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Bunburry 1-3 cover art

Bunburry 1-3

By: Helena Marchmont
Narrated by: Nathaniel Parker
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Summary

Miss Marple meets Oscar Wilde in this new series of cosy mysteries set in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bunburry.

In "Murder at the Mousetrap," the first Bunburry book, fudge-making and quaffing real ale in the local pub are matched by an undercurrent of passion, jealousy, hatred and murder - laced with a welcome dose of humour. Alfie McAlister has retreated from London to the peace and quiet of the country to recover from a personal tragedy. But an accidental death - which may have been no accident - reveals that the heart of England is far from the tranquil backwater he imagined. After arriving in Bunburry, he is co-opted as an amateur detective by Liz and Marge, two elderly ladies who were best friends with Alfie's late Aunt Augusta. And it is not long before their investigations take an even more dramatic turn...

In "A Murderous Ride," the second Bunburry book, Alfie discovers that he has not only inherited a cottage from his late Aunt Augusta but also a 1950s Jaguar. He is dismayed: for reasons of his own, he no longer drives. Aunt Augusta's best friends, Liz and Marge, persuade him to get behind the wheel again - but that's just the start of his troubles. Alfie discovers it's a seriously bad idea to get on the wrong side of the local police sergeant. Especially when he finds himself at a murder scene and the sergeant decides Alfie's the murderer. There's only one thing to be done. Alfie has to track down the real murderer himself - which will force him to drive as he's never driven before.

In "A Taste of Murder," the third Bunburry book, a local beef farmer is found dead and Betty Thorndike, vegetarian and Bunburry's only Green Party member, is in the frame. Despite what everyone thinks, Betty is absolutely not Alfie McAlister's girlfriend. But Alfie knows what it's like to be wrongly accused, and enlists the help of his fellow amateur detectives, Liz and Marge, to find out who's responsible. There's just one problem about a farm-based investigation - Alfie's scared of cows...

Nathaniel Parker, born in 1962, graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and went on to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. His television career began in 1988 when he played Flying Officer 'Flash' Gordon in the LWT mini-series "Piece of Cake". He is also the lead in the BBC series "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries", based on the novels by Elizabeth George. Nathaniel Parker has an extensive list of audio books to his credit, ranging from the classics of Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy to more modern writings and children's books.

©2019 Lübbe Audio (P)2019 Lübbe Audio

What listeners say about Bunburry 1-3

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Cringingly awful

I knew this would be light listening and that the story line would be of the 'cosy murders' type and was happy to try it out in the sale for under £3. After five minutes I was bored but persisted hoping that this was just the introductory stage and the story would get going and then an British Asian character was introduced and I was so shocked by the stereotypical accent (think 1980s comedy shows) that I started the book again wondering if I had mistaken this book for an ironical send up of British village life. Alas, no and so it is going back. The characters are flat, predictable and the plot is transparent and formulaic. I have no idea how this book received so many five star reviews.

7 people found this helpful

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Cost yes, thrilling no.

This was a pretty average audiobook. It was well read but not very exciting. Being three books in one meant that it was worth a credit but I shall not be listening to any more in this series.

3 people found this helpful

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excellent narrator and story

really enjoyed this book and thoroughly recommend it. good narrator as well most enjoyable tale's

3 people found this helpful

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Lovely cosy listen

I bought these books on kindle, wanted to buy them here to listen to Nathaniel Parker narrate them, fabulous.

3 people found this helpful

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Enjoyable

I enjoyed the stories but did not find rhem particularly memorable. I think other listeners would enjoy these stories and in general I did but for some unknown reason I cannot remember them.

2 people found this helpful

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simple. enjoyable.

pleasant. enjoyable. not over exciting.
interesting carechters.. waiting to read on in the next chapters.

2 people found this helpful

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Excellent

Certainly on a par with other Cotswold stories. Looking forward with pleasure to the next trilogy.

2 people found this helpful

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Oh Dear

Well this series has obviously proven popular but I struggled with all the unnecessary baggage that goes with Alfie, his rather serious mental issues are handled in a way that he comes out of it ‘a bit wet’ and can’t see how they fit in with what is expected from a Cosy mystery. The first book also throws a whole cast of characters at you that are portrayed as fairly unpleasant people and it didn’t take long for me to stop caring about most of the portrayed village.

It’s unfortunate that praise of Agatha Christie plays such a noticeable part in the first book as this set of stories do not fare well under such a light although the author, to her credit, is every bit as adept at Christie as revealing the killer from nowhere.

1 person found this helpful

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Plesant but mundane

Enjoyed the narration, would try different books by this narrator.
Stories were sweet, but found I just couldn’t care enough to finish the collection.
Had purchased to listen while knitting , but the book couldn’t hold my attention.

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I didn't finish this one...

I wanted to as I was captivated by the characters and the narrator does well, but strangely there's a lot of chapter skipping going on..imo you're better off buying one book at a time rather than three at once. Chapter 8 reads as chapter 23...confusing much!

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  • Laura Stone
  • 19-01-20

Lovely, sweet story and superb narration

What a charming series of stories! Alfie McAlister is a relatable character, new(ish) to the town of Bunburry. As he becomes acquainted with the townspeople, so do we, in addition to Alfie himself. The mystery within each story is less important than character development. The narration is great, capturing the mood and personality of each character precisely. I look forward to additional stories in the series. Such a feel-good listen. Thank you!

25 people found this helpful

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  • Christina
  • 27-03-20

Quaint short cozies

I love this series! It has perfect length little cozy mysteries with a quaint host of characters. Plenty of lovely British charm

17 people found this helpful

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  • D B
  • 10-06-20

This Bunburry 1-3 selection was very, very Good!

Truly enjoyed this..the narrators were great, the story was great. Easy to become involved with the characters and the stories.
A big 'thumbs up' all the way around and left me wanting more!
;HOWEVER, now the rest of the series is only available in a 'single' story selection.
How dissappointing...They should be grouped like the first was/is. Love the series but will NOT sacrefice a whole credit for only a short ..when the first selection for a credit was 3 stories.
So I won't get to hear the rest..... which is sad.

15 people found this helpful

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  • shelley davis
  • 07-08-20

Spiffy

Good mysteries. Superlative narration. I would listen to Nathaniel Parker read a phone book. Spot on in every single story.

13 people found this helpful

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  • EveryContinent
  • 30-07-20

Very clever and cozy - the real deal

Highly recommend. Every possible element of the genre here. Had not heard of the author. Will search for more! Nathanial Parker is an excellent narrator.

9 people found this helpful

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  • Caprilounge
  • 23-06-21

I love this series! Looking forward to more!

These 3 stories are very very well done. The pace is quick and the progress smooth - I get so tired of protagonists trying to convince another character that YES, THERE WAS A MURDER multiple times - that doesn't happen here. The characters are believable and narration terrific - someone here gave Mr. Parker a low score on his American accent - I thought the accents were spot on. More!

8 people found this helpful

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  • Sunfloweramara
  • 04-07-20

Geez.

I don’t expect a perfect American accent but the narrator making a woman sound like a man really pulls you out of the story. Total shame, it’s the worst narration I’ve come across in years. They should hire a second narrator to do the American bits. This guy simply can’t pull it off. Please fix this.

8 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Dee
  • 04-03-20

Short!

I bought this, it said it was almost 8 hours long, it might have lasted 5 minutes. Story seemed to have a sort of beginning.

8 people found this helpful

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  • MEC
  • 17-02-21

Skip this series

Cute, but not compelling or interesting - much better series out there to enjoy. Also took way too long to develop and unclear why these people were even involved in solving it.

6 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 24-10-20

Great Books

Can not wait to get more books in the series. Loved them all so far.

5 people found this helpful