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  • Maestra

  • By: L. S. Hilton
  • Narrated by: Emilia Fox
  • Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (402 ratings)
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Maestra cover art

Maestra

By: L. S. Hilton
Narrated by: Emilia Fox
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Summary

Sex. Murder. Shoes. A shockingly original and darkly decadent thriller.

By day Judith Rashleigh is a put-upon assistant at a London auction house. By night she's a hostess in one of the capital's unsavoury bars. Desperate to make something of herself, Judith knows she has to play the game. She's learned to dress, speak and act in the interests of men. She's trying to be a good girl.

But after uncovering a dark secret at the heart of the art world, Judith is fired, and her dreams of a better life are torn apart. So she turns to a long-neglected friend. A friend who kept her chin up and back straight through every past slight. A friend a good girl like her shouldn't have.

©2016 L. S. Hilton (P)2016 Bolinda

What listeners say about Maestra

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

Utter tosh. Definitely not a thriller.

Any additional comments?

This book's strap line claimed that it would be'... the most shocking thriller.' But the only shock it contained for me was the realisation, less than two hours in, that it was an unremittingly poor erotic novel. I only finished it in the desperate hope that there would be an awful comeuppance for the ghastly Judith, the serial killing, social-climbing, bed-hopping, label-loving, champagne-quaffing, wannabe art historian and gallerist. No such luck.

The plot was unbelievable, the characters were ghastly, inhabiting a world where women are reduced to roles as shopaholics, sex fiends/objects, trophies, whores, escorts or druggies. The one vaguely nice female character was portrayed as a dumb, upper class secretary-type who was delighted to be marrying and becoming an 'Army wife.'

I was astonished to find out that this pile of nonsense was written by a female Oxbridge historian (who has written serious works of non-fiction) whose agent suggested that she try writing erotica. Why, I wonder? To cash in on the notoriety of the huge sales of erotic novels following the '50 Shades' phenomenon? Nothing would surprise me but my honest opinion is that this book is a waste of time and money. I won't be reading the sequel. I'm not a rampant feminist but this kind of book makes me cringe for ordinary, everyday women. We have to live in a world where authors and publishers think this drivel is entertainment.

As for Emilia Fox....I'm amazed she agreed to do this. An actor of her quality could do a lot better than an erotic novel I would have thought. She did a good job with this but she must have squirmed at having to read some of the awful purple prose she was given.

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16 people found this helpful

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

Great story ... Pity about the 50 Shades Style mash up which took away from an otherwise great and unusual thriller.

What an unusual book .... Or should I say books, as it seemed as if an intriguing thriller which took place against a breathtaking backdrop of the European hang outs of the rich and famous, had been liberally interspersed with great chunks of an erotic novel. This seemed to me as a rather callous and calculating marriage of convenience to capture two market audiences and sell twice as many books as the main thriller was not well served by this side serving of gratuitous kink which not only devalued the plot but the protagonist also. Both books would be fine on their own, but this fearless and unscrupulous adventuress really did not need an extra string to her bow as was intriguing enough without forcing her to to star in a sex show as well as a well written and very entertaining thriller. Only other niggle is whilst flitting all over Europe with the jet set it is a shame nobody told this sophisticate about the Schengen Agreement as so much of her time is spent worrying needlessly about passports!

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8 people found this helpful

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

Good story, over sexed

Excellent narration. Good story, fast moving and unexpected. For me though there was more sex than I was interested in listening to.

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7 people found this helpful

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

Something nasty running through it.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I'm no expert but I read a lot and there's something nasty running through this whole story. It not a bad idea for a story but it's tainted and it starts to grate. Someone trying too hard to be shocking. Designed to grab headlines? I quit at three quarters the way through it. I can't imagine who would find it enjoyable.

What will your next listen be?

Ben Elton; Time and Time again.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No, it got worse as it went along

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6 people found this helpful

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

Very poor

A convoluted, gratuitously pornographic, story about an aspiring art dealer who is a very unappealing, ruthless heroine.

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5 people found this helpful

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

Constantly suprising

This isn't something I would usually go for but I actually enjoyed this massively. the main character is constantly suprising and endearing . I would highly recommend.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Fantastic Thriller

The narrator was excellent with the various accents the story required. It is a gripping story about a woman who is a nobody but becomes somebody, I loved the things she had to do to become that somebody. This is not a who dunnit but rather a why she did and why. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes rags to riches style books. Enjoy!

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4 people found this helpful

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

Unsure ......

This started well enough and has excellent narration, but somewhere along the way it seemed to me to lose its 'gripping' nature and become a little too odd. That's probably more about me than the book, but it's not one where I will bother with the sequel.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Couldn't stop listening

Not sure why it has been compared to 50 shades because the story is nothing like it and nor is the sex. Emilia Fox is a great narrator. I look forward to the sequel.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Surprised myself, but really enjoyed

I'd heard nothing about this book but saw it was highly rated. Although, im guessing it's aimed at a female readership I really enjoyed this and there was a good story line running throughout. Well worth a listen

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2 people found this helpful