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A Desperate Fortune

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About this listen

Beloved New York Times best-selling author Susanna Kearsley delivers a riveting novel that deftly intertwines the tales of two women, divided by centuries and forever changed by a clash of love and fate.

For nearly 300, the cryptic journal of Mary Dundas has kept its secrets. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas travels to Paris to crack the cipher.

Jacobite exile Mary Dundas is filled with longing - for freedom, for adventure, for the family she lost. When fate opens the door, Mary dares to set her foot on a path far more surprising and dangerous than she ever could have dreamed.

As Mary's gripping tale of rebellion and betrayal is revealed to her, Sara faces events in her own life that require letting go of everything she thought she knew - about herself, about loyalty, and especially about love. Though divided by centuries, these two women are united in a quest to discover the limits of trust and the unlikely coincidences of fate.

©2015 Susanna Kearsley (P)2015 Audible, Inc. Historical Historical Fiction Women's Fiction

Critic reviews

A grand adventure...Susanna Kearsley just keeps getting better and better! (Lauren Willig, New York Times best-selling author)
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Susanna Kearsley has long been a favourite author of mine and I was really looking forward to getting engrossed in this book. It has her hallmark elements of mixing the past and the present and the subject matter ( exiled Jacobites, ciphers, modern day code-breaking, Asperger's syndrome ) was really interesting. But.... the overall experience was spoiled by the narrator. Her voice was sometimes boring and sometimes strident and I found it off-putting. Part of me wanted to give up on it; I only kept going because I wanted to learn more about the Jacobite elements. It was a good job I persevered because otherwise I would have missed a whole section at the end about the author's research which, for me, was the best part of the book.

Interesting Story, Spoiled By The Narrator

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A really good story but unfortunately the Narrators voice grated at times upon me. The story was at times like one of the characters, very much monologued! Sentences were so long that it was hard to follow at times, it would have been improved by shorter ones. I have had to be honest, it did spoil my enjoyment at times.

A great story, shame about the Narrator

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Not Ms Kearsley’s best story but it was ok. However I’m afraid I found the narrator’s voice irritating She was good at performing different accents but she didn’t enhance an already mediocre book.

A rather dull story.

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Love Susanna Kearsley books but the narration by Katherine Kellgreen spoils them. Bring back Carolyn Bonneymen! I have just seen the latest edition to Audible is also Katherine Kellgreen so I am reluctant to get it. Overall this story is great but the pronunciation and style of narrating is hard on the ear. I would say give it a try and get past the voice but it's not easy.

Painful narration

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but spoiled for me by the way it was read. I found it frustrating to have the voice of the main character in the present time over acted. it's a shame because I've always enjoyed Susanna Kearsley's books

interesting story

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