The Hilary Manningham-Butler Mysteries

Omnibus

De: Jack Treby

Narrado por: Jack Treby, Angela Dawe

Book One: The Scandal at Bletchley

"I've been a scoundrel, a thief, a blackmailer and a whore, but never a murderer. Until now..."

The year is 1929. As the world teeters on the brink of a global recession, Bletchley Park plays host to a rather special event. MI5 is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and a select band of former and current employees are gathering for a weekend of music, dance and heavy drinking. Among them is Sir Hilary Manningham-Butler, a middle aged woman whose entire adult life has been spent masquerading as a man. She doesn't know why she has been invited - it is many years since she left the secret service - but it is clear she is not the only one with things to hide. And when one of the other guests threatens to expose her secret, the consequences could prove disastrous for everyone.

Book Two: The Red Zeppelin

"You'll never get me up in one of those things. They're absolutely lethal."

Seville, 1931. Six months after the loss of the British airship the R101, a German Zeppelin is coming in to land in Southern Spain.

Hilary Manningham-Butler is an MI5 operative eking out a pitiful existence on the Rock of Gibraltar. The offer of a job in the Americas provides a potential lifeline but there are strings attached. First she must prove her mettle to her masters in London and that means stepping on board the Richthofen before the airship leaves Seville.

A cache of secret documents has been stolen from Scotland Yard and the files must be recovered if British security is not to be severely compromised. Hilary must put her life on the line to discover the identity of the thief. But as the airship makes its way across the Atlantic towards Brazil it becomes clear that nobody on board is quite what they seem. And there is no guarantee that any of them will reach Rio de Janeiro alive.

©2015, 2016 Jack Treby (P)2017 Jack Treby

well-crafted mysteries

Angela Dawe does a terrific job bringing the story to life. kudos to Jack Treby for going the distance, bringing his books to audible addicts.

An ejoyable mash-up (or two!)

A classically British crime caper, the first book A Scandal At Bletchley is a fun mash-up of Downton Abbey, Agatha Christie and James Bond.

The protagonist, Hilary Manningham-Butler, is a woman who has spent most of her life living as a man and a lot of fun is had with the difficulties this entails. The narrative is both fresh and familiar, with Jack Treby’s mastery of pace and narrative suspense making for an engaging read. The author shows little interest in straying from the traditional tropes of the mystery genre but this is not necessarily to its detriment. The dialogue is animated, the plot is genuinely riveting, and while a couple of the characters are fairly obvious, they are brought to life with a fullness that excuses any lack of originality.

In the second book we cross the Atlantic, on board a German airship, and the story takes in government secrets, cross-dressing and Spanish kings. The Red Zeppelin maintains the narrative drive of the first story with a suspenseful and diverting plot. This book has a different narrator and, though the two readers differ considerably in approach, they both put in a solid turn. Angela Dawes fairly rattles through the story while Jack Treby takes considerable delight in the comic potential of his characters. In short, a fun easy listen.

Fun and exciting series

I had previously read the second book in this series (The Red Zeppelin) and really liked it, so I was excited to get this collection, which contains both the first and second book together. I think that the pacing of the stories is really great - you won't be bored. The characters are interesting, especially the main character, who is a middle-aged woman masquerading as a man. That aspect of the book reminded me of "The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter" series - another series of books I enjoyed. There is quite a bit of humor, excitement, and even a few twists that I didn't expect. I listened to the Audible edition of this book. It was a little weird in that the first book was narrated by the author, Jacky Treby, and the second book was narrated by Angela Dawe. I would have liked the same narrator in the collection. It was hard having a picture in my mind of the character based on the voice of Treby, only to have it change in the second book based on Dawe's voice. Overall, this is a fun and exciting series. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Kept me guessing

Would you consider the audio edition of The Hilary Manningham-Butler Mysteries to be better than the print version?

I loved the audio. It brings everything to life. I got so caught up in the story.

What other book might you compare The Hilary Manningham-Butler Mysteries to and why?

It was a lot like the Flashman novels which I adore and Agatha Christie too. The second book was quite thrillerish. I was sure I knew whodunnit but I was totally wrong.

Have you listened to any of Jack Treby and Angela Dawe ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have heard Angela Dawe before. She's awesome. I love the way she reads. This is the first Jack Treby Ive listened to. His voice is just so right for this story

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Look before you leap!

What an interesting premise!

I listened to the sample on Audible and was hooked from the start. I had the opportunity to ask the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review, and I jumped at it.

Jack Trebi did a wonderful job writing and narrating this story. The pacing is not too fast nor too slow, but just right to keep me engaged and expectant.

The story borrows from the right genre tropes to feel comfortable and familiar, while also developing well on its own. There is a healthy dose of humor, too! There were so many interesting characters too, even if few as intriguing as the middle-aged woman protagonist who masquerades as a man. The second book was my favorite, because when you are on a confined space - such as a zeppelin - there isn't much leeway for error.

The change of narrators was more felt because this is contains two books, I believe it would be less of an impact had it been two separate books. Still, Angela Dawe is a talented narrator and though it took me a bit to get used to a new voice I appreciate the new air she breathed into the story.

I will certainly read more from this author and listen to both narrators in the future.