Heartwarming and satisfying

This is a moving and unique story beautifully read by Dame Penelope Keith. Love the idea that we are all a puzzle we need to solve ourselves. Also the combination of well drawn older characters with a young man finding himself. Bravo!

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wonderfully original book

both compelling and moving. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. it doesn't matter if the reader likes puzzles or not.

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Great in every way

Such a wonderfully involving story that lifted me at a time when I needed it most.

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Enjoyable read

Spotted this book in a review when it said that the audible would be narrated in part by Penelope Keith, a favourite of mine, so I thought I’d give it a go. Glad I did. Russell Tovey the other narrator was good as well. As with many narrators some of the voices of different characters are better than others but not enough to ruin it. The story was well crafted with the character of Clayton well developed . I really enjoyed being along side him as he tracks the clues. I think it worked well as an audiobook with the alternating chapters being read by each of them. There is a pdf of the puzzles included but not essential to the book.

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Excellent story

Excellent story and loved the way we followed the fellowship and the journey. Notation was great and help define the story pathways. makes a great holiday book, definitely recommend.

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Thoroughly enjoyed

Beautifully written and read. Quirky, uplifting and absorbing. It's perfectly possible to enjoy the story without getting hung up on the puzzle aspect.

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Penelope Keith’s narration was sublime

Cosy but interesting story. Standout for me was the narration especially Penelope Keith. I don’t know why I’ve never heard her read a book before.

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Like nothing I’ve read before

Totally different kind of book. In equal parts had me wanting to pause to solve puzzles and continue listening to find out how the story ended.

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Gentle, unfolding plot.

The ‘then’ and ‘now’ style with their separate and very appropriately cast narrators culminated in a satisfying conclusion. The sense of period comes across well, the style is formal and a tad old fashioned, but in a good way. Think Agatha Christie or similar.

Burr’s style is sometimes a little over-descriptive for me, but the word pictures build a tangible sense of place and characters.

Some of the voice acting helps with the large cast of characters, but the narrators occasionally took this to extreme. The puzzles within the book might have been better written down, so be prepared to write the occasional note.

Overall, this book was enthralling because it wasn’t like anything else. The story had the qualities of an old sofa, familiar if not always comfortable, but well worth sitting on nonetheless. Lovely to hear Penelope Keith’s RP accent, little changed from her 70’s ‘Good Life’. Russell Tovey read with huge empathy and understanding of his main character and was an excellent choice for the part. Occasionally, edits in the performance were noticeable, but overall sound quality superb.

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Fantastically, different story!

What a wonderful story. I loved all the different stories of the different characters. It was so nice to read something different & with the bonuses included (don't want to put in any spoilers)!
Can't wait for Samuel's next book!

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