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  • A Fatal Secret

  • Ryder and Loveday, Book 4
  • By: Faith Martin
  • Narrated by: Stephanie Racine
  • Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (94 ratings)

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A Fatal Secret cover art

A Fatal Secret

By: Faith Martin
Narrated by: Stephanie Racine
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Summary

Oxford, 1961.

A family day out at Briar’s Hall ends in tragedy when a young boy goes missing - and his body is found at the bottom of a disused well in the orchard. 

It looks like a simple case of an 11-year-old exploring where he shouldn’t: a tragic accident. But Coroner Clement Ryder and Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday aren’t convinced. If Eddie had been climbing and fallen, why were there no cuts or dirt on his hands? Why would a boy terrified of heights be around a well at all? 

Clement and Trudy are determined to get to the truth, but the more they dig into Briar’s Hall and the mysterious de Lacey family who live there, the murkier things become. 

Could it be that poor Eddie’s death was murder? There are rumours of blackmail in the village, and Ryder and Loveday have a horrible feeling that Eddie stumbled on a secret that someone was willing to kill for....

Fans of Betty Rowlands, Agatha Christie and Faith Martin’s DI Hillary Greene series will not want to miss this!

©2019 Faith Martin (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

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What listeners say about A Fatal Secret

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Review of A Fatal Secret

A nice light read set in a more innocent time. Really enjoyable thank you and keep writing

1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable listen

As a retired female police officer who joined in 1974, so many of Trudy’s experiences ‘ring a loud bell’. I enjoy this series very much and have no problem with they way words are pronounced as some listeners do.
Very enjoyable - thank you
Debra

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Good story ... but irritating narrator

These are good stories, is a bit silly at times but rather spoilt by some of the strange pronunciation of the narrator which, once noticed, grates on the ear. For example, police carry a truncheon, with the ch pronounced as in church. The narrator persistently says 'trunjun'...spoils an otherwise enjoyable story.

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Another Baffling Adventure

I love these stories they are easy listening and I look forward to reading the next adventure.

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A lovely set of stories

Nice crime stories set in the 60’s but with modern day sensitivity which doesn’t fit well.

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Another wonderful story

I'm really enjoying this Ryder & Loveday series. The characters are so complex and the stories are so artfully detailed.
Each story is fabulous in it's own right but to be fully understood and appreciated it is best to start with book 1 and progress from there.
I'm off to download the fifth and final (so far) book now.

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excellent listen

Faith Martin has excelled herself with this read, she has played out the story in a true who dunnit leaving me guessing till the end, she has also maintained the social story taking you forward in the daily lives of the character's.
Desperate for the next listen

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Amazing

Completely Gripping, Great story line,
Best in the series!
Highly recommend this book
Stephanie Racine is such a good narrator

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  • wisconsinclark
  • 12-01-20

Good edition the this series

The review describes the plot adequately. As the series is based on the relationship between our two main characters, Trudy and the Coroner, you should start at the beginning. This is an author who respects her readers and does not waste our time explaining facts that have been covered in previous books. The mystery, itself, who killed the boy found in the well, was nicely done.

3 people found this helpful

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  • roseanna banana
  • 19-05-22

It might start slow but it sure heats up.

This series by Faith Martin is excellent. It starts slow while we meet the characters then it get rather exciting. The narration by Stephanie Racine is. pretty good. I think I actually enjoyed it more when I read these books rather than listen to them.

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  • Maine Knitter
  • 12-08-20

The series continues to entertain

This is the fourth book in this series. We have an interesting pairing of a young probationary woman police constable and an aging Coroner. They’re good together.

The series takes place in the 60s and women aren’t welcomed warmly in the police. So Trudy is given permission to work with Doctor Ryder and, in this case, they are asked to investigate the death of a young boy who presumably fell into a well.

The narration was well done and the story developed well.