Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • A Fatal Obsession

  • Ryder and Loveday, Book 1
  • By: Faith Martin
  • Narrated by: Stephanie Racine
  • Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (300 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
A Fatal Obsession cover art

A Fatal Obsession

By: Faith Martin
Narrated by: Stephanie Racine
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Fatal End cover art
The Birthday Mystery cover art
The Vicarage Murder cover art
Mystery on Hidden Lane: An Utterly Gripping Cozy Mystery Novel cover art
Murder at the Dolphin Hotel: A Gripping Cozy Historical Mystery cover art
The Bookshop Murder cover art
An English Garden Murder cover art
A Very English Murder cover art
The Kensington Kidnap cover art
A Roaring Murder cover art
Murder by the Minster cover art
A Village Murder cover art
A Date to Die For cover art
The Third Sin cover art Death at the Auction cover art
At First Light cover art

Summary

Don’t miss Faith Martin’s fiendishly clever new novel, Murder by Candlelight, set in the 1920s and described as ‘the perfect village mystery’ by J.M. Hall

‘A brilliant book! The pairing of Ryder and Loveday is a stroke of genius.’ Clare Chase, author of the Eve Mallow and Tara Thorpe mysteries

Oxford, 1960. There's a murderer on the loose and two unlikely heroes are poised to solve the case.

Meet Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday – smart, enthusiastic and always underestimated.

In the hope of getting her out of the way, Trudy’s senior officer assigns her to help coroner Clement Ryder as he re-opens the case of a young woman's death. She can't believe her luck – she is actually going to be working on a real murder case.

Meanwhile, the rest of the police force are busy investigating a series of threats and murders in the local community, and Clement can't help but feel it's all linked.

As Trudy and Clement form an unlikely partnership, are they going to be the ones to solve these crimes before the murderer strikes again?

A gripping, twisty cozy crime novel that you won't be able to put down. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and M.C. Beaton.

‘Absolutely loved it… The characters were some of the best I’ve read in a long time.’ Angela Marsons, no. 1 bestselling author of the Kim Stone series

The Ryder and Loveday Series

Book 1: A FATAL OBSESSION

Book 2: A FATAL MISTAKE

Book 3: A FATAL FLAW

Book 4: A FATAL SECRET

Book 5: A FATAL TRUTH

Book 6: A FATAL AFFAIR

Book 7: A FATAL NIGHT

Book 8: A FATAL END

©2018 Faith Martin (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

What listeners say about A Fatal Obsession

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    190
  • 4 Stars
    80
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    190
  • 4 Stars
    53
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    166
  • 4 Stars
    70
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable read.

Lovely for a wet and cold Sunday curled up in front a fire. great characters and a well developed plot make it a book you can't put down. can't wait to read the next one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

Fantastic Plot

A really enjoyable story. A great plot which kept me guessing to the very end. The background to the story and local flavour was very good too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing book

At first I was a bit hesitant, thinking that the pairing of two very different characters would never work, but I was wrong.
A very good storyline whilst in the background these two characters just seemed to become real and they did work well together.

Now on to book 2

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Well read

I loved this book and the fact that it was set in my era and I grew up in Oxford, it kept me guessing and I really liked Trudy’s character. It was very well told.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

A fatal Obsession

Good enjoyable mystery with twists and turns highly enjoyable will read the next in the series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Excellent listen

I thoroughly enjoyed this. it kept me company during a day of painting the kitchen (and afterwards, listening into the night). The narration was good so am surprised by other reviews berating it, but I suppose everyone has different preferences.

I loved the premise of a young probationary Wpc in a 60s police force tackling sexism and social expectations and the contrast with a more mature and experienced male coroner fighting a developing illness.

I would have liked Truly to have made more contributions to the reveal stages of the investigation towards the end, instead her role is mostly note taker. I also would have liked the discovery of the killer to have been revealed differently. It was too convenient. Can't say more without spoilers. These minor points did nothing to diminish my overall enjoyment of this excellent story.

I've downloaded the next audiobook in the series as company for today's painting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

an unexpected treasure

I loved listening to this book. it is the first one I have read by Faith Martin but will certainly not be the last. Her characters are very realistic and well put together and the main character is a pure joy. She reminds me of the way things were back in the 1960s and 1970s when I was embarking on my first career. Her introductions of the characters are paced in such a way as to be able to remember them as individuals without getting them mixed up. The narrator is also excellent and seems to know instinctively when to leave spaces and when to sound excited. Well done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

A truly glorious story

My Mam recommended this series of books, she loves them. And now so do I.
The narration was tantalising and I am so pleased the same narrator has read all the series, so far.
The main characters are magnificent and so likeable.
The story seemed simple and quaint and then took a twist and a turn into being sinister...thrilling.
I'm off to download the second on in the series now!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

Interesting story.

I must admit I struggled with the narration, which felt slow and laborious. I tried speeding it up, but it didn't help, sadly. I'm debating whether to purchase the next book. 🤔

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Oxford Blue

Whimsical and intriguing period murder mystery. Sympathetic protagonists, each with a cross to bear. Most enjoyable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful