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A Murder of Quality

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A Murder of Quality

By: John le Carré
Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale
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Stella Rode has twice disturbed the ancient cloisters of Carne School: firstly by being the wrong sort, with her doilies and china ducks, and secondly by being murdered. George Smiley, who has his own connection with the school, is asked by an old Service friend to investigate. Smiley knows that Stella feared her husband would murder her, but as he probes further beneath Carne's respectable veneer, he uncovers far more than a simple crime of passion. In his second George Smiley novel, le Carré moves outside the world of espionage to reveal the secrets at the heart of another particularly English institution. The result is a pitch-perfect murder mystery, with Smiley as master detective.

THE SECOND GEORGE SMILEY NOVEL

'Beautifully intelligent, satiric and witty' Daily Telegraph

©le Carré Productions 1961, 1989, 2011 (P)Penguin Audio 2024

 Classics Crime Crime Thrillers Espionage Mystery Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Murder Witty Fiction
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A Legacy of Spies By: John le Carré
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As a 70+ reader I can remember the vocabulary and mores recreated here and thoroughly enjoyed Beale’s deliciously spiked delivery. Some memorable monsters stalk these pages and le Carre’s afterwords help to explain their genesis.
The plot is inevitably dated by archaic attitudes.

Another world!

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Superb! The pacing, inflection and general narrative style was without equal! Revisiting John le Carre is proving a total joy. Thank-you!

Simon Russell Beale! One of the greatest living actors of his generation!!!!

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This was a crime novel second and first an excoriating, often funny, ripping apart of the class system, the class boxes in which we trap ourselves as a nation, and most especially the public school system. It amused me greatly to discover after finishing the book that the school which sits at the centre, like a taut spider's web, is the one le Carre endured as a child, as did my own partner. As is usual with le Carre's writing, underneath the plot sits a deep, nuanced and very humane understanding of our weaknesses and failings. I am off to find more of his work in audiobook form.

Wonderful

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George Smiley skillfully investigates this case as an amateur sleuth cajoling his suspects to reveal all. Excellently read by Simon Russell Beale.

Brilliant whodunit

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I’m new to the author and enjoyed his first novel but this was even better. The characters he creates are fascinating. His narrative arresting at times and I look forward to the next novel. Downloading now.

Insightful social commentary

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