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  • A Murderous Malady

  • A Florence Nightingale Mystery
  • By: Christine Trent
  • Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
  • Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (67 ratings)
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A Murderous Malady cover art

A Murderous Malady

By: Christine Trent
Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
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Summary

For fans of Charles Todd and Deanna Raybourn comes Christine Trent's second Florence Nightingale mystery. 

Cholera has broken out in London, but Florence Nightingale has bigger problems when people begin dying of a far more intentional cause - murder. 

The London summer of 1854 is drawing to a close when a deadly outbreak of cholera grips the city. Florence Nightingale is back on the scene marshaling her nurses to help treat countless suffering patients at Middlesex Hospital as the disease tears through the Soho slums. But beyond the dangers of the disease, something even more evil is seeping through the ailing streets of London. 

It begins with an attack on the carriage of Florence's friend, Elizabeth Herbert, wife of Secretary at War Sidney Herbert. Elizabeth survives, but her coachman does not. Within hours, Sidney's valet stumbles into the hospital, mutters a few cryptic words about the attack, and promptly dies from cholera. Sidney, frantic that an assassin is stalking his wife, enlists Florence's help, who accepts but has little to go on except for the valet's last words and a curious set of dice in his jacket pocket. Soon, the suspects are piling up faster than cholera victims, as there seems to be no end to the number of people who bear a grudge against the Herbert household. 

Now, Florence is in a race against time - not only to save the victims of a lethal disease but to foil a murderer with a disturbingly sinister goal.

©2019 Christine Trent (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about A Murderous Malady

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great series - shame about the Americanisms

I’ve really enjoyed listening to the Florence Nightingale series. It’s interesting to imagine how feisty she was and so non-typically Victorian she must have been to achieve all that she did.
It’s a real shame however that the editors didn’t weed out the Americanisms, seeing as the books are based in Victorian England! In particular, the final chapters are full of mention of diapers and not nappies. It was very distracting and really grated in my ear.

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

A good story - BUT

I enjoyed this but it does wander around a bit as if it is not quite sure what it is supposed to be. So while I listened to the end I was conscious of trying to work out whether it was a mystery story or some attempt at a historical work.
All that said, its free so give it a go,
ATB
kev

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

So Close to Very Good . . . . . But ....

This second book in the Florence Nightingale series is actually better than the first in some ways. Now that the author has laid out her state-owned and introduced us to her characters there was less of the tedious "back-fill" than is required for the blank canvas.
I also found that by increasing the reading speed to 1.15 I was able to reduce the irritating "Knightsbridge Drawl" that I found so annoying whilst listening to the previous book.
But here's the big "But" - the story is set in the London of 1854, the high non-Fiction period; I know that books have to appeal to a trans-Atlantic audience but surely those who speak American English could cope with a story written in Anglo English? The use of words like "stoop" for step, "taxi" when the conveyance of the day was a hansom cab, or a wheeler, the word "vest" used for a waistcoat . . . It's not difficult, if I can translate the text one way surely our cousins overseas can do the reverse.
The last straw changed my teeth gritting to teeth grinding when the narrative referred to a baby's "diaper". Really? That was a step (or a stoop) too far!
Whilst the word was at one time used in the UK for a chequered cloth (which itself had originated in France), by the period of this story the British baby's bottom was covered with a napkin, or nappy; it was not covered by a diaper. The word "diaper" fell out of usage here, instead it travelled to the United States with those seeking fortune in the New World. In short, if a story is set in mid Victorian England, then the appropriate version of English should be good enough.

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

Historically interesting

I found the historical context interesting especially the cholera epidemic, Afghan wars and the guardianship of children after divorce of parents informative. The author wove the story into that of Florence Nightingale as a detective well. I enjoyed the book as a light listen

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story

I hated the voice of the women 😵‍💫 other than that it was a good story well read

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slight

An nice easy listen if you don’t want to concentrate too hard. As others point out there is a Welshman who speaks like Yoda and some very clunky Americanism (again with stoops!!)

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

Good story, but a couple of niggles

Good story, well narrated. I enjoy a wide range of historical novels…a good book will immerse the reader back into that time in history. Although I felt the story line was interesting and the Audible version was narrated in well educated English, there were some “Americanisms” which took me out of the story and brought me back to reality, which was a shame as it really did detract. Words such as “pants” meaning “trousers”, was the most obvious. Other phrases such as “go fetch” instead of “go and fetch” which would have been more in line with English…not a massive deal for many, perhaps, but for me, it was an annoying niggle. If the novel had been set in the US, the situation would not have occurred. However, being set in England, it did grate… having said that, i did enjoy the overall story.

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

Fantastic story until...

the end when a nappy was referred to as a diaper! An American tern.

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

spoilt by constant "americanese"

A really good book, spoilt by constant use of American words. Block, gotten etc. Shame.

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

Reasonably good story

I enjoyed very much the insight into the cholera outbreak and it’s origins. However the use of the word ‘gotten’ being American and not in the English Upper Class vocabulary in that era, grated every time it was used.

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