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Penhallow

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Sparkling characterisation and inventive plot from one of the best-known and beloved detective novelists of all time.

The death of Adam Penhallow on the eve of his birthday seems, at first, to be by natural causes. He was elderly after all. But Penhallow wasn't well liked. He had ruled over his estate with an iron will and a sharp tongue. He had played one relative off against another. He was so bad tempered and mean that both his servants and his family hated him.

It soon transpires that far from being a peaceful death, Penhallow was, in fact, murdered. Poisoned. With his family gathered to celebrate his birthday, and servants that both feared and despised him, there are more than a dozen prime suspects. But which one of them turned hatred into murder?

©1943 Georgette Heyer (P)2021 Penguin Audio Crime Fiction Detective Historical Mystery Police Procedural Traditional Detectives Fiction
All stars
Most relevant
An over-long exploration of a family of ghastly people. The murder seemed more a device to show other sides of the various characters, than any real part of the plot. One wonders what the author was trying with this work, while written with her usual sharp insight, and voiced brilliantly by Matt Addis. I’m glad I listened to it, but I doubt I will repeat the experience.

Over long

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Matt Addis does his best but this is a dreadful, long-winded detective yarn completely unlike any of Georgette's other novels. No humour and not one person you can warm to. Literally all the main characters are repellent and pretty much the same thing happens over and over again: evil tyrant Penhallow bullies all of them and hates most of them. My advice? Don't bother, but if you must, listen to the first few chapters to establish who the characters are, and the 'plot', such as it is, then skip to chapter 15 to get ON with it!

Awful book

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Not a favourite, story end very disappointing, well written but whole book is an arguing family so not a restful listen! Matt Addis is excellent as ever

Arguing!

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I stuck with this as I had really enjoyed Georgette Heyer's other mystery novels but this was just awful. Couldn't care about anyone in it. Well performed, but even the talented narrator couldn't save it.

Poor quality

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Unlikeable characters. No puzzle or mystery. Also unusually lacking in humour for a Heyer novel.

Lengthy and unsatisfactory

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