GREAT performance makes “okay” story good

So usually we listen to one narrator reading a story. Occasionally Audible puts out selections that were programmed to be heard as a play (often originally done for radio, but I don’t know if that’s the case here). This is recent, and a full cast production of a short mystery, starring Bill Nighy, Suzanne Burden and Jon Glover.

The story itself is short, comedic, and ranks somewhere along the lines of a cozy, though not exactly that. Nighy plays a desperate out-of-work actor, Charles Paris, who seems to have a talent for exasperating everyone around him. He is given a role in a tv show billed as “Info-tainment.” He plays a man who was murdered, as it evolves into actual murder.

While I wouldn’t rave about the actual play, I would like to send my highest recommendations for the listening experience, just because the sound quality of this full cast recording was excellent. It is relatively new, not like some of the older radio broadcasts that have been reworked for listening. I was surprised at how nicely it played.

What made me want to find a cloth to bite down on in frustration, though, was that this is a 2 hour, 4 act play. And after every act, they laboriously had to go through all the music and credits (do they think we can’t remember for 30 minutes?). It was such an interruption. For serialized radio over days it would have made sense. For something most people would hear in one sitting, it is just annoying.

Anyway, everybody has stuff that gets under their skin, so just know to expect that, and enjoy. It’s rather a fun listen.

5 people found this helpful

Well worth the sales price!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

These BBC productions are funny, clever, tightly written and well-acted.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot is a bit far-fetched, but the cast's reaction to the situation is the true entertainment.

Have you listened to any of Bill Nighy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nighy's take on Charles Paris is ideal.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

These Charles Paris stories are like literary rice pudding--you could consume the whole batch in one sitting, but taking it in reasonable servings is probably the best bet. It lasts longer that way...

Any additional comments?

Grab these productions whenever they're on sale! That way, their value only pays more in dividends!

3 people found this helpful

Sexiest 50-something couple there is!

Would you listen to A Reconstructed Corpse (BBC Radio Crimes) again? Why?

I love the BBC productions of the Charles Paris stories. I wish they'd do all of them. Bill Nighy IS Charles Paris, and with Suzanne Burden, they are the sexiest couple-- with such terrific dialogue and warmth between them.

These productions are very trim, but I don't miss what they leave out from the books. Bill Nighy and Suzanne Burden are worth every minute. And he and John Glover (who plays his agent) are almost as funny together.

These are just plain fun.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Frances-- Charles' wife, long "abandoned," but entirely her own woman, who takes him when she wants him, and kicks him out when she doesn't. They are great together-- funny, loose, sexy. Frances usually takes the lead in some action, and as Charles calls her, she's Boadicea come back to life.

What about Bill Nighy’s performance did you like?

He's wry and funny and does the asides that are so CHARLES in ways that really honor the character.

2 people found this helpful

Mystery and Adventure at its Best

Easy and quick listen for you mystery fans. Just sit back and relax while Paris takes you for a ride.

1 person found this helpful

Awesome writings and performances!!!

I am a great fan of Bill Nighy so when I saw his name attached to these audible readings I just had to get them. I am SOOO glad I did.
His performance as well as the other narrators were awesome !!! I just couldn't get enough of them!!

1 person found this helpful

Bill Nighy makes this

So to be honest if Bill Nighy was not in this I am not sure I would be buying this series. The whole production is great. Just like TV with out having to watch anything. Bill really makes it for me. His dry sense of humor really shines thru in these shorts.