Great Find

Enjoyed this series of three short mysteries. I especially liked the second in the series. Jack, a retired NYPD detective from New York, teams with Sarah, a young woman recently returned to Cherringham, to solve questionable deaths. Jack and Sarah are likable characters without any romantic tension, at least in these stories. Sarah's young children and her parents are featured characters. I will definitely continue with the series, even though short stories are not necessarily my favorites.

Neil Dundgeon is an excellent reader, though I found Jack's American accent a bit flat.

44 people found this helpful

Entertaining Cotswold mysteries

A book of three mysteries set in the Cotswolds. Each is not so long that one finds it tiresome. Longer than a short story, shorter than a full novel. But just long enough for the complexity of the stories.

Sarah is a 30-something divorced mother of two, who owns a web design firm. Jack is an American, widowed, mid-50s, retired NYPD detective who lives on a barge at the edge of the village. Both are somewhat at loose ends. The relationship begins when Sarah's friend Sammi is found dead near Jack's boat, and she visits to ask if he saw anything the night Sammi died. From there, the series has the two becoming friends, and sleuthing in the village. For such a small place, there sure are a lot of suspicious deaths! But that's how these mystery towns are, I suppose.

The peripheral characters are fun, too. Sarah's parents, her two kids, personal assistant, and the various villagers we meet along the way. The stories are somewhat predictable, but enjoyable nevertheless. I do hope that the two of them become romantically involved at some point in the series, but it's not vital to the plot line.

The audio is annoying in some places. The narrator, while wonderful, raises and lowers the volume of his voice quite frequently. That's good for intrigue, and maybe ok if one is listening on headphones, it means that those of us listening in the car keep missing bits here and there when he gets really quiet. Rewind, raise the volume, listen again, lower the volume, and continue.

Yes, I already bought the second volume and am looking forward to listening some more.

23 people found this helpful

Wow! What a find!

I took a chance on this book -- never heard of it or the authors, but when I saw that Neil Dudgeon was narrating, I couldn't resist. A bit of Midsomer to listen to? Maybe. I was still a little reluctant, though, because I never buy books of short stories, which this purportedly was. Still.... Neil Dudgeon? Let's try it out.

I was about half through before I went back to Audible, and bought ALL the books in this series. It's THAT good! I've never done that before, bought them all, at once. But this series is worth it.

Cherryham is an English village in which a widowed American detective has retired. That's the basic plot. But things happen in this allegedly peaceful little community -- and now there's someone to investigate, which he will, if pressed. He teams up with Sarah, a mother and web designer, and the two find themselves in the midst of things most dreadful -- not a lot of gore or violence, just British murder, as refined as it gets.

I see people are comparing the series to Agatha Christie, or Angela Lansbury's Cabot Cove, but a better parallel just happens to be my favorite of all time. the "Simon Serrailler" books by Susan Hill. In that series, Serrailler is a sophisticated, gentlemanly sort of detective, but the real stars are all the people in his large and fascinating family as well as the community at large. The books are pleasurable because it's like visiting old friends, catching up with what they're involved with at the moment. That's also true of Cherryingham, we get to meet all types of village people, one after the other, and -- basically -- assess their ability to carry of a very discreet murder or two. It's great fun. And that's where the "short story" thing is resolved -- all the stories feature the same village, same lead characters, just different villagers, different crimes. It's all of a piece -- and what a piece it is!

And best of all? Neil Dudgeon as narrator. I was right about how good it is to listen to him. He's pitch perfect, impossible to improve on. I wish he would narrate a great many more books, he's a natural.

Love British village mysteries? These books are a fine treat!

22 people found this helpful

CLEAN AND FUN

I enjoyed the stories so much. It is so hard to find clean, funny and entertaining books. I love Neil Dudgeon's performance. He does not overdo the voices. I cannot handle a man trying to sound too much like a woman and visa versa. He leaves that to our imagination, which is so much better.

54 people found this helpful

Wonderful!

Story and storytelling is excellent. Three short mysteries with highly likable characters. Well worth my time and money.

26 people found this helpful

Nice Surprise

The Cherringham Mysteries was surprisingly good. I enjoyed all three episodes and bought the next 3 in the series.

24 people found this helpful

English Village Mysteries

Great light listening for fans of BBC/PBS style cozies. Dudgeon is a good reader/performer. You may recognize his voice from "Midsommer Murders" on tv. No gore or perversion so far.

34 people found this helpful

Enjoyable!

Any additional comments?

I agree with most of the other reviews entered here. The stories are engaging who-done-its. Pleasant listening. The music at the beginning and end of the episodes is a bit annoying, but would not stop me from listening. I recommend this series if you like mysteries, but you avoid writing with foul language and descriptive sexual situations, (as I do). I will be putting the next compilation in my cart!
Applause for Neil Dudgeon!

33 people found this helpful

Mysteries of quality

Neil Dudgeon narrates the cosy into the mysteries. A plump Chair,fireplace and glass of wine and each story would be an evening with good friends.

19 people found this helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable

Charming stories about the length of novellas, rather than full length novels. Very likable characters. Neil Dudgeon is the perfect reader and it is in great part why I've purchased the remaining stories.

17 people found this helpful