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A Cruel Necessity
- A John Grey Historical Mystery
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
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A Cruel Necessity
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Publisher's summary
The theatres are padlocked. Christmas has been cancelled. It is 1657, and the unloved English Republic is eight years old. Though Cromwell's joyless grip on power appears immovable, many still look to Charles Stuart's dissolute and threadbare court-in-exile, and some are prepared to risk their lives plotting a restoration.
For the officers of the Republic, constant vigilance is needed. So, when the bloody corpse of a Royalist spy is discovered on the dung heap of a small Essex village, why is the local magistrate so reluctant to investigate? John Grey, a young lawyer with no clients, finds himself alone in believing that the murdered man deserves justice.
Grey is drawn into a vortex of plot and counterplot and into the all-encompassing web of intrigue spun by Cromwell's own spymaster, John Thurloe. So when nothing is what is seems, can Grey trust anyone?
L. C. Tyler is a crime writer and the current chair of the Crime Writers Association. He grew up in Essex and studied at Southend High School, Jesus College Oxford and City University. During a career with the Civil Service and the British Council, he lived in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sudan, Thailand and Denmark. More recently he has been based in Islington and West Sussex.
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
When the peat-cutters came to report the dead man, Gil Cunningham was up in the roof-space of his mother's house, teaching his new young wife swordplay. They believe the corpse to be that of a local missing man. His wife and the widow who runs the local coalmine are sure the body belongs to someone else, but then they find themselves accused of having killed him by witchcraft. And if the corpse is not the missing man, who is it? Gil and Alys try to get to the heart of the matter.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable Historical Mystery
- By Marie on 06-15-13
By: Pat McIntosh
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The Stolen Voice
- Gil Cunningham Mysteries
- By: Pat McIntosh
- Narrated by: Andrew Watson
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
“And you are telling me,” said Gil Cunningham, “that David Drummond vanished away forty years ago and is now returned, seemingly not a day older?” “That’s about the sum of it,” agreed Sir William Stewart. In Sir William’s remote part of Scotland it seems almost possible that a young boy could have been stolen away by the fairies and returned forty years later, no older – and if he isn’t Davie Drummond, who is he? And then he suffers a succession of near-fatal ‘accidents’.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Disregard those treacly, earnest covers.
- By Paul Sullivan on 07-02-17
By: Pat McIntosh
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Bless This House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Michael Tudor Barnes, Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story5 out of 5 stars 29
The house was built in the Old Queen's time: built for an Elizabethan pirate who was knighted for the plunder he brought home. It survived many eras, many reigns: it saw the passing of Cromwell and the Civil War. It became rich with an Indian Nabob and poor with a 20th century innkeeper. It saw wars, and lovers, and death. Children were born there, both heirs and bastards. It had ghosts and legends and a history that grew stranger with every generation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bless This House - my take
- By Kalona1982 on 04-05-09
By: Norah Lofts
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To Shield the Queen
- By: Fiona Buckley
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 437
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 346
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 344
Rumor has linked Queen Elizabeth I to her master of the horse, Robin Dudley. As gossip would have it, only his ailing wife, Amy, prevents marriage between Dudley and the Queen. To quell the idle tongues at court, the Queen dispatches Ursula Blanchard to tend to the sick woman's needs. But not even Ursula can prevent the "accident" that takes Amy's life. Did she fall or was she pushed? Was Ursula a pawn of Dudley and the Queen?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fun and engrossing
- By SophieG on 05-31-10
By: Fiona Buckley
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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
- By: Susanna Clarke
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 32 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,850
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,168
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,150
English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Hang in there!
- By D. McMillen on 05-31-05
By: Susanna Clarke
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A Test of Wills
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Samuel Giles
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,481
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,295
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,287
Ian Rutledge returns to his career at Scotland Yard after years fighting in the First World War. Unknown to his colleagues he is still suffering from shell shock, and is burdened with the guilt of having had executed a young soldier on the battlefield for refusing to fight. A jealous colleague has learned of his secret and has managed to have Rutledge assigned to a difficult case which could spell disaster for Rutledge whatever the outcome. A retired officer has been murdered, and Rutledge goes to investigate.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Difficult to follow the narrator
- By Carol on 01-02-13
By: Charles Todd
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The Town House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Juliet Prague, Martyn Read
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 64
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My favorite author
- By Karie on 07-09-15
By: Norah Lofts
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Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
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Silent in the Grave
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,795
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,180
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,171
Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Happily surprised
- By 9S on 07-04-09
By: Deanna Raybourn
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Night of a Thousand Stars
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Anna Parker-Naples
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 133
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Story4 out of 5 stars 133
On the verge of a stilted life as an aristocrat's wife, Poppy Hammond does the only sensible thing - she flees the chapel in her wedding gown. Assisted by the handsome curate who calls himself Sebastian Cantrip, she spirits away to her estranged father's quiet country village, pursued by the family she left in uproar. But when the dust of her broken engagement settles and Sebastian disappears under mysterious circumstances, Poppy discovers there is more to her hero than it seems.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Stick to the print edition for this one
- By Caz on 11-21-15
By: Deanna Raybourn
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Any Old Diamonds
- By: KJ Charles
- Narrated by: Cornell Collins
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 437
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 399
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 400
Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes, the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, holds a bitter grudge against his wealthy father. The Duke intends to give his Duchess a priceless diamond parure on their wedding anniversary - so Alec hires a pair of jewel thieves to steal it. The Duke's remote castle is a difficult target, and Alec needs a way to get the thieves in. Soldier-turned-criminal Jerry Crozier has the answer: He'll pose as a Society gentleman and become Alec's new best friend.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Emotional whiplash
- By Cranky Reader on 10-16-19
By: KJ Charles
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The Darwin Affair
- A Novel
- By: Tim Mason
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 419
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 372
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Story4 out of 5 stars 371
London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later - and only a block away - Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin's target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? Soon, Field's investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a diabolical madman.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Dickensian “Jack the Ripper”
- By Kate on 07-14-19
By: Tim Mason
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The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
- A Novel
- By: Cat Sebastian
- Narrated by: Joel Leslie
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 209
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 209
Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires. In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior he holds dear to gain what he needs most: a book that once belonged to his mother, a book his father never lets out of his sight and could be Percy’s savior.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fun, cute, a bit underdeveloped
- By Little J on 06-14-21
By: Cat Sebastian
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Novice Dragoneer
- Dragoneer Academy, Book 1
- By: E. E. Knight
- Narrated by: Nicole Poole
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
Fourteen-year-old Ileth grew up in an orphanage, and thanks to her stutter was never thought to be destined for much beyond kitchen work and cleaning. But she's dreamed of serving with the dragons ever since a childhood meeting with a glittering silver dragon and its female dragoneer. For years she waits, and as soon as she is old enough to join, Ileth runs away to become a novice dragoneer at the ancient human-dragon fortress of the Serpentine.
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3 out of 5 stars
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She’s 14yrs old
- By Alex D. on 10-23-21
By: E. E. Knight
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Lord Peter Wimsey: Novels 1-3
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: Graham Scott
- Length: 26 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1
The first three mysteries for Dorothy L. Sayers' aristocratic sleuth: first, a body is discovered in a Battersea bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez, on the same night that financier Sir Reuben Levy disappears from his Park Lane home. Then, Wimsey returns to England when his brother, the Duke of Denver, is accused of murdering the fiance of their sister, Lady Mary, and a trial in the House of Lords looms; and finally, an overheard conversation in a restaurant begins an investigation of the strangely premature death of wealthy and terminally ill old lady Miss Agatha Dawson.
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Instruments of Darkness
- A Novel
- By: Imogen Robertson
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 171
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 138
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Story4 out of 5 stars 139
In the year 1780, Harriet Westerman, the willful mistress of a country manor in Sussex, finds a dead man on her grounds with a ring bearing the crest of Thornleigh Hall in his pocket. Not one to be bound by convention or to shy away from adventure, she recruits a reclusive local anatomist named Gabriel Crowther to help her find the murderer, and historical suspense's newest investigative duo is born.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not The Best, But Not Too Bad...
- By MJ on 01-13-13
By: Imogen Robertson