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A Treacherous Paradise

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A Treacherous Paradise

By: Henning Mankell
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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About this listen

A Treacherous Paradise sees Henning Mankell turn his talents for writing gripping thrillers to a world where power and powerlessness meet and passion is a dangerous commodity.

Hanna Lundmark escapes the brutal poverty of rural Sweden for a job as a cook onboard a steamship headed for Australia. Jumping ship at the African port of Lourenço Marques, Hanna decides to begin her life afresh. Stumbling across what she believes to be a down-at-heel hotel, Hanna becomes embroiled in a sequence of events that lead to her inheriting the most successful brothel in town.

Uncomfortable with the attitudes of the white settlers, Hanna is determined to befriend the prostitutes working for her, and change life in the town for the better, but the distrust between blacks and whites, and the shadow of colonialism, lead to tragedy and murder.

©2011 Henning Mankell 2011, English translation copyright © Laurie Thompson 2013 (P)2013 Isis Publishing Ltd, Random House Audiobooks Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction

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Mankell has again done his excellent characterisation in a story that holds your attention from the start.
As always Sean Barrett narrates so well.

Different, intriguing, thought provoking, credible

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Very different but very interesting, with as always a splendid performance by Sean Barrett who is quite magnificent-as a narrator and of course Henning Mankell an exceptional writer, most enjoyable thank you

Very interesting

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he really can write, and Sean can't 'alf read ... I'm about to start again at chapter 1 ... so so good, gotta listen all over again!! I'd forgotten I had this still in my library unread... what had I been missing?! bravo Mr Mankell ... masterfully done 👏👏👏

chillingly unputdownable ...

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Thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking tale built on a real life character set at the turn of the century in Portuguese East Africa. Henning Mankell really excels in describing the terrible plight of the blacks at that time.

A very unusual and gripping tale

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Thoroughly miserable from beginning to end, read this if you need to be reminded how awful human beings are.

Morbidly depressing

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