Kingdom of Lies

By: N. Lee Wood

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

When a woman turns up drowned on the grounds of a royal estate, Sergeant Keen Dunliffe of Leeds, West Yorkshire, is hoping it's just a case of a drunken skinny-dipping accident. But when the woman turns out to be a historian, whose specialty is eighteenth-century English royalty and politics, and who was attending a conference at a local university, it's too much of a public relations nightmare to take lightly.

The mystery deepens when two secretive men from the Met show up and ask Keen to befriend a colleague of the dead woman, Professor Jillie Waltham, in the hopes that she can shed some light on the victim's life and work. With such high ranking government officials interested in the case but unable to tell him why, Keen's rebellious nature might get him into more trouble than ever before his investigation is finished.

©2005 N. Lee Wood (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Wood keeps the reader guessing as the mix of sexual shenanigans, forgeries, family secrets, and police corruption swirls and eddies." (Publishers Weekly)

Recommended

There are a number of characters and all the different "bad guys" can get confusing but overall this was a very enjoyable book. Keen Dunliffe, the disgraced Yorkshire copper, is a very appealing character. Flawed, but honorable by his own lights, he makes a good foil for the rather uptight American history professor. Narrator Ralph Cosham offers a superb range of accents and characterizations.

Great characters and dialogue

I enjoyed this audiobook immensely. The characters are well-drawn and fascinating. The dialogue is outstanding. You almost forget about the mystery, the characters' are so interesting. The plot, however, is also arresting and I was enthralled until the end of this tape.

Enjoyable British murder mystery

Not your average British police procedural. The reader is lovely with his rural accent for the policeman and you are able to distinguish the various characters as he reads. There is a minimal bit of romantic relationship but the characters are primarily focused on who may have killed the victim and why. I liked the in-side views of the workings of a police station. The ending was satisfying and I never wished the book would hurry up to get to the end.

Wonderful narrator.

I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this audiobook. The tale itself was engaging, with a few twists and turns but none of the jarring disconnects or wtf moments we find in so many modern detective novels these days. What really made it for me was the narrator's effortless rendition of the various accents. These added a lot to my comprehension of the characters and their motivations. As a Southerner I know what it's like dealing with prejudices based on one's speech patterns (accent). This narrator slipped from one English dialect to another, conveying the class and regional differences. I enjoyed every minute and was sad to see the book end.

Great listen

I am a sucker for British mysteries and police procedurals, and this was well-written and enjoyable. The narrator does good regional accents (though maybe the American female isn't the best, but still), the plot was complex enough without losing me, and the romance was good without being too sugary or predictable.

Waiting for the next book by this author, if there is one in the works...