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Checkmate

The Lymond Chronicles Book Six

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About this listen

Penguin presents the audio edition of Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett, read by David Monteath.

It is 1557 and legendary Scottish warrior Francis Crawford of Lymond is once more in France. There he is leading an army to rout the hated English from Calais.

Yet while Lymond seeks victory on the battlefield he is haunted by his troubled past - chiefly the truth about his origins and his marriage (in name only) to young Englishwoman Philippa Somerville.

As the French offer him a way out of his marriage and his wife appears in France on a mission of her own, the final moves are made in a great game that has been playing out over an extraordinary decade of war, love and struggle - bringing the Lymond Chronicles to a spellbinding close.

 Action & Adventure Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Romance Thriller & Suspense World Literature Marriage Fiction Suspense War Highlander

Critic reviews

Praise for Dorothy Dunnett
A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention
Marvellous, breathtaking
A masterpiece of historical fiction
One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas
Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety
Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction
All stars
Most relevant
The final book will not disappoint you, all the story lines come together and this is what makes the whole series a really good listen.
There are more French passages in this book than all the others and this I did find very annoying. I do wonder why authors do these foreign language passages in a book. It is pointless. It does not enhance the story in any shape or form, so why not just print theses so called "important" passages in the language the book is being read/ listened too in.

A Fitting Ending.

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Last book in the series finished! What will i do without Lymond and Phillipa. My all time favourite series by far. Dorothy Dunnetts name has to be put up there with the best, a master storyteller who weaves a complex and brilliant story with great characters. Its not an easy read, but its so so worth it. Just let it flow over you and it will capture your imagination and not let go.

One of the greats, a masterpiece

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Not many faults with this reading. Only a couple of mistakes in the text jarred on me, but only because I know and love the book so well.

Excellent narration.

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This is a wonderful story brought beautifully to life. So well researched. Not to be missed.

Fantastic

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This is the best historical fiction series I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to, although to restrict it to a single genre does it a gross disservice. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to discover this series, but I’ve been savouring each book as I’ve gone through them, and my first thought on finishing this one was ‘I can’t wait to start them again!’

Brilliantly written, wonderfully narrated, timeless novels for fans of good literature and brilliant storytelling. Cannot recommend highly enough.

I can’t believe it’s finally over!

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