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  • The Man in the Queue

  • Inspector Alan Grant, Book 1
  • By: Josephine Tey
  • Narrated by: Karen Cass
  • Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (36 ratings)

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The Man in the Queue cover art

The Man in the Queue

By: Josephine Tey
Narrated by: Karen Cass
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Summary

#1 in the Inspector Alan Grant series.

Inspector Alan Grant searches for the identity of a man killed in the line at a theater and for the identity of the killer—whom no one saw.

A long line had formed for the standing-room-only section of the Woffington Theatre. London’s favorite musical comedy of the past two years was finishing its run at the end of the week. Suddenly, the line began to move, forming a wedge before the open doors as hopeful theatergoers nudged their way forward. But one man, his head sunk down upon his chest, slowly sank to his knees and then, still more slowly, keeled over on his face. Thinking he had fainted, a spectator moved to help, but recoiled in horror from what lay before him: the man in the queue had a small silver dagger neatly plunged into his back. With the wit and guile that have made Inspector Grant a favorite of mystery fans, the inspector sets about discovering just how a murder occurred among so many witnesses, none of whom saw a thing.

Public Domain (P)2023 SNR Audio

What listeners say about The Man in the Queue

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    5 out of 5 stars

Old fashioned story telling at it’s best

Refreshing to follow the pursuit of a murder case in the days before Google Maps, DNA testing and cell phones.

Detective work relying on observation, subterfuge and hunches. The analysis and people watching is delicious, well paced and keeps you intrigued.

5 people found this helpful

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Remarkable

Tey draws a sympathetic picture of a conscientious detective. The fact that he doesn’t get it right, just knows he’s got it wrong, she works to his credit.
It is refreshing to have a story based on studies of human nature rather than the contemporary penchant for multiple murders which has become tedious in the extreme as well as totally unbelievable (but predictable for the reader). There are a few notable exceptions to this lazy habit of relying on shock factor. They are the best of the contemporary crime writers. Tey is among the greats of her era.

4 people found this helpful

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Great crime fiction by an unsung heroine

Fantastic story - pacy, funny, great characters. Superbly read by Karen Cass. I am now going to read all Josephine Tey's books.

4 people found this helpful

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  • CM
  • 31-01-23

Excellent!

Wonderful writing, satisfying who done it , very good narration. Josephine Tey was a very gifted author, lovely twists in her story telling .

3 people found this helpful

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Lovely to read again

A classic crime story with an interesting detective. Not my favourite of her books but I really enjoyed it.

2 people found this helpful

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Enjoyable

This is a good story, conclusion is a little disappointing. Very well read, and enjoyable though

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Cleverly crafted, believable characters, several plot twists.

Excellent story, well written, good plot twist at the end although it was a bit irritating.

2 people found this helpful

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Hard to follow

I possess all of Josephine Tey’s books, except this one. Found this first audible rendition incredibly hard to follow and my attention constantly wandering. It was a great effort to finish.

The narrator was excellent for women characters, but utterly awful playing the men. It spoilt the enjoyment.

Having said all that, I have downloaded the entire collection (64 hours) of her books with one credit and hope this just happens to be my least favourite.


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Bad ending

A bit of a cheating ending I felt. Up to then I had enjoyed it.

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  • anon
  • 30-01-23

Disappointment

After listening to The Franchise Affair and Brat Farrar, both of which were narrated by Carole Boyd and which I enjoyed a lot, this was a disappointment. I'm not sure if the narration mightn't have influenced my review of the story because I actually was so annoyed by the narrator that I stopped with 2 hours to go. How to describe her ...? I think it's the difference between reading or giving a talk and performing, and she's only a mediocre reader. The only other available narrator for Tey's books is Jennifer Dixon and I didn't like the sample of her performance, so I may have reached the end of Tey on Audible. Too bad.

1 person found this helpful

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  • No Shrinking Violet
  • 13-01-23

Twister, Anyone?!

If you want a story with incredible yet logical twists and turns, exciting police chases, and thrilling psychology, this is the book for you!! For me, the final twist wasn’t quite as satisfying as I had hoped, but it certainly tied it all up together well enough to convince Inspector Grant.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Charisma
  • 05-01-23

Police procedural with a chase

I like the writing style of Tey very much. I wasn’t overjoyed with the denouement, but the process of reaching it wasn’t without relish. I do think that the chase or hunt for the fugitive from (presumably) justice was too protracted, rather stretching the point of being a red herring too far for plausibility. Even so, as I said before, she certainly had a way with words.

P.S. I would have liked a male voice detailing the loads of introspection by the main male investigator. There are so many audiobooks with this sort of clash (both ways). That said, the narration is good.

1 person found this helpful

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  • D.Wright
  • 28-05-23

Well read, unusual case.

Tey started her Grant series with distilled meditation on what a criminal case is supposed to be about: discerning the truth based on evidence.

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  • Susan
  • 27-02-23

Highly recommended

A good book by a decent reader. I do recommend it even though the ending was a little suspect.