A divine treat simply in a class of its own!

I was a little wary when I started listening it as there were so very many imaginative metaphors and it all seemed a little self conscious and after having such a fabulous run of excellent books, I was afraid this be the break in my run of luck.
However I could not have been more wrong and the more I listened the more I loved it.

It just was everything I love in a book and yet unique, with a really fresh style and format which was really intriguing and refreshing.

I loved the way it celebrated London life and took us for a tour of the city, giving insight into so much, like galleries, publishing and socialising apart from the dynamite plot and wickedly constructed characters. It simply was a very addictive, frothy delight full of all the most delicious things from social influencers to vintage champagne to, of course ... murder - all with such a skilled light touch and a razor like humour.

It was such a treat also the way the characters were given extra dimension by the other character's opinions and views of them as it made them seem so real. Even minor characters were given the opportunity to fascinate with entertaining backstories. Also the way we got to see behind the scenes of Nell and Detective Beauchamp by being alone with them in their homes and of course, in their minds, really made them come alive and it was impossible to become very involved with them, knowing them so well.

Imogen Wilde did a really good job of voicing Nell - though sadly there were several mispronunciations which could have been easily avoided and jarred with her character - so I would give her a 4.8 for narration, but the real stumbling block for me was Michael Muyunda's narration which made listening very hard - so difficult indeed that I would have given up - but just this is such a fabulous book I persevered and at limes it was like trudging through treacle.

Michael Muyunda's voice is lovely and I can see why he would have been initially cast for the role of Detective Beuchamp but it is his delivery which is just so bizarre. It is like talking to someone who has just been running or is trapped down a well, as it is all spoken on the exhale with quite a pause before the next few words. regardless of any punctuation in the writing.

At times it sounds almost like a poetry reading - but not in a good way.

Sentences are ......
broken up into ........
small chunks
forced out on a breath ....
and then a gap...
for air...
until the next.

This makes it just so hard to work out what is going on as all pretty monotone and gets very frustrating.
Similarly, as a the blocks of words, broken up into breaths with the gap for air causing an overlong pause, it just makes it hard to understand the meaning of some sentences and there are part where it just descends into mumbling when he just sounds tired, I found that I mentally drifted off sometimes during these periods and only mentally engaged again with the story when it became one of Imogen's chapters and then I would have to go back as I only then realise what a lot I had missed, This was particularly bad when there were a lot of Michael Muyunda's narration chapters back to back.

I would urge Audible to contact the producers and fix this problem as although it is a fabulous book this part of the narration makes it hard work and I have spent twice the time listening as had to go back and really concentrate of the Detective Beauchamp's chapters to fully understand the excellent plot.

All the stars for the superb writing, for the plot, for an amazing adventure in London and if this audiobook was a dessert you would find my plate was simply scraped clean as I adored every tiny morsel of this fascinating confection of a mystery thriller.

I cannot wait for the next thriller from Charlotte Vassell and am so very excited to have found another favourite author,

6 people found this helpful

Marred by foggy narration

Some parts of the narration were so incomprehensible I had to rewind serveral times to understand what had been said - very frustrating ( not an accent issue , a speed and diction issue)

2 people found this helpful

Good story

This was a really good story with well-drawn characters. However the male narrator was terrible. Spoke too quickly and indistinctly

2 people found this helpful

A good story

I'm a bit tired of reading about tired depressed detectives with substance issues, so Caius Beauchamp is like a breath of fresh air. The story overall is very good and relevant with complicated undercurrents.

The disappointing part is the male narrator, his chapters were full of mumbling, and at times it even became hard to follow the story because of that.

1 person found this helpful

Brilliant book!

I absolutely love this book, so clever so funny, so brilliant. The female narrator was great. Unfortunately, the whole experience was very let down by the male narrator who spoke very unclearly and with odd emphasis, or lack of emphasis, as if he hadn’t read the sentence before reading it out loud and therefore didn’t know how to bring it to life. It really was a struggle to keep listening to him, and all the sentences and voices were just jumbled together in the same tone that depressed the otherwise sparkling text. The overall story was so great that I persevered until the end.

1 person found this helpful

What a debut!

A cracking, clever audiobook - an interesting plot, absolutely wonderfully written characters with all the characters being well-developed rather than just two or three, some very sharp moments & loved all the classics & literary references as someone who is equally keen on Waugh, Keats & Austen. I hope there will be more from this author!

1 person found this helpful

Really promising stuff

This is ambitious, intelligent, funny, angry writing and I look forward to the next in the series. Not 5 star yet but definitely on its way. I agree with the other reviewer who commented on the male reader letting the side down a bit - he didn’t differentiate between the voices sufficiently.

1 person found this helpful

Brilliant debut!

Loved the book, was apprehensive as there were only a few reviews to go on but highly recommend! Great listen and easy plot to follow. Looking forward to more from Vassell.