Crippen cover art

Crippen

A Novel of Murder

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Crippen

By: John Boyne
Narrated by: James Daniel Wilson
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.


July 1910: The grisly remains of Cora Crippen, music hall singer and wife of Dr Hawley Crippen, are discovered in the cellar of 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden. But the Doctor and his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, have vanished, much to the frustration of Scotland Yard and the outrage of a horrified London.

Across the Channel in Antwerp, the SS Montrose sets sail on its two week voyage to Canada. Amongst its passengers are the overbearing Antonia Drake and her daughter Victoria, who is hell-bent on romance, the enigmatic Mathieu Zela and the modest Martha Hayes. Also on board are the unassuming Mr John Robinson and his seventeen-year-old son Edmund. But all is not as it seems...


©2011 John Boyne (P)2011 Penguin Audio Crime Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Fiction Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant  
This is an intriguing story woven skilfully around the facts of the Dr Crippen case.
However the best part of it is the reading and performance by James Daniel Wilson. He is immensely skilful at creating the many characters with distinguished voices for each whether male or female.
In fact he creates incredible female voices.
It was a superb performance.
Thank you.

Excellent performance

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This is an intriguing story from the beginning, with a number of timelines and characters interwoven perfectly. Narration was really well done, adding to the enjoyment

Captivating story, well told

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unlike other reviewers I thought the narration was excellent and enhanced rather than detracted from the rather odd story. Yes I enjoyed it and thought the characters well drawn but the plot a little weak.

Good, but not my favourite John Boyne.

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Not what you expect but very well told and read. Makes you think what really happened.

How unusual

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John boyne is the excellent story teller . I bought this audio book and finished listen within 2-3 days eventhough I was busy. James daniel wilson is an excellent reader and I now start looking for his narrative audio books.

Excellent reader and intriguing story

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A rather loose telling of the events surrounding the death of Cora Crippen and her husband’s arrest. There’s a wonderful cast of characters, most of whom are more wicked than the ‘doctor’ in their own ways. I was so happy to meet Matthieu and one of the Tommies again too.

Excellent

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Where does Crippen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In my top-3

What other book might you compare Crippen to, and why?

I can't compare Crippen to any other book, because there were so many characters and different voices. Or it must be The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. Yes, that book comes pretty close.

Have you listened to any of James Daniel Wilson’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Nothing is what it seems.

Any additional comments?

What a delicious book this was. Good speed, very good accents. There were times that I thought a whole army of narrators were behind the microphone. But no, mr. Wilson did it all on his own. Chapeau!
My next book will be The Absolutist. Have already read this book in Dutch, but it is such a good book too, that it will be like reading it for the first time. John Boyne's books really get me. Except for The Second Child. Too short a book and the tale was a bit flimsy.

Thrilling story and audioversion

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brilliant story expertly told a twist at the end great characters couldn't put down read

superb

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I did find the narration a little laboured but I stuck with it. The book is good but certainly not a patch on Hearts Invisible Furies.

Not the best of John boyne

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The book maybe, this audio version not at all. I listened to John Boyne's most recent book and thought it was the best audio book I had heard, the writing had such subtle humour and pathos to it, the narrator just amplified it. So with great enthusiasm I bought this audio book and found that it has been utterly ruined by the narrator's lack of skill. Laboured reading, and caricature voices which are just grating. Such a shame

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Had to give up.

What didn’t you like about James Daniel Wilson’s performance?

He just read the words of the narrative, no nuance at all. Then the voices of the characters were just caricature like, and totally failed to give Boyne's briliant subtle humour and story telling the depth it requires. So disappointed I gave up.

John Boyne's subtle narrative ruined by Narrator

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