Blueeyedboy
By: Joanne Harris
Narrated by: Dan Stevens
Different Class
Narrated by: Steven Pacey, Ewan Goddard
After 30 years at St Oswald's Grammar in North Yorkshire, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go. Each class has its clowns, its rebels, its underdogs, its 'Brodie' boys who, whilst of course he doesn't have favourites, hold a special place in an old teacher's heart. But every so often there's a boy who doesn't fit the mould. A troublemaker. A boy with hidden shadows inside.
Fifteen hours of skilfully drip-fed darkness!
By Rachel Redford on 09-05-16
Gentlemen and Players
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally – reluctantly – contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs.
Stunning Narration
By Laurie-an on 01-05-11
The Strawberry Thief
Narrated by: Joanne Harris
Vianne Rocher has settled down. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. With Rosette, her 'special' child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend. But when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is once more thrown into disarray....
Loved this visit to Lansquenet sur Tannes!
By Portybelle on 30-04-19
The Outcast
By: Sadie Jones
1957, and Lewis Aldridge is travelling back to his home in the South of England. He is straight out of jail and nineteen years old. His return will trigger the implosion not just of his family, but of a whole community. A decade earlier, his father's homecoming casts a different shape. The war is over and Gilbert has recently been demobbed. He reverts easily to suburban life - cocktails at six thirty, church on Sundays - but his wife and young son resist the stuffy routine. Lewis and his mother escape to the woods for picnics, just as they did in wartime days. Nobody is surprised that Gilbert's wife counters convention, but they are all shocked when, after one of their jaunts, Lewis comes back without her.
By Elisabeth on 02-08-10
A Week in December
By: Sebastian Faulks
Narrated by: Colin Mace
A Week in December takes place over the course of a single week. It brings together an intriguing cast of characters, each apparently in his or her own world but - as gradually becomes clear - intricately related. As the story builds to its climax, Faulks pulls together powerful ideas about family, money, religion and the way we live today.
Not convincing
By Tim on 02-12-10
Jackson Brodie
By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Susan Jameson
Cambridge is sweltering, during an unusually hot summer. To Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, the world consists of one accounting sheet--"lost" on the left, "found" on the right--and the two never seem to balance. Jackson has never felt at home in Cambridge and has a failed marriage to prove it.
unusual interesting kept me listening
By S on 06-07-16
The Guilty One
By: Lisa Ballantyne
Narrated by: Hugh Lee
Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an 11-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy. As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian's troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman who adopted him and whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life. But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her?
By Val on 15-10-12
A Cat, A Hat, and a Piece of String
Narrated by: Thomas Judd, Joanne Harris
'Stories are like Russian dolls; open them up, and in each one you'll find another story.' Conjured from a wickedly imaginative pen, here is a new collection of short stories that showcases Joanne Harris's exceptional storytelling art. Sensuous, wicked, mischievous, uproarious and wry, here are tales that combine the everyday with the unexpected; wild fantasy with bittersweet reality.
i got bored very quickly
By David on 18-02-13
By: Joanne M Harris
Narrated by: Joanne M Harris
When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud denounces her as a serious moral danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. As passions flare and the conflict escalates, the whole community takes sides. Can the solemnity of the church compare with the sinful pleasure of a chocolate truffle?
Great read
A Place of Greater Safety
By: Hilary Mantel
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
A tour-de-force of historical imagination, this is the story of three young men at the dawn of the French Revolution. Georges-Jacques Danton: zealous, energetic, debt-ridden. Maximilien Robespierre: small, diligent, and terrified of violence. And Camille Desmoulins: a genius of rhetoric, charming, handsome, but erratic and untrustworthy. As these key figures of the French Revolution taste the addictive delights of power, they must also come to face the horror that follows.
By Maddy on 04-06-14
The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder
By: Sarah J. Harris
Narrated by: Huw Parmenter
Whatever happens, don't tell anyone what you did to Bee Larkham.... Jasper is not ordinary. In fact he would say he is extraordinary.... Synaesthesia paints the sounds of his world in a kaleidoscope of colours that no one else can see. But on Friday, he discovered a new colour - the colour of murder. He's sure something has happened to his neighbour, Bee Larkham, but no-one else seems to be taking it as seriously as they should be.
An Interesting Listen
By H. Fosdike on 09-05-18
Hero: A Simon Serrailler Short Story
By: Susan Hill
When Simon Serrailler was a rookie constable with the Met, he did something reckless in the course of a night's work which caused a man's death. But his act was praised by his colleagues, and he was called a hero. Years later, now a detective chief superintendent who has been badly injured in the course of duty, he receives a medal for bravery at Buckingham Palace while recollecting that fateful night of his early career, when chance disguised itself as bravery.
Neat prequal
By Vicuña on 09-08-16
Sleep, Pale Sister
Henry Chester, a domineering and puritanical Victorian artist, is in search of the perfect model. In nine-year-old Effie he finds her. Ten years later, lovely, childlike and sedated, Effie seems the ideal wife. But something inside her is about to awaken. Drawn by her lover, Mose, into a dangerous underworld of intrigue and blackmail, she meets Fanny Miller, the brothel-keeper, and her shadowy daughter, Marta - murdered ten years ago on the day of Henry's weekly visit...
Sleep, Tired Reader
By Dr on 25-03-13
The Woodcutter
By: Reginald Hill
Wolf Hadda's life was a fairytale - successful businessman and adored husband. But a knock on the door one morning ends it all. Universally reviled, thrown into prison, Wolf retreats into silence. Seven years later Wolf begins to talk to the prison psychiatrist and receives parole to return home. But there's a mysterious period in Wolf's past when he was known as the Woodcutter. Now the Woodcutter is back, looking for truth and revenge...
By jackie Hammond on 23-05-11
Passenger 23
An Audible Original Drama
By: Sebastian Fitzek
Narrated by: Max Beesley, Rebecca Hall, Anthony Head, and others
With no police to investigate and no escape, could it be the perfect setting for a crime? Martin Schwartz (Beesley) is an undercover detective who is recovering from his wife and sons' bizarre disappearance from a cruise ship 5 years ago. He is a desperate man willing to take big risks. Martin never wanted to step onto a cruise ship again until he receives a call which can't be ignored. On average, 23 people per year disappear without a trace from cruise ships. Never before has someone come back... until now.
Really Interesting stuff!!!
By lynsey Patina on 22-12-15
An Audible Drama
Narrated by: Rupert Penry-Jones, Jack Boulter, Emilia Fox, and others
My name is Simon. I'm 10 years old. I'm a serial killer. Robert Stern (Rupert Penry-Jones), a successful defense attorney, doesn't know what lies in store for him when he agrees to meet a new client in a derelict estate on the outskirts of Berlin. Stern is more than surprised, when his old love interest and professional nurse Carina (Emilia Fox) presents him a ten year old boy as his new client. Simon (Jack Boulter), a terminally ill child, who is convinced he has murdered many men in a previous life.
Chilling, Difficult in places, but damn good!
By Simon on 07-06-15
Only the Innocent
By: Rachel Abbott
Narrated by: Peter Wickham
When billionaire philanthropist Sir Hugo Fletcher is discovered murdered in his London home, tied naked to a bed, the scandal is only a shadow of the darkness lurking off-camera. Laura Fletcher returns from an Italian vacation to find her home under siege by paparazzi. Is she shocked? Yes. But is she distraught? Not exactly. Chief Inspector Tom Douglas reveals his suspicions that Hugo's killer is female. The deeper Douglas digs, the more sordid details he uncovers.
Very poor narration
By mrs c a dunne on 20-07-15
By: Thomas Hardy
Narrated by: Peter Firth
When John Durbeyfield discovers a family connection to the ancient Norman family, the D'Urbervilles, the fate of daughter Tess is transformed. Sent by her ambitious parents to visit her wealthy D'Urberville cousins, Tess attracts the attention of the unscrupulous Alec. Seduced and discarded by him and alone in the world, she finds work as a milkmaid and the love of Angel Clare. Yet his love cannot accept the truth about Tess's past.
Amazing, loved now and no longer hated ☺
By Dawn on 13-03-15
Featuring an introduction by the author.
'Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child, timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer.'
Blueeyedboy is the brilliant new novel from Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems.
Told through posts on a Web journal called badguysrock, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life on the Internet.
©2010 Frogspawn Ltd (P)2010 Random House Audiobooks
The Monster Collection
Casino Royale (with Interview)
Edward G.
A dark and twisted Tale
If you are expecting a lighthearted book involving chocolate and frippery, then you may be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you want a dark and gripping story where the lines between fiction and reality are so blurred even the protagonists are unsure what is true and what is not, then read on. I fell into the latter camp.
The story is told through the public and private web journals of Blueeyed Boy, a 40-something living at home with his mother, and Albertine, a woman with a shadowy past. The web posts blend fact and fiction, but who are Blueeyed Boy and Albertine, and is Blueeyed Boy a murderer or someone who dreams of being one? This book has divided opinion judging by reviews on other sites, and is unquestionably unsettling. However, the plot twists towards the end came (to me at least) as a complete surprise, and the tension builds ominously. As the hole in which we view the characters' lives widens with more journal posts, we come to question what we thought we knew. As well as being a gripping story in its own right, the story highlights the dangers of thinking we know people we meet in the virtual world.
Blueeyed boy
I found the story line confusing and never got to grips with the characters despite two attempts to listen. The ending was an anti climax and didn't really explain the plot