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Title: Appleby's End

Subtitle: An Inspector Appleby Mystery

Author: Michael Innes

Narrator: Vincent Brimble

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-12-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 116 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Available to download for the very first time, the fantastic Inspector Appleby series by celebrated crime writer Michael Innes.

Appleby's End was the name of the station where Detective Inspector John Appleby got off the train from Scotland Yard. But that was not the only coincidence. Everything that happened from then on related back to stories by Ranulph Raven, Victorian novelist - animals were replaced by marble effigies, someone received a tombstone telling him when he would die, and a servant was found buried up to his neck in snow, dead. Why did Ranulph Raven's mysterious descendants make such a point of inviting Appleby to spend the night at their house?

Legendary character Inspector John Appleby of Scotland Yard inspired a lasting vogue for donnish detective fiction. Innes's detective novels are playfully highbrow and rich in allusions to English literature and to Renaissance art.

Members Reviews:

Highly Unusual Happenings

Michael Innes's writing style is unique, British in the extreme, and not to every taste or mood, but when he's good he's fun to listen to. He wrote one spectacularly good book (Hamlet Revenge, which I hope comes to audio interpreted by a great reader like Simon Jones or Sir Ian McKellen and with high production values), a few quirky and enjoyable books, and a lot of books that seem to have been written mostly to show off how erudite Innes is. Appleby's End falls into the quirky and enjoyable category, and is more of the first than some people might like. The dry and subtle humor make for a good listen, and it's certainly a change from the modern mystery.

Rural mystery

A very enjoyable and definitely quirky English country house mystery. Not exactly a crime novel, as there is no crime, just a chain of very weird events going at and around a crumbling country house. First part of the novel, where we are introduced to the characters and Appleby travels from the station to his host's home is wonderfully written. The happenings at a house itself and around are of rather bizarre kind, however still captivating. Highly recommended to all who like British Golden Age crime novels. The writing itself is very clever with lots of allusions to classical literature and art. It is also very well narrated. This was a first book by this author I have read and I was not dissapointed - a credit well spent.

Favorite Innes & Great Narrator

The book begins dark and slow, and the narrator doesn't hit a rhythm for a few minutes but my recommendation is don/t miss this one. Delightfully funny and fun to listen to again.

Appleby meets Judith, who is featured as his wife in Appleby at Allington, and the dialogue with her is the Innes style that I love. The narrator does a good job at keeping the characters distinct and capturing their strangely amusing wierdness. The plot is just clever and certainly not intended to be anything but a fun story.

EXCELLENT STORY MARRED BY A GHASTLY NARRATOR

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book with the caveat that the narrator must be forgiven much.

What other book might you compare Appleby's End to and why?

This book is complex and sophisticated, on a par with the author's earlier book, Hamlet Revenge.

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Title: The Mozart Question

Author: Michael Morpurgo

Narrator: Michael Morpurgo, Alison Read

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-27-10

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A BEAUTIFUL RECORDED PERFORMANCE WHICH INCLUDES CLASSICAL SOLO PERFORMACES BY VARIOUS MUSICIANS.

When cub reporter Lesley is sent to Venice to interview a world-renowned violinist, the journalist is told she can ask Paolo Levi anything about his life and career as a musician, but on no account must she ask him the Mozart question; never the Mozart question.

Paolo, however, has realised he must finally reveal the truth.

Members Reviews:

Beautiful

Uplifting music with a melancholy story in the true nature of this brilliant author. Thank you.

A very unusual piece

The start gives no indication at all of how moving and powerful a piece this is. I call it a piece rather than a story because there is almost as much music as prose. If you have an hour to spare, or even if you don't, listen to this

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Title: Falling for Him: A Selection from Midnight Sons Volume 3

Author: Debbie Macomber

Narrator: Dan John Miller

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-29-10

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Christian, the youngest OHalloran brother, has a problem, and her name is Mariah Douglas. The Midnight Sons secretary is always losing his messages, misplacing his files and generally creating chaos. Despite that, he cant get her out of his mind.

Members Reviews:

Must read the "Midnight Sons" series

I completely enjoyed the Midnight Sons series. It combined my love for Alaska with lovable characters. There are 3 volumes that each contain 2 books. Be sure to buy all three and read in order from beginning to end.

Hard to put down, wonderful read.

Love this entire series! Real life story with light romance.

My love for Alaska goes on...

An excellent read, exciting,suspenseful and above all very loving. The kind of book that makes you want it to go on and on. I would highly recommend it to all my friends. I truly admire Debbie Macomber and her writing. I started reading her books late in my life and have read as many as I possibly could and I still look for more. Now at the age of seventy five I look forward to each and every new book and movie.

Good Series

I am rereading this series on Kindle. Be aware...this is an old series that was just issued on Kindle. Regardless, I am enjoying reading about Hard Luck, Alaska again!

This is a series and it is fun to see how the characters you met in one ...

This is a series and it is fun to see how the characters you met in one book relate to each other. I find the characters well thought our and well rounded. I feel like I would like to know them.

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Title: Village Affairs

Author: Miss Read

Narrator: June Barrie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The people of Fairacre are up in arms about the possible closure of the village school. This anxious time for Miss Read is made bearable by the support of all her friends and neighbours.

©2009 Mrs D J Saint

Members Reviews:

Joyfull catching up with the secrets of the villag

If you could sum up Village Affairs in three words, what would they be?

homely , country, funny

Any additional comments?

another one of the series of these homely books reminiscent of a different era

Gentle Escapism

This was an enjoyable glimpse of an idealised world that that is long gone and probably never existed.

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Title: The Walking People

Author: Mary Beth Keane

Narrator: Sile Bermingham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-18-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 18 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Greta Cahill never believed she would leave her village in the west of Ireland until she found herself on a ship bound for New York, along with her sister Johanna and a boy named Michael Ward. Labeled a "softheaded goose" by her family, Greta discovers that in America she can fall in love, raise her own family, and earn a living. Though she longs to return and show her family what she has made of herself, her decision to spare her children knowledge of a secret in her past forces her to keep her life in New York separate from the life she once loved in Ireland, and tears her apart from the people she is closest to.

Even 50 years later, when the Ireland of her memory bears little resemblance to that of present day, she fears that it is still possible to lose all when she discovers that her children with the best of intentions have conspired to unite the worlds she's so carefully kept separate for decades. A beautifully old-fashioned novel, The Walking People is a debut of remarkable range and power.

Members Reviews:

Irish immigratn story

I actually enjoyed listening to this. It was OK, but......

This is one of those books definitely improved by its narration, very well done by Sile Bermingham! Great Irish brogue, and the different women all sound unique. Still, when you look at the book as a whole, you are left rather flat. What does it give you? A "cute" telling of the Irish immigrant story in NYC. Not the early immigrants, but the ones that came in the 60s. Family life and friendship between workmates. What was the sandhog experience like? The job of the sandhog, digging the tunnels for the water pipes of NYC, that too. Half of the book is about the life of Irish gypsies, the "walking people" and life in rural Ireland. Sister relationships, and aging, serious accidents and who exactly is the true mother, the birth mother or the one who raises a child? All of this is covered - some parts flow better than others, but all these different parts are patchy. There is humor and sadness. The poignant end could have been improved. Was the part about Alzheimer's really necessary? You start in 2007, flip back to the past and then go forward to 2007. The book was OK, and certainly very well narrated.

**************

I have chosen to read this book for two reasons. First of all I really liked Mary Beth Keane's Fever, so I have to read another by this talented author. Secondly, when I listened to the sample of this book by the author I both loved the narration by Sile Bermingham, with her wonderful Irish tone, and discovered it begins with a section about NYC sandhogs. Sandhogs is a term used for the Irish, Italian and West Indian immigrants that first dug the tunnels between Manhattan and Brooklyn. So.... I think illogically that the book may be similar to Colum McCann's This Side of Brightness, also about sandhogs! I loved that book, except for its stupid ending. I know this is all rather illogical; I will not get a a continuation of McCann's book, but still it might be good.

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Title: Rumpole at Christmas

Subtitle: Rumpole and the Christmas Party

Author: John Mortimer

Narrator: Bill Wallis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-09-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

'Rumpole and the Christmas Party' sees Rumpole celebrating with his Chambers colleagues and their wives and partners. There is plenty of claret, paper streamers and mistletoe, but where is She Who Must Be Obeyed?

Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

Members Reviews:

Extra for US

For some reason, when it was decided to release a collection of Christmas themed short stories featuring Rumpole of the Bailey, in England a collection of 7 short stories was released while in the US the book had only 5. By using the English version, "Rumpole at Christmas", rather than the US version "A Rumpole Christmas" US fans of this comic barrister are able to have access to the extra stories. And, by packaging it so that one can buy either the complete book or individual short stories, US members who own the US version of the book can chose to buy audio versions of just the stories missing from their copy of the book.

Many thanks to Audible!!! This makes it possible to keep my collection "complete". By the way, the other short story missing from the US book, in addition to "Rumpole and the Christmas Party" is The Millennium Bug".

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Title: Ordinary Thunderstorms

Author: William Boyd

Narrator: Martyn Ellis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-04-09

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

With horrifying speed, Adam's encounter leads to a series of accidents through which he will lose everything.

Members Reviews:

A wonderful book, beautifully read.

I love William Boyd's previous work, most notably Any Human Heart, and I eagerly anticipate any new publications. His latest, Ordinary Thunderstorms, did not disappoint. The book tells the story a young scientist whose chance encounter with a stranger leads to his rapid and decline and fall. Indeed, the main plot-line of 'ordinary bloke propelled into a nightmare' had echoes for me of Waugh's Decline & Fall, Buchan's 39 Steps and Hitchcock's North By Northwest. Besides the thriller plot, the book takes us on a socio-economic ride through the social strata of the UK today. Boyd's cast of characters, worthy of Dickens or Waugh, are all made flesh by Boyd's deftly handled pen and the acting talents of narrator, Martyn Ellis. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Comment from a William Boyd fan

A gripping tale but it was too drawn out by constant and unnecessary repetition. The reading was marred by very phoney accents and, in particular, the Scottish doctor.

Ordinary Thunderstorms, Boyd, W,

I completely agree with other reviewers - well constructed, well written and excellently read story which party reminded me of Le Care's Constant Gardener. Once started to listen to it, I found difficult to stop and the end came surprisingly fast. Is it only me, but I found the end missing? This is why 4/5 for rate. Or is there a second part of Ordinary Thunderstorms?

A good story, not sure about the reader

This is the first experience of William Boyd. I don't normally read thrillers, but got really drawn into this book, and, once I'd accepted the slightly unlikely course of action the main character takes at the start, I thought the story hung together really nicely, and kept you interested all the way through. The only thing that really spoiled it for me was the reader - he has a rather sad and weedy voice, not suited to this dynamic story, and has a limited range of quite unconvincing character voices; the two female protagonists in particular sounded very similar to me.

Overall though, I would definitely recommend this book.

Brilliant

Love the characters and story keeps you wanting to know what happens next, made be think about fate and you never know what may be just round the corner.

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Title: Then She Found Me

Author: Elinor Lipman

Narrator: Mia Barron

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-03-09

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 33 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

But behind the glitz and glam, Bernice has followed the life of the daughter she gave up for adoption 36 years ago. Now that she's got her act together, she's aiming to be a mom like she always knew she could. And she's hurtling straight for April's quiet little life....

Critic Reviews:

"She descends upon April's quiet life with the tact of a size-six locust, and the delightful and surprising results of this unlikely reunion will keep you turning pages long after bedtime." (Amazon.com review)

Members Reviews:

An Entertaining Book

Then She Found Me is a charming book. It's funny, at times poignant, and its characters are vivid and complex. Elinor Lipman's writing sparkles. I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for something light and entertaining.

Mia Barron's narration is energetic and suits the book's tone, but I'd have liked the characters' voices to be a bit more nuanced and the pacing to be a little more varied. If I could have deducted only half a star for that, I would have.

Note to those who (as I did) found their way here after seeing Helen Hunt's movie adaptation and hoped to delve a little more deeply into some of the movie's themes: You won't find the movie here. The movie's broad premise is the same, Bernice is essentially the same, and the April of the book is vaguely recognizable on film, as if strayed into a parallel universe and driven by different motivations. The movie's plot is entirely different, with most of the other characters either absent, utterly changed, or newly-created for the screenplay. The insights at the end of the movie, which are perhaps what I value most about it, are not drawn from the book.

None of that is to say that the book suffers by comparison, no matter how much you loved the movie. In its own right, it's a lovely book with characters you'd miss if you read the book first and then saw the movie -- just as the movie is a lovely and deeply touching movie, with characters you miss if you see it first. If you're forewarned, if you approach the book as a different story, you won't be disappointed.

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Title: The Pretend Wife

Author: Bridget Asher

Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-23-09

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 49 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Elliot, it turns out, is in need of a pretend wife, just for the weekend, in order to fulfill his dying mother's last wish. But as Gwen finds herself drawn into Elliot's quirky, wonderful family - and uncovers a few secrets about her own - she begins to question everything she has believed about love.

Critic Reviews:

"Asher brings an abundance of warmth and wisdom to this tale of lost-and-found love." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

this book is nonsense. don't bother

Lacks an actual story--just an annoying woman who basically lives in her head and makes me want to stab a fork in my eye to end the misery. I'm 3 hours in and just can't finish. I'm giving up. I want a refund.

Yawn

This book sounded good but it just goes on and on and on. I'm going to stick it out; but, I'm afraid it will never end.

Sleepy

Would you try another book from Bridget Asher and/or Carrington MacDuffie?

Carrington MacDuffie's voice droned on so slowly, I actually had to put my iPod on double-time just to get through the rambling internal debates and baggage the main character was struggling with. I would avoid future books with her narrating.

What aspect of Carrington MacDuffies performance would you have changed?

Be alive! She sounded like Ben Stein at times!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Irritation. I loathe books where you're supposed to sympathize with the protagonist for being an adulterer. I feel like the author "bailed out" the protagonist; for some reason when the protagonist discovers that her husband "cheated first" her indiscretions were all justified and she becomes the victim. Wtf. Seriously.

Any additional comments?

Try "The Undomestic Goddess" if you want a fun bait-and-switch story.

easy listen

is ok not one of those run out and buy but ok. made a fast trip to houston and back and it kept me busy. if you want easy fast and not to deep this is what you need. hope there is not a second one don't think i could stay awake for it.

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Title: The Enchanted

Author: Charlotte Bingham

Narrator: Stephanie Cole

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-16-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

But as Kathleen has always feared The Enchanted must be sold. Rory James and his father take a chance on the little horse in the hope of improving the fortune of their run-down racing yard. But luck does not run Rory's way when The Enchanted mysteriously sickens. It seems that only Kathleen can help.

And it is only under her care that The Enchanted is able to live up to his name and astonishing things start to happen to all those around him.

Members Reviews:

Charlotte Bingham's best

I have listened to all Charlotte Bingham's novels available on audiobook, and this was my favorite. A fascinating look into the British racing world, with wonderful Celtic legend thrown in. Has the usual cast of wonderful characters that Bingham always has in her novels (warning: in the beginning, until you get to know them all, you'll have to practically make a chart of all the characters!) Just a wonderful story, and the very exciting descriptions of races are an added bonus. A must-read for anyone who is a horse lover, but anyone who enjoys Bingham's novels will love this one.And Kim Hicks, as usual, does a terrific job, especially with all the accents.