The Hanging Tree

A Historical Mystery

By: Irina Shapiro

Narrated by: Jess Nahikian

Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

In 1640, Alys Bailey was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to hang. Today, Alys is said to haunt Lockwood Hall, the Tudor manor house where she died.

When Nicole Rayburn travels to Lockwood Hall and begins to research Alys’s story for a new book, she discovers startling irregularities in Alys’s case. Nicole’s suspicions mount as every answer leads to more questions. What really happened to Alys? And what became of her son, who disappeared the day she was hanged? Could it be that Alys’s death was the result of a well-planned conspiracy, or is there another, less obvious answer? And who is trying to sabotage Nicole's efforts by stealing her work?

As Nicole delves deeper into Alys’s life, with the help of a handsome crime writer and a history-obsessed vicar, she comes to realize that “fake news” has been around for centuries, and that everyone has secrets. Once she finally learns Alys’s, Nicole’s life will never be the same.

Perfect for fans of Susanna Kearsley, Barbara Erskine, and Wendy Webb.

©2020 Merlin Press LLC (P)2021 Irina Shapiro

irina Shapiro once again does not disappoint

I love and have read all of the authors series so was looking forward to another book by her and this did not disappoint. I love the concept of two different time frames and the twist are well done and the characters are all interesting! the narrator was wonderful and easy to listen to.

Witchcraft, true love, and revenge

This book was definitely a page turner. It was hard to put it down to take care of other things and eagerly picked back up to find out what happens next. This is very well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat eagerly hoping for the heroine who finds herself in an impossible situation. I highly recommend this book and think it is one of Irina Schapiro‘s best books so far

Enjoyed book to end

Enjoyed the story to the end. The narrator did a great job! I'll have to try another book by this author

I Didn't See It Coming

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a historical fiction mystery. The ending made it all worth while. It makes you wonder if what we read today in history books is based on fact or fiction - or maybe a mystery.

Not just another witch story

There is an old oak tree outside the window that has a story to tell. Nicole is determined to find the story of what happened to Alys Bailey who lived long ago in Lockwood manor where Nicole is attending a writers retreat. Her efforts at digging through the past to find answers was fascinating leading to much discovery. This is a beautiful tale of love, greed, jealousy and misguided religious fervor. Another story of what happened to so many women in the 17th century when James the first reigned. Irina Shapiro tells another wonderful haunting story filled with intrigue, passion and heart.

An incredible story within the story

If you’ve read or listened to Ms. Shapiro’s other books, you know the depth and breadth of her characters and The Hanging Tree delivers that in abundance. This story is fascinating and takes you on a ride that will have you thinking of the characters long after you finish listening. I also enjoyed the narration by Ms. Nahikian. This is certainly a five star story within the story that will stay with me!

Spellbinding!

This book kept me entertained the whole way through, excellent story and characters. I'll be searching for more books by Irina

If you enjoy a great mystery this is your book!

I have been loving this author’s writing since getting hooked on The Hands of Time series. If you have not read that series, all stop and start now! This book just shows again the wide range of talent she has for a variety of fiction genres. You’re gonna love going on a journey with the characters trying to determine events of centuries before. The narration is also very pleasant to listen to. Highly recommend!

Cannot tolerate the narration

I’m having to return the audio potion of my purchase but plan to read the book on kindle. IMO this narrator has the most pretentious and unrealistic manner of speaking…”chair” becomes “chah” and “unnerved” becomes “unnahved”. I’ve listened to probably hundreds of novels with British narrators and I typically adore all types of British dialects, but I’ve never heard anything like this. And the reach into the lower register for the men’s voices in the narrative is grating. I struggled through a few chapters but found myself repeating in my head or out loud each time “hair” became “hah” or “after” became “af-tah”. Again, nothing to do with being a British accent but everything to do with sounding pretentious, annoying and cloying. My thoughts on the book itself remain to be seen. I’ve been so utterly distracted by the narration I’ll need to start over and read it for myself.

Twist ending

Wonderfully put together story! Thought I had it figgured out until the end! 10 out of 10 recommend.

Truly awful narration

I can’t get past this narrators own bizarre accent which is totally off putting, sounds like a cross between Coronation Street and the amazing actresses that take off Prinesses Beatrice and Eugenie in The Windsor’s. Some very strange vowel sounds going on here! Not to mention her awful ‘male’ voice, there is just one very bad one for all the male characters regardless of age or background. I can’t take it seriously when a young country blacksmith sounds like he’s a sixty plus old Etonian! I have given up and will read this on my Kindle as I am sure it will be an excellent read. What a waste of a credit, I’ll be pressing the sample button in future!

great story but .....

loved this latest book from Irina, however, the narrator was awful. i could not get to grips with her very odd accent. for an actress, the delivery was extremely stilted. please do not use this narrator again, Irina.

Absolutely beautiful!

Initially I struggled to get into the narrators way of speaking but once the story started to unfold it was fantastic and she did an outstanding job at the narration, my initial reservations long forgotten. The story itself is absolutely fantastic. I have read/listened to many of Irina Shapiro's work and this one does not dissapoint. If you start this audiobook and find the narrator a little off putting keep on I promise its worth it she does the story justice and its wonderful. It's filled with mystery, romance and hope you won't be dissapointed.