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  • Life Means Life

  • Jailed Forever
  • By: Nick Appleyard
  • Narrated by: Esther Wane
  • Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (106 ratings)
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Life Means Life cover art

Life Means Life

By: Nick Appleyard
Narrated by: Esther Wane
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Summary

This book tells the stories of Britain’s most depraved killers – monsters whose crimes outraged society and demanded the harshest penalty available to a British court. In a UK prison population of close to 100,000, fewer than 40 men and women have been told they will end their days in a prison cell.

A graphic and harrowing listen, this book is the first to bring together the case histories of every full-term lifer in Britain’s jails, as police, lawyers and the relatives of both victims and killers describe how the truth was pieced together – and how these awful crimes have affected their lives. Offering never-before-published information about these extraordinary offenders, Life Means Life uncovers the shocking true stories of the 36 who have forfeited their right to live among us – forever.

©2009 Nick Appleyard (P)2018 W. F. Howes Ltd

What listeners say about Life Means Life

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Comical!

Ok, so this is easy reading of a genre beloved of the British public, written in a jolly Sun journalist sensationalist style, and as such is fine; pre bedtime easy reading. To be fair I don’t think it pretends to be anything else. However, the narration of this fine work is an utter joke. I’m not sure if the comedy accents were done for a dare, or as retribution for some perceived wrong, but they are cringeworthy in the extreme. From the stern ‘you’ve been a naughty man’ judge, slipping up and down an octave, to the squeaky falsetto and baby voice of any female under 18, to the ‘Ivor the engine’ Welshman, it was universally appalling and unnecessary. It certainly seemed a strange work to choose to demonstrate comedic talent, and I’ll be avoiding any more audiobooks narrated by this individual in the future!

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11 people found this helpful

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

Disturbing stuff

It's terrifying to think that the evil people covered in this book once walked our streets.
Each chapter tells the story of a different lifer and the shocking crimes they committed.
It is well researched, well told and full of shocking details.
All in all a good, if disturbing, book.

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9 people found this helpful

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

Outdated

Considering it was released in July 2018, it is not very up to date at all. The book claims there are 36 on whole life tariff, while as of 2018 release date there are 70. There is no mention of Joanne Dennehy who was sentenced in 2014. Nor was Stephen Griffiths mentioned who was sentenced in 2010. Narration was mediocre, and often emotive words were used to describe events and individuals that made the book sound less than impartial. Meh!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • C
  • 31-10-19

flipping brilliant!!!

absolutely got sucked in to this book, really interested in the legal processes, some of the cases i have heard, some I hadn't. superb narrator, read with emotion and clarity.
i found myself really feeling emotional with regard to the horrors of these monsters victims. fascinating.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

👍

The content of the book is great but the narrators attempt at accents were terrible!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A good book with a but

The author has made an effort to give a brief overview of many cases, which is excellent for the casual listener of true crime in my opinion. However, the narrator cannot do accents! Everytime the author quotes the narrator puts on the accent and it took me out of the narrative completely, like an annoying coworker who doesn't take anything seriously and puts on stupid voices in an effort to be funny!

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3 people found this helpful

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

Recommended!

All true crime fans will appreciate this run down of some of Britain’s most horrific murders. Yes, due to the compendium nature of the book, it is concise - but that is probably its biggest strength. There’s no getting bogged down in detail. Every case is very adequately portrayed and you don’t feel you need to know more than the author provides. The narrator is OK and certainly doesn’t distract with her delivery - as you sometimes find in factual audio books. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend!

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2 people found this helpful

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

Relentless & Depressing

I like true crime but found this just too much. It's just one story after another after another of depressing stories of murder & rape, not always sympathetically told. So glad when I finished it (don't like to give up on a book). Only for the hardcore.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Poor narration

Felt like a child in school having a story read to them. Not a fan of narrators adopting dialects to presumably fit the lines.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • I
  • 05-04-22

Poor narrative and narration.

Only managed two stories before deleting it from my library. The attempts at accents and characters were painful and the stories were too emotionally manipulative.

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