Bellman & Black cover art

Bellman & Black

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

About this listen

As a boy, William Bellman commits one small cruel act that appears to have unforeseen and terrible consequences. The killing of a rook with his catapult is soon forgotten amidst the riot of boyhood games.

And by the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, he seems indeed, to be a man blessed by fortune. Until tragedy strikes, and the stranger in black comes, and William Bellman starts to wonder if all his happiness is about to be eclipsed.

Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, he enters into a bargain. A rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born.

©2013 Diane Setterfield (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt
All stars
Most relevant
I really wanted to love this, having enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale so much, but it just isn't in the same league and I found myself struggling to care about the characters or the plot. The narration did nothing to add to my enjoyment of the story, and I found it difficult to stay focused at times.

Disappointing compared to her others

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed this book a lot at the outset but by the end , I am sorry to say, that had grown a bit tired of it . I think there that there was a lot of unnecessary detail , which added little and perhaps destroyed the momentum that may otherwise have been building . That is not to say that it is poorly written or ill conceived . It's just a bit overdone , in my opinion.

Mislaid its early promise

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
very well structured and well written. the pace and tone worked to achieve an emotionally accurate account of grief avoidance and projection. although a book about death it serves as a celebration of life. very enriching.

great storytelling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved Diane Setterfield's previous books but this one, not so much.

Firstly, the narration needed to be slowed down, I put it on 0.9 before I could listen

Secondly it is beautifully written, there's a lovely rhythm to it, as with her previous books; it's poetic and eloquent and the words are a pleasure to hear/read. It is, perhaps a little over-long

Thirdly -SPOILER ALERT -

The story itself started as balanced, light and shade, joyful moments and tragedy. But for me as Will Bellman's life crumbles and his focus shifts and priorities change, the book drags you down. The touches of magic are too few, the darkness too much. I waited and hoped for so long for him to find his redemption or simply to find himself and to resurface. But the character changed beyond recognition. At the end of it all I was sad that I'd read it. I wished that I had not.

Disappointed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully sad but sweet and deep.

The threads of this tale are wonderfully woven with messages and lessons throughout.

Haunting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews