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Clare

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Fantastic!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 18-12-24

Second book I have read by this author - absolutely loved them both. Her writing is excellent. The book starts with two narratives - a first person one of a guy in a coma, and third person about an 18 year old boy starting uni. It was exciting to try to find out how these two strings would eventually become intertwined. Did not guess correctly!

There are no characters which are superfluous - everyone seems to have a point or a story which is relevant. The side characters are great such as weird Nick and the dynamic of the student housemates. There turned out to be far more mysteries than the obvious one but were satisfyingly resolved, except a tantalising one you have to imagine for yourself.

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Too much graphic violence

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 23-07-24

I listened to three hours and then had to stop and delete it. It is very well performed, good accents given to differentiate between characters and read at a good pace. But the story is so violent. There is so much brutal action described in great detail, one particular part which took place in an apothecary’s shop turned my stomach and made me have to stop. Perhaps war was like that back in the 1300s. Perhaps war is like this now in the 2000s, but I really don’t want to read about the minutiae of grim things human beings exact on each other, even if fictional

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Very interesting

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-06-24

A little glimpse into a career we only see in artificial form in Silent Witness! I normally don’t like authors narrating their own books, but this was well done.

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Very good

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 30-05-24

As always, Sandra Richter goes into amazing depth about the culture of the time and the meaning of things we wouldn’t possibly know otherwise. This was obviously intended as a video series, as there are a few “on your screens you will see….” But I don’t think we really miss out on much except the timeline. Chapters are about half an hour long, so can dip in for a detailed study on one area. Something I will definitely be listening to again

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Best yet - but slight spoiler

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 17-05-24

This has been my favourite of the Hawthorne books, hopefully they will keep improving! Very nicely narrated as usual by Rory Kinnear. I enjoyed the two timelines running alongside each other, the characters were easy to tell apart but believable, not caricatures.

The end was slightly disappointing for those who like things wrapped up neatly, as it wasn’t proven, just surmised

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SPOILERS!!! Do not read if you don’t want to know whodunnit

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 16-05-24

This book was excellently narrated as usual by Nicolette Mckenzie. It was very well constructed, with limited numbers of suspects, and gradual revelations about them which showed they could all be guilty, and gradually explained all the clues.

However when it finally got to whodunnit and how, it fell apart. Does Robert Thorogood have any experience of obesity? The idea that someone can rapidly and easily lose weight in order to look different and therefore get away with murder, then having discovered how much more comfortable and mobile they are, deliberately set about putting it all on again to disguise themselves again?? Really did not hold up to reality, whereas the rest of the book had been so good

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Usual twists and turns, with all strands pulled together at the end

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-05-24

Another great book by Claire Douglas. They always start rather boringly, describing the minutiae of people’s lives that don’t interest me (life with young twins, marriage feeling stale, snore yawn) then within two hours you are completely gripped and can’t turn it off! Stick with it til the end, all questions answered (as all good books should)

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Loved loved loved!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 31-01-24

Fabulous book. I know what the next month’s credit will be going on, One Corpse Too Many here we come. The narrator was excellent, giving different voices and accents to characters enough to differentiate between speakers, but not silly enough to be daft. I really enjoyed the story and would have listened in one sitting if I didn’t have to go to work. Hoorah for finding a new series where the author has written so many books! Many happy hours to come

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Fascinating!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 30-01-24

Very interesting. Unlike a book, each half hour focussed on a different aspect of plague, eg what is the actual infection, how did it affect the strata of society eg nobility and the church, how did it influence arts and literature. This means you can listen in little chunks, or just go through the whole thing, but you don’t particularly need to worry about losing the thread if you can’t listen for some time.

Prof Armstrong not only has the knowledge and wrote the material, but is an excellent narrator. Unlike previous Great Courses I’ve listened to, there was no ummm, ahhhh, as the lecturer thought what to say, it was all very smoothly done with very few mistakes - and she sounds like good fun! Lucky students at her university

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A difficult one

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 14-01-24

This is a difficult book. It isn’t always chronological so you aren’t sure what order various events occur in, and involves an awful lot of odd behaviour. Apparently she had 14 children. Who looked after them when she went travelling to Jerusalem and Rome? Her poor husband had to become celibate because she wanted to (after the 14 children presumably). I think it would probably help to have studied this book, or gone on a course to help reveal and explain it. Lucy Scott did a very good job with challenging material

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