oceanjasper
- 37
- reviews
- 8
- helpful votes
- 45
- ratings
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Moonraker
- By: Ian Fleming
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The Moonraker project has a millionaire backer, the war hero Sir Hugo Drax - a man who, it seems, cheats at cards. With a ballistic rocket at stake, Sir Hugo’s exposure could threaten Britain’s latest defence system, so James Bond is asked to investigate. Moving from London’s most exclusive gambling club to a missile silo on the Channel coast, 007 and his Special Branch assistant, Gala Brand, discover there’s more to Drax than meets the eye.
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One of the best
- By Michael on 25-07-2018
- Moonraker
- By: Ian Fleming
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy
Tense and realistic; a cracking story.
Reviewed: 07-10-2024
My dim memories of the film version of Moonraker is that it was utterly ridiculous. The book is wonderful. Atmospheric, mysterious, tense and full of the social history I love about 20th century Cold War thrillers. Bond’s character is fleshed out a lot compared to the previous books in the series and the Bond Girl is a worthy partner who plays just as big a part as Bond in saving the day.
Fleming’s prose is crisp and sometimes lyrical; it was a treat to listen to it being read by a beautiful voice. Bill Nighy’s performance is pitch perfect, with an amazing variety of character voices. In keeping with Fleming’s own description of him, the Peter Lorre-like mincing tones of the villain’s sidekick are a creepy highlight. I wish he had read all the Bond books.
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Mad Love
- By: Wendy Walker
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Alexis Bledel, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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They were madly in love. The perfect couple. That was the story everyone in South River believed...until Gin Talcott and Adam Archer are found shot in their bed. Adam is dead at the scene. Gin is fighting for her life. Detectives Greta Jessup and Finn Pate are assigned to the case. Greta has a long history with Gin’s first husband, Eddie, and is determined to protect his 18-year-old twins. Piper discovered the bodies. Daniel is missing—and so is Adam’s gun.
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Excellent narration
- By Anonymous User on 07-06-2024
- Mad Love
- By: Wendy Walker
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Alexis Bledel, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Finn Wittrock, Damon Daunno, Elizabeth Evans
Entertaining but not perfect
Reviewed: 26-06-2024
I loved the full cast format, like a radio play. The story was very twisty and intriguing. The performances were great but the actors had to labour with some very banal dialogue. British audio drama usually manages to make you feel like you’ve been dropped into real life but this one felt quite stagey and artificial a lot of the time. And the lead detective taking a case involving her friends and blabbing to her husband about the progress of the investigation made me think that either the author doesn’t know much about police procedure or that the concept of conflict of interest doesn’t exist in the USA.
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Blind Defence
- Benson and De Vere, Book 2
- By: John Fairfax
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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She was found hanging in a dingy London bedsit with a blood orange in her mouth. Diane Heybridge, a young woman without a past or much of a future, has captured in death the compassion denied her in life. For the prosecution, this seeming suicide is nothing more than a bungled killing and a disgusted public looks to Court 2 of the Old Bailey for justice. Her callous, jilted partner Brent Stainsby stands accused of her murder and he's turned to the maverick legal team William Benson and Tess de Vere to defend him.
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Totally engrossing
- By oceanjasper on 19-03-2023
- Blind Defence
- Benson and De Vere, Book 2
- By: John Fairfax
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
Totally engrossing
Reviewed: 19-03-2023
Gosh, this series is good! It has everything: a twisty plot, fascinating characters, crisp and elegant writing and the perfect narrator. After finishing the first book on a Friday, I devoured this one over the weekend. I just sat and listened for hours at a time rather than requiring a couple of weeks of housework or gardening sessions to get to the end, as is my usual audiobook experience. Benson is a compelling protagonist and the tantalising details of his past and and his struggles in the present only add to the drama of the courtroom scenes. I want to dive into Book 3 but I also want to savour it…
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Summary Justice
- Benson and De Vere, Book 1
- By: John Fairfax
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The last time Tess de Vere saw William Benson, she was a law student on work experience. He was a 21-year-old, led from the dock of the Old Bailey to begin a life sentence for murder. He'd said he was innocent. She'd believed him. Sixteen years later Tess overhears a couple of hacks mocking a newcomer to the London Bar, a no-hoper with a murder conviction, running his own show from an old fishmonger's in Spitalfields.
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A wonderful listen
- By oceanjasper on 14-03-2023
- Summary Justice
- Benson and De Vere, Book 1
- By: John Fairfax
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
A wonderful listen
Reviewed: 14-03-2023
I found my way to this audiobook through the narrator’s backlist, and what a discovery it was. A gripping mystery with unique characters and elegant language. The narration was perfect for the story, with crisp diction and expressive dialogue. I’m intrigued to see how this series develops. Thankfully further books are already available….
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Death of a Hollow Man
- A Midsomer Murders Mystery, Book 2
- By: Caroline Graham
- Narrated by: John Hopkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Backstage nerves are fraying, and revenge is on its way. As Causton Amateur Dramatic Society prepares for the opening night of Amadeus, in the wings Esslyn Carmichael suspects his wife is having an affair with the leading man. And where better to settle scores than the stage? Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby expects an evening of entertainment, attending only to show support for his wife. But when someone turns Esslyn’s final grand gesture into a gruesome coup de theatre, Barnaby’s investigation suddenly begins.
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Brilliant characterisation, plot and narration
- By Lesley Grant on 14-06-2024
- Death of a Hollow Man
- A Midsomer Murders Mystery, Book 2
- By: Caroline Graham
- Narrated by: John Hopkins
Just immerse yourself in the theatre
Reviewed: 03-08-2022
This is a character driven mystery. The various members of the amateur dramatic society are brilliantly drawn and their tangled relationships are so much fun. The clashing egos, the jealousies, the insecurities and personal struggles are all revealed to the reader. There are clues but this is not an investigation that focusses on the evidence. It was very entertaining but also psychologically true. The narration is excellent and easily distinguishes all the different characters. Bring on Book 3!
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The Killings at Badger’s Drift
- Midsomer Murders Mystery, Book 1
- By: Caroline Graham
- Narrated by: John Hopkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The village of Badger's Drift is the essence of tranquillity. But when resident and well-loved spinster Miss Simpson takes a stroll in the nearby woods, she stumbles across something she was never meant to see, and there's only one way to keep her quiet. Miss Simpson's death is not suspicious, say the villagers. But Miss Lucy Bellringer refuses to rest: her friend has been murdered. She is sure of it.
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Excellent introduction, great performance
- By Lawrence Symes on 21-04-2022
- The Killings at Badger’s Drift
- Midsomer Murders Mystery, Book 1
- By: Caroline Graham
- Narrated by: John Hopkins
Much better than the TV show!
Reviewed: 03-08-2022
I read the Barnaby novels back in the 1980s before the TV show existed. As a teenager gorging on all the English mystery novels I could find, from any era, I only noticed the plots back then. But I liked my TV drama to be more realistic, so I abandoned the TV series fairly early on. Listening to the books now has been a bit of a revelation. I knew they would be rich in detail, but Graham’s writing sparkles with elegance and humour that I’m now able to savour. The excellent narration makes the books easy to listen to but I don’t want to miss a single vivid description or well chosen metaphor. I hope Audible releases the whole series.
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The Wedding Proposal
- By: John Swansiger
- Narrated by: Rachel Boston, Zachary Webber, Ramon De Ocampo, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 43 mins
- Original Recording
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Hanna is devastated when just a few weeks before her wedding, her fiancé drops the bomb that he doesn’t want to marry her. With the wedding bought and paid for (and completely non-refundable!), she decides to give it away to a deserving couple. Hanna chooses a pair of strangers that fate seems to put in her path, and then embarks on rearranging the wedding details with the help of the new bride-to-be’s brother.
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Fun and sweet. Loved it!
- By Jen W. on 01-02-2022
Very enjoyable
Reviewed: 13-04-2022
This is a cute story with wonderful performances. It was great to hear audiobook narrator extraordinaire Zachary Webber interacting with other voice actors.
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Love Hacked: A Reluctant Romance
- Knitting in the City, Book 3
- By: Penny Reid
- Narrated by: Devra Woodward
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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There are three things you need to know about Sandra Fielding: 1) She makes all her first dates cry, 2) She hasn't been kissed in over two years, and 3) She knows how to knit.
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Well written & narrated, a bit dull and predictable
- By Anonymous User on 04-09-2022
- Love Hacked: A Reluctant Romance
- Knitting in the City, Book 3
- By: Penny Reid
- Narrated by: Devra Woodward
A fabulous listen!
Reviewed: 28-11-2021
I very rarely listen to romance in the audio format but Penny Reid’s books are perfect for it. She takes her time to tell a story but the characters are interesting, they have conversations about important things and there is always plenty of gentle humour. In this book the mysterious hero is gradually revealed to the heroine and to the reader, in a way that made the time fly by and compelled me to keep listening. Everything except the epilogue is read by the female narrator (not Joy Nash as the notes indicate but Devra Woodward) and she is wonderful. She infuses the first person reading of Sandra with emotion and humour and her voice for the hero Alex really worked for me as well. This is my third Penny Reid audiobook and they’ve all been entertaining and truly romantic.
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Ep 8: Fin de Saison
- By: Kate McLennan, Kate McCartney
- Length: 28 mins
- Original Recording
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It’s the end of the season at Bennett Station and, as a shocked Maya discovers, all the summer expeditioners are leaving Antarctica. Maya decides to be the exception to the rule and immediately sets about trying to stay for the Winter.
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Loved this!
- By Anonymous User on 13-07-2021
Great entertainment
Reviewed: 22-05-2021
This is a review for the whole series. I had a ball listening to this. The characters were all a bit mad, the dialogue was often hilarious and the storylines were amusing. I particularly enjoyed the episode involving the Ministerial Visit, having been a victim of one of those myself. I could have listened to hours more of this series, which deftly makes a few points about climate change amid the shenanigans of the expeditioners.
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The Goodbye Party
- By: Louis Nowra
- Narrated by: Ben Oxenbould, Aaron Pedersen, Steve Bisley, and others
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Please note: This series contains mature themes and listener discretion is advised.
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captivating
- By Anonymous User on 16-07-2020
- The Goodbye Party
- By: Louis Nowra
- Narrated by: Ben Oxenbould, Aaron Pedersen, Steve Bisley, Multicast, Jacinta Stapleton
Easy listening but nothing special
Reviewed: 23-04-2021
This series was interesting enough to keep me listening while I did other things, although the dialogue is terribly banal and the main actor is pretty wooden in his delivery. But the ending isn’t really satisfying, feeling rather rushed and highly implausible. The most intriguing aspects of the story are lifted straight from the real life Bogle and Chandler mystery (which is much more compelling) and I expected a more ingenious solution.
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