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  • The Fourteenth Letter

  • By: Claire Evans
  • Narrated by: Maggie Mash
  • Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (81 ratings)
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The Fourteenth Letter cover art

The Fourteenth Letter

By: Claire Evans
Narrated by: Maggie Mash
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Summary

Phoebe Stanbury was killed in the summer of secrets....

One balmy June evening in 1881, Phoebe Stanbury stands before the guests at her engagement party: this is her moment, when she will join the renowned Raycraft family and ascend to polite society.

As she takes her fiancé's hand, a stranger holding a knife steps forward and ends the poor girl's life. Amid the chaos, he turns to her aristocratic groom and mouths: 'I promised I would save you.'

The following morning, just a few miles away, timid young legal clerk William Lamb meets a reclusive client. He finds the old man terrified and in desperate need of aid: William must keep safe a small casket of yellowing papers, and deliver an enigmatic message: The Finder knows.

With its labyrinth of unfolding mysteries, Claire Evans' riveting debut will be adored by fans of Kate Mosse, Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Jessie Burton.

©2017 Claire Evans (P)2017 Little, Brown Book Group

Critic reviews

"Exuberant plotting and witty prose. Great fun." ( The Times)
"A darkly brilliant romp packed with intrigue and romance...curl up and prepare to become immersed."( Heat)
"Claire Evans has created a cast of deliciously sinister and mysterious characters. A hugely satisfying read." ( Good Housekeeping)

What listeners say about The Fourteenth Letter

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mixed feelings!

The plot is not bad at all but such a shame about the narration. Characters portrayed very badly by reader. A better narrator may have made this more enjoyable.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Terrible Narrator

I had to return this after a very short stint due to the poor narration. The accents were so bad, they spilled onto the normal prose, and muddled the accents of other characters when switching between both. It’s a shame, as the story sounded good. Hopefully others won’t be as audibly annoyed as I was to enjoy the book in full.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

So much better than I expected!

Somehow I wasn't expecting this to be a tale of murder, conspiracy, betrayal and intrigue going back centuries destroying families and creating new ones. The characters are drawn from across the globe and from every walk of life, not just the typical Victorian 'Upstairs downstairs' drama.

Great characters, great parallel storylines coming together at the end. Flawed characters grew on me as much as the good guys.

So glad I took a chance on an author I hadn't heard of and a book I wasn't sure about. Nice long story too. Looking forward to another from the same author.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Terrible characterisation

Such a shame. Maggie Nash ruins this book by her poorly judged and badly executed characterisations to the point that it is unlistenable. Avoid.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Painful to listen to....

I had to give up on this half way through the first chapter. I’ve become accustomed to quality performances from the majority of Audible’s narrators but Maggie Marsh proceeds at a laborious pace with the dialogue particularly inauthentic and contrived. The result is an almost pantomime performance. - a ridiculous interpretation of what seems to be a compelling, well written text and a promising story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Oh dear

I've managed to reach chapter 10, however I don't think I can continue with the audible version of this. I have now bought the kindle version so that I can read what seems to be a very good, complicated story spoilt by the narration

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fourteenth Letter. Recommended

It’s a excellent story, twists, turns - great characters. Definitely worth a listen/ read.
The narrator at times was ‘clipped’ in words, and too slow in delivering the lines, almost like the character were stilted when talking. However once I got used to it I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping thriller with amazing twists

A good, meaty thriller that kept me enthralled until the end and pleased with the conclusion.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great story but…

It’s a really good story But was ruined by the ridiculous enunciation and speech of the reader

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I couldn't finish this.

I just couldn't listen to the narration any more. Characterisation and accents terrible. Plot tolerable.

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