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Talking to Strange Men
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
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Talking to Strange Men
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Publisher's summary
Safe houses and secret message drops, double crosses and defections - it sounds like the stuff of sophisticated espionage, but these agents are only schoolboys engaged in harmless play. Not that John Creevey knows this. To him, the messages he decodes with painstaking care are the communications of dangerous and evil men, and as he comes face to face with the fact of his beloved wife Jennifer's defection, he begins to see a way to get back at the man she left him for. Safe houses and secret message drops, double crosses and defections - it sounds like the stuff of sophisticated espionage, but these agents are only schoolboys engaged in harmless play. Not that John Creevey knows this. To him, the messages he decodes with painstaking care are the communications of dangerous and evil men, and as he comes face to face with the fact of his beloved wife Jennifer's defection, he begins to see a way to get back at the man she left him for. Soon the schoolboys are playing more than just a game.
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What listeners say about Talking to Strange Men
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Linda
- 03-18-12
Talking to Strange Men
Too strange for me. Strange kids, strange John. It was difficult to get into the story and once I was there, disliked the strange story as well.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shirlie M. Slater
- 08-28-19
Wonderful narrator Wonderful writing
Christian Rodska is skilled at portraying different characters with his voice. Ruth Rendell’s ability to describe characters is wonderful. Note the scene where a boy is trying to decide if the man who is chatting him up is a pedophile.!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- ernest drown
- 02-26-15
Gripping and subtle
What a gem this is! My favorite Rendell; the characters and plotting are superb, the suspense mounts to a smashing denouement.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Susan Random
- 01-31-16
Talking To Strange Men
Having read this novel in hardback many years ago, I half knew what to expect. The two parallel storylines concerned the loss of John's sister, Cherry, years ago when she was murdered beside the bridge and the more recent desertion of his wife, Jennifer, in favour of her former lover, Peter Moran. In addition, there is a public school spy network operating in the town, spearheaded by Mungo Cameron.
Did I enjoy this book? Well, it was deftly plotted, but I really did find it difficult to get into at times. I also kept muddling up the various schoolboys and their underworld aliases. It was also set in a place, which remained un-named and rather anonymous.
Special mention must be of the novel's narrator, who was brilliantly versatile.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- R G
- 08-01-22
Tension, weirdness and lots of emotionally stunted Brits
British men behaving strangely - women hardly feature but drive much of the narrative. Rendell is so clever mixing teenage and middle aged outcasts who are lost in Anytown. Lots of tension made me very eager to get to the end but sad when it was all over.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Craftaddict
- 05-02-21
Gripping and ingenious
An old favourite of mine and perfectly narrated. A gripping, thoroughly enjoyable tale of codes , relationships and typical Rendell, the dark side. Still stands up in this digital age of mobiles and the internet. Fabulous writing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- SM, Scotland
- 05-22-23
A good compelling listen
I enjoyed this story, finding most of the characters compelling. The storyline is a bit contrived but interesting nevertheless. I didn't really understand why Mungo and Angus had Scottish accents, having been brought up in what is clearly the South of England. Their father is Scottish, but accents aren't genetic.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Pierre Bovington
- 04-27-23
Christian Rodska s narrative was the best part.
Struggled with this, my first Ruth Rendell book. Perhaps I missed something, but it became a chore to listen to.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- W. King
- 11-23-22
Strange.
This book has a strange storyline with a teenager game linked to other disparate scenarios. I was bored by it for the first half but it warmed up in the second half. The narration was good.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Lisa
- 10-06-22
Hard going
foolish school boys pranks in which a loser adult John gets involved, sinister unpleasant
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Katharine Kirby
- 09-07-22
Schoolboy spooks, unhappy adults
So so complicated it is almost impossible to understand first time around. So many names to keep a grip on. I had to refer to reviews for understanding properly. However I did get drawn in and admire the fictional city set up a tour de force by RR. She gets so much into her stories!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. D.
- 07-28-22
Rendell at her best!
This book is wonderful. A sort of " a butterfly flaps it's wings" intricately woven tale that has the ability to chill and make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Marvelous stuff and perfectly narrated.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kirstine
- 10-06-21
Unengaging for most of the book
I had to listen to the first few chapters twice as I found the switching among scenarios confusing. Even after I caught on to there being two separate stories I found the characters and narrative didn't grab my attention. It took a long time for much to happen and both stories were repetitious. Eventually the pace quickened and the two stories came together. A strange book but well read
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- oceanjasper
- 01-22-17
Unexpected and suspenseful.
What I like about Ruth Rendell books is that I never know what will happen. She creates a cast of varied characters and the interactions between them, plus some chance events, creates an intriguing journey.
This book has two different worlds: that of John Creevey, a lonely man with a simple, mundane life and the group of public school boys who play an elaborate spy game. Those worlds overlap by accident, sparking an unpredictable chain of events.
I liked the way that Rendell takes her time in letting us get to know the characters. Not every story thread leads somewhere, which adds to the unpredictability of it all.
Christian Rodska's narration is excellent, very crisp and conversational. The voices of the different characters are well differentiated, although it was a bit tricky to keep track of all the schoolboys' names in the beginning. Listening to the story now brought back nostalgia for the Cold War spy thrillers I used to read, back during the actual Cold War.
This was a really enjoyable listening experience.
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In the long, hot summer of 1976, a group of young people is camping in Wyvis Hall. Adam, Rufus, Shiva, Vivien and Zosie hardly ask why they are there or how they are to live; they scavenge, steal and sell the family heirlooms. Ten years later, the bodies of a woman and child are discovered in the Hall’s animal cemetery. Which woman? And whose child?
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-
Oh my!
- By Jill on 06-15-14
By: Barbara Vine
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The Best Man to Die
- An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 149
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 130
Who could have suspected that the exciting stag party for the groom would be the prelude to the murder of his close friend Charlie Hatton? And Charlie's death was only the first in a string of puzzling murders involving small-time gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women. Now Chief Inspector Wexford and his assistant join forces with the groom to track down a killer....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Classic who-dunnit
- By Kathi on 02-24-13
By: Ruth Rendell
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A Pleasure and a Calling
- A Novel
- By: Phil Hogan
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 113
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Story4 out of 5 stars 113
You won't remember Mr. Heming. He was the estate agent who showed you around your comfortable home, suggested a financial package, negotiated a price with the owner, and called you with the good news. The less good news is that, all these years later, he still has the key. That's absurd, you laugh. Of all the many hundreds of houses he has sold, why would he still have the key to mine? The answer is; he has the keys to them all. William Heming's most at home in a stranger's private things.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Invisible Man
- By Janice on 02-05-15
By: Phil Hogan
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The Brimstone Wedding
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 158
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story4 out of 5 stars 123
Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing reader elevates book to a higher level
- By Doggy Bird on 10-04-14
By: Barbara Vine
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Hero: A Simon Serrailler Short Story
- By: Susan Hill
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 105
When Simon Serrailler was a rookie constable with the Met, he did something reckless in the course of a night's work which caused a man's death. But his act was praised by his colleagues, and he was called a hero. Years later, now a detective chief superintendent who has been badly injured in the course of duty, he receives a medal for bravery at Buckingham Palace while recollecting that fateful night of his early career, when chance disguised itself as bravery.
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4 out of 5 stars
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This 'story' makes no sense to me
- By Pamela Donaldson on 05-10-17
By: Susan Hill
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The Keys to the Street
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4 out of 5 stars 79
Mary Jago had donated her own bone marrow to save the life of someone she didn’t know. And this generous act led directly to the bitter break-up of her affair with Alistair. For him, it was as though her beauty had been plundered. But the man whose life she had saved would change Mary’s life in a way she could never have imagined.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Mystery with humor and insight
- By Ida Hagman on 10-02-12
By: Ruth Rendell
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A Fatal Inversion
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4 out of 5 stars 85
In the long, hot summer of 1976, a group of young people is camping in Wyvis Hall. Adam, Rufus, Shiva, Vivien and Zosie hardly ask why they are there or how they are to live; they scavenge, steal and sell the family heirlooms. Ten years later, the bodies of a woman and child are discovered in the Hall’s animal cemetery. Which woman? And whose child?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Oh my!
- By Jill on 06-15-14
By: Barbara Vine
-
The Best Man to Die
- An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 130
Who could have suspected that the exciting stag party for the groom would be the prelude to the murder of his close friend Charlie Hatton? And Charlie's death was only the first in a string of puzzling murders involving small-time gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women. Now Chief Inspector Wexford and his assistant join forces with the groom to track down a killer....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Classic who-dunnit
- By Kathi on 02-24-13
By: Ruth Rendell
-
A Pleasure and a Calling
- A Novel
- By: Phil Hogan
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 113
You won't remember Mr. Heming. He was the estate agent who showed you around your comfortable home, suggested a financial package, negotiated a price with the owner, and called you with the good news. The less good news is that, all these years later, he still has the key. That's absurd, you laugh. Of all the many hundreds of houses he has sold, why would he still have the key to mine? The answer is; he has the keys to them all. William Heming's most at home in a stranger's private things.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Invisible Man
- By Janice on 02-05-15
By: Phil Hogan
-
The Brimstone Wedding
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 123
Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing reader elevates book to a higher level
- By Doggy Bird on 10-04-14
By: Barbara Vine
-
Hero: A Simon Serrailler Short Story
- By: Susan Hill
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 121
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 105
When Simon Serrailler was a rookie constable with the Met, he did something reckless in the course of a night's work which caused a man's death. But his act was praised by his colleagues, and he was called a hero. Years later, now a detective chief superintendent who has been badly injured in the course of duty, he receives a medal for bravery at Buckingham Palace while recollecting that fateful night of his early career, when chance disguised itself as bravery.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
This 'story' makes no sense to me
- By Pamela Donaldson on 05-10-17
By: Susan Hill
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A Narrow Door
- By: Joanne Harris
- Narrated by: Alex Kingston, Steven Pacey
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 165
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. Barely 40, she is just starting to reap the harvest of her ambition. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Optional heading
- By TanyaB on 01-17-22
By: Joanne Harris
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The Muse
- A Novel
- By: Jessie Burton
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Maria Elena Infantino
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 381
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 353
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 348
England, 1967. Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. When she starts working at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art, she discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young artist of immense talent and vision whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. The excitement over the painting is matched by the intrigue around the conflicting stories of its discovery.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Mixed narration
- By Amy Fleury on 08-05-16
By: Jessie Burton
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A Great Deliverance
- Inspector Lynley, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth George
- Narrated by: Donada Peters
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 754
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 676
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 669
Into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside. For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an ax in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father's headless corpse. Her first and last words were "I did it. And I'm not sorry".
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4 out of 5 stars
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good debut novel
- By Stevon on 11-11-19
By: Elizabeth George
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A Change of Climate
- A Novel
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Sandra Duncan
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story