Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
A Better Quality of Murder cover art

A Better Quality of Murder

By: Ann Granger
Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy,Maggie Mash
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Rare Interest in Corpses cover art
Say It With Poison, Mitchell and Markby Village, Book 1 cover art
Murder on the Lusitania cover art
The Wintringham Mystery cover art
Tom Wasp and the Newgate Knocker cover art
A Man Lay Dead cover art
Murder in Tuscany cover art
The Dead Dog Day cover art
The Theft of the Iron Dogs cover art
Murder in the Crypt cover art
The Sea Detective cover art
The King's Justice cover art
Mind of a Killer cover art
The Bookshop Murder cover art
The Malvern Murders cover art
The Viaduct Killings cover art

Summary

London, 1867. As Inspector Ben Ross of Scotland Yard walks homeward one Saturday night, the fog that swirls around him is like a living beast. After it has lifted a woman lies murdered in Green Park. Allegra Benedict was the beautiful Italian wife of an art dealer. As Ben begins his investigation, his wife Lizzie looks into Allegra's private life and uncovers more than one reason why someone might want her dead...

©2010 Ann Granger (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd

What listeners say about A Better Quality of Murder

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    58
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    55
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Reasonable story ruined by one of the readers

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Choosing a different female reader

Who was your favorite character and why?

Didn't have one, too distracted.

What didn’t you like about Laurence Kennedy and Maggie Mash ’s performance?

They had clearly had no guidance and/or heard each other's reading. The character Bessie, the maid, has a normal sparky cockney sparrow tone when voiced by Laurence Kennedy, but she became a slow-witted idiot when read by Maggie Mash. This made following and enjoying the story impossible. Almost all Maggie Mash's characters were very badly handled, complete ly OTT. Very annoying.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance.

Any additional comments?

Re-record it, or stop selling it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

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

Laboured performance by narrators!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I have enjoyed the listening but may think twice about having another book with the same narrators

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Better Quality of Murder?

I like the concept of the two narrators, husband and wife in this case, I just wish they had communicated with each other at the speed of a normal ocnversation

What didn’t you like about Laurence Kennedy and Maggie Mash ’s performance?

I listen to books while driving; when this book was on I had a desire to use my right foot to try to hurry it along. I thought the storyline a good one but the narration was so laboured that at times it really irritated. It is as if in 19th century Britain, everyone spoke at half the speed they do today.

Was A Better Quality of Murder worth the listening time?

Yes, but only just.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

Think twice!

I love Ann Granger books, but the performance of this one was simply so over acted and overplayed that it became ridiculous and silly. This particular series is not for me, sadly - but adore Campbell and Carter and Michell/Markham books- have them all. This one was disappointing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

A good yarn, entertaining to the last

What did you like best about this story?

It was an interesting plot, set in Victorian London and well researched so there were no jarring notes, apart from the author's belief that English women hyphenate their maiden and married names the way Americans seem to - we don't.

Have you listened to any of Laurence Kennedy and Maggie Mash ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No - but their performances were good and listenable.

Any additional comments?

It's not great literature, but it's a great page-turner which made me choose activities so I could listen to the story!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Submerged in historic bliss

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I recommend this book if you like a gentle mystery but beautifully written and narrated - for a time gone by.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like both the lead characters particularly made more interesting by the switch in narrators.

What about Laurence Kennedy and Maggie Mash ’s performance did you like?

I particularly like Maggie Mash's portrayal of their maid.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I broke this book down into several sittings but it was like walking about with a friend.

Any additional comments?

I have not been disappointed by any of the books from this series and am looking forward to the next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Another excellent addition to the series

Ann Granger's Ben and Lizzie Ross series contains well constructed plots and engaging characters. The historical and social background is obviously well researched, and some of the plot points raise thought provoking questions about, for example, class distinctions and the place of women in society. The two narrators do an excellent job. All round a good read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Old fashioned “who dunit”

The story was ok but found the narration very laboured and had to speed it up on the app. Ok as a sale book but doesn’t set the mind working or the pulse racing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Good Book

I enjoyed this book. And in fact all this series. Don't get the other reviews decrying the narrators. I think they are very good and evoke the Victorian era very well. The story does occasionally get stuck with long descriptions. But not that much. Many people moan about abridged versions of books. I they are fine and get on with just the relevant part a story. But returning to this one. I would say give it a go.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Excellent narrators

A great story brought to life vividly by the two excellent narrators. Interesting final few lines.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Love this series

Love this series, satisfying story and narrated really well. Seems a shame they don’t have books 1 and 2 on audible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!