The Dirty Duck

By: Martha Grimes

Narrated by: Steve West

The Dirty Duck is a pub in Shakespeare’s beloved Stratford, and in this pub Miss Gwendolyn Bracegirdle of Sarasota, Florida, fresh from a performance of As You Like It, takes her last drink. A few minutes later she is slashed ear to ear, the only clue: two lines from an unknown poem printed across a theater program. The razor-happy murderer, it seems is stalking a group of rich American tourists. And Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard Jury, just passing through Stratford for a glimpse of the intriguing Lady Kennington, instead takes a crash course in the bloodier side of Elizabethan verse.

I love Martha Grimes and all her characters

Steve West is the best. I love Martha Grimes and I really enjoy the performance by Steve West.

NOT ONE OF MY FAVORITES

After listening to 3 books in the series back-to-back, I was just beginning to become a fan. However, this story didn't grab me, didn't make sense and the narrator's interpretation of an American accent is dated, unimaginative, and irritating. That whiny mid-west twang is better suited in stories from the late 19th century and early 20th century when people rarely traveled more than 50 miles from home. But now we all know how a mid-Atlantc accent sounds and that all Americans do not sound alike. I feel that the narrator and producer of this installment just got lazy. The book is about an American tour group - how hard would it have been to do a little research!

Creative

murder-investigation, law-enforcement, friendship

What a creative tale! The characters certainly are, the venue is odd, the murders are artfully done, the investigation is much like rabbits out of hats, and the humor is sly. But I liked it.
Steve West is rather droll as narrator.

Martha Grimes- even better the second time

Years ago I read (and loved) the Martha Grimes series. Like every other young woman I was in “love” with Richard Jury, the slightly melancholy Scotland Yard detective. Jury and Plant’s characters evolved and plots became even better as the series progressed. I am now listening to the series that I loved so much. It’s as great a pleasure as it was so many years ago.

I am from Texas

There are characters in the story from Virginia. The southern-country accents were so bad I could not listen to them. This would probably read very well. Those accents were like nails on a chalk board.