't Bad. It just wasn't as good. No sizzle between Harriet and Curran, and a Very convoluted plot that was kind of a mash up of a bunch of British Colonial/Honor of The Regiment type stuff. I'll hope the third, when it arrives, is a bit stronger.

Very entertaining!

I really enjoyed this second book in the Harriet Gordon mystery series. What a terrific storyline, with wonderful writing and an interesting cast of characters. And of course, with great reading by Katherine Lee McEwan.

I was initially annoyed that they changed readers because I adored Saskia Maarleveld, the woman who had read the previous book. But Ms. McEwan rose to the occasion and I got over my bias.

I am so looking forward to the next in the series.

Ruined by wooden stilted narration

I enjoyed the gentle drama of the first of the series, brought to life by beautiful narration, This is the opposite, killed by dreadful, stilted narration. I gave up after a couple of chapters.

Change the narrator

I found it hard to find the same charm of listening to the first book, specifically with the narration by the new voice. There were moments of listening that I could not tell which of the characters were talking, except for few. I really wish you bring back Saskia to narrate the next book of the series.

Narrator

Should have continued with Saskia Maarleveld. McEwan spoils the writing. I found myself concentrating hard to ignore her voice and to hear the words. The story is nearly as good as the first. Looking forward to the third. After sampling the new reader narrating another book, I have hopes that she will be better than Ms. McEwan.

Really very good

One of the least banal series of recent years, great setting, tight plots, well-developped characters, and very enjoyable resolution.

As Good as the First Book

After reading the reviews I hesitated but decided to go ahead. I thought the reader was just fine and did not deserve the negative comments. I found the story just as engaging as the first book and look forward to the third installment.

Speeding it up helps

Like many others, I am captivated by this series, but had issues with the narrator on this particular book. There was such a contrast between this and the excellent narration on the first book that listening to the sample actually prevented me from purchasing the second volume for about a year. I finally did, though, and found that by increasing the playback speed by 10-15% the wooden tone disappeared. Amazing. I was then able to listen without any problems, and I'm so glad I took the plunge! I hope this series keeps going for a very long time.

Good story

I enjoyed this book and the previous one of the series. The main character is a widowed lady who is able to meet many characters without trying to spend all her time trying to catch a man. She helps to solve crimes instead. There are good descriptions of Singapore in 1910. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Dreadful Narrator

This narrator gave such a poor performance. Clunky delivery and the accents were cringe-worthy. The first narrator in the series had been great. Wish she'd done this!

Definitely recommend, but...

Must confess I was SO disappointed when I started listening to this and realised the fabulous narrator from book 1 had been replaced. The characters sounded all wrong and I had to stop listening... But, after a break, I returned and the change in voices didn’t grate and I was able to enjoy another fab tale by A.M. Stuart. Just loving this series... really interesting time & place, strong characters and a enjoyable level of murder & mystery (not lots of gore or psychological creepiness). The narrator sounded a bit computerised at first, but was just fine once they got going, although I did speed it up a bit (1.1x). Definitely recommend, but don’t rush from book 1 to book 2, the voices sound all wrong!

Very Enjoyable

Better than the first Harriet Gordon book. Characters developing well and new ones from different backgrounds create interest.
I found the narrator a bit slow and listened at 1.1 X speed, but she read clearly and has pleasant voice. Accents not great, but not overdone.
Hopefully a third book will come along.

Wrong speed Audible, wrong narrator!

The narration of this second book was a disappointment. First of all the speed was all wrong, just terrible. I had to increase it to x 1.2 for it to make comfortable listening. Even then this book lost much of its charm because the narrator was not the same one used in the first book. She had been perfect. With these two flaws the story still stood as entertaining and the development of the characters making it certain that I will be looking out for book 3 in the series. Just hope you correct what was missing Audible or you will be letting this author down.