The Dead Travel Fast

By: Deanna Raybourn

Narrated by: Charlotte Parry

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all.

With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh—and a disappointed suitor—far behind. She is bound for Romania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence.

She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians, replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle’s master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.

Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora’s imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute—Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway.

Before her sojourn is ended—or her novel completed—Theodora will have encountered things as strange and terrible as they are seductive. For obsession can prove fatal…and she is in danger of falling prey to more than desire.

©2010 Deanna Raybourn (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“With a strong and unique voice, Deanna Raybourn creates unforgettable characters in a richly detailed world. This is storytelling at its most compelling.” (Nora Roberts)

"Theodora is a delightful heroine, so much so that cruel, petty, misogynistic Andrei never really seems worthy of her....Raybourn's intriguing treatment of vampire legends will delight fans of the genre." ( Publishers Weekly)

Process vs getting their

I listened to this book on a trip to and from Seattle with a 3 hour traffic jam on top of Snoqualmie Pass. It was low-key enough to keep me within the speed limit and gave me something to focus on during the wait. It is a lot of process; descriptions of everything; mood, mannerisms, thought processes. It isn't a book that is going to get you wound up and going; but it is a good yarn and I liked it. The ending was a little rushed, but by the time it ended I was READY to have it end, you know? The narrator did a great job with the voices and accents, and the gentle Scots flavor of the bulk of the narration was soothing.

A different take on the vampire romance genre

Read from March 7, 2010 to March 14, 2010 and from July 30 to August 11, 2013

Story: 4 stars
Narrator: 4.5 stars

I originally listened to this book back in 2010, and enjoyed it. It was my first exposure to Deanna Raybourn, and I love Charlotte Parry as a narrator.

In this story, DR takes the Dracula story and turns it into a Gothic romance, complete with first-person narrator---a young woman in an unfamiliar setting, which just so happens to be a moldering castle in Transylvania populated by strange, suspicious characters. Here, even in the late 19th-century, the residents of the castle and the village at the base of the mountain on which the castle sits, believe in the "old ways"---the ways which say that vampires and werewolves are real.

This is such a fun book. The first-person narrator structure allows the listener to get sucked into the heroine's world and into the questions of whether or not vampires are real and, if they are, who in the castle is one. The ending is a bit fantastic, but, frankly, with the amount of suspension of disbelief the whole story requires, it isn't that far of a stretch. This is definitely one for the relisten-again shelf!

UGH.....

It is a shame i had to give this a one star just to write how bad the story was. Please spend your credit elsewhere

Such a disappointment!

I listened to every Lady Julia Grey book from audible and loved each one. How the same talented and creative author could have written this book is beyond me. Frankly, it is just plain silly; a warmed over story, without the great chemistry between characters that is a hallmark of the Lady Julia books. I read one negative review of this book and should have heeded its warning.

Appalling book. Skip it!

I love Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia and Veronica Speedwell series, and if you have listened to this book I advise you not to give up on the author, but to check out those two delightful series. However, give this book a pass. The heroine is plodding, and her love interest is a misogynous, spoiled, arrogant feudalist. I could not make it past Chapter 7, and I have high respect for the author, so maybe she unveils some redeeming feature that allows the heroine to be with him without making a complete idiot of herself, but it is hard to see what could redeem his plethora of negative features. The plot is soooo boring, with a castle, 5 characters, and a village which is accessed by a lot of stairs. There aren't even very good descriptions of the scenery, which should be unusual in the Carpathian Mountains. I gave up.

I didn't finish it.

I normally love tis author but this one was a big miss for me. The storyline is not engaging and the accents are hard to listen to. I stopped listening with 4 hours left.

Typical girl meets totured soul and "fixes" him.

Narration was very good. But the story itself is your common girl meets tortured guy, girl "fixes" him with her love. I enjoy the Lady Julia Grey books, but am disappointed in this particular title. Lady Julia Grey stories are fun and an easy distraction from tedious housework. Big picture, it encourages women trying to fix a man, a dangerous and (often) fruitless endeavor.

Not like the others...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story itself is interesting, but seems a little longer and drawn out than the Lady Julia books. It has beautiful descriptions. The mysteries of the story sometimes falter- the plot could be a little tighter, but overall enjoyable. It was a good book, just not as good as some of the others by Ms. Raybourn.

How could the performance have been better?

The main character was fairly well done, but the accent did falter at times. I was distracted by the Count's accent/voice. It often took me out of the story. Sometimes the inflection did match the words and ideas.

Wow!

Loved...Loved...LOVED this book!
While it was a little slow in the beginning, it quickly picked up with stunning visual depictions, an interesting plot and a fabulous narration! Well worth the credit!

Slow

Really slow. There were about three hours worth of performance. The bad foreign accents were embarrassing.