The Highgate Cemetery Murder

A Tate and Bell Mystery, Book 1

De: Irina Shapiro

Narrado por: Imogen Church

His heart pounding, the man scribbles the words in his notebook as fast as he can: “Woman dead in Highgate. Man in caped coat. Milky way and red streaks. I’m being followed.”

Hours later, the man’s cold body lies in the city mortuary, alongside the woman he couldn’t save. And his sister, unconventional nurse Gemma Tate, tracks down troubled police inspector Sebastian Bell to unravel the truth.

Sebastian has enough pressure to solve the murder of an aristocratic heiress without Gemma meddling in his case. But the cryptic sentences she brings him from her brother’s notebook could be a crucial lead. If only they knew what “milky way” meant. But as the trail of clues takes them away from the gilded drawing rooms of the nobility and into the dangerous slums of London, how far will their partnership be tested on the quest for justice, and will they both emerge unscathed?

©2024 Irina Shapiro (P)2024 Storm Publishing

Not for the squeamish

Magnificent storytelling! This is a real page-turner. I could hardly step away from it and couldn’t wait to get back to it. Every time I thought I guessed where it was going, it took another turn. Be warned, though, that it’s gruesome. The descriptions of horrible death are graphic.

I like this narrator, but she tends to be very overly dramatic. Too many conversations are depicted as extremely angry, which is a little wearing.

Mystery, intrigue and an unexpected partnership

I loved this historical whodunit. It had a layered storyline, an intriguing mystery, deep emotions, and suspense. I was pulled into the story from the first page and couldn’t put it down until they wrapped up the case. Gemma and Sebastian are portrayed as real, relatable and complex people who have flaws and scars, but are really just trying to do their best as messy humans. Gemma is a nurse in 1858 London. She lives with her twin brother Victor who is a widower. When Victor dies after visiting his wife’s grave, seeing a young woman hanging from a cross, and leaves cryptic message in his notebook, Gemma is convinced he was murdered. Sebastian is the Scotland Yard detective assigned to investigate the murder of the aristocratic heiress found in the cemetery. The pair form an unlikely quasi-partnership as Sebastian investigates the young woman’s death and Victor’s murder. The investigation leads them to unlikely places and suspects. The story was well written and included engaging dialogue, three dimensional characters, and a captivating storyline. I am excited to read more in this series.

Imogen Church did a phenomenal job narrating the story and characters into life with enough change of inflection, tone and cadence to voice multiple characters quite convincingly.

Great Story!

Loved the mystery and the characters. Imogen Church is by far my favorite narrator. Can’t wait for the next installment!

The really bad narration!

The story could have been very interesting and enjoyable but the narrator over-enunciated every word which added 2 hours to the recording. I was interested in enjoying the whole series but now I think I’ll read the books.

Interesting Story

Loved the way the book read.
Good narration and development of the characters in the book