Murder by Candlelight (The Val & Arbie Mysteries, Book 1)
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Murder by Candlelight (The Val & Arbie Mysteries, Book 1)
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Narrated by:
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John Hopkins
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By:
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Faith Martin
About this listen
The NUMBER ONE ebook bestseller!
'Amuses and intrigues in equal measure… a splendid start to what promises to be a long-running series’ Daily Mail
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The Cotswolds, 1924. At the Old Forge in the quiet village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh a cry of anguish rings out: lady of the house Amy Phelps has been discovered dead. But with all the windows and doors to her room locked from inside, how – and by whom – was she killed?
Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift finds himself in the unlikely position of detective. The celebrated author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting is staying at the Old Forge to investigate a suspected spectre, but now the more pressing matter of Amy’s murder falls to him too.
With old friend Val, he soon uncovers a sorry tale of altered wills, secret love affairs and tragic losses – and plenty of motives for murder. When events take another sinister turn, Arbie must find the killer, fast. And to do so will mean cracking a most perfectly plotted crime…
Perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club, The Appeal and The Marlow Murder Club, don’t miss this stunning new series from the multi-million bestselling author!
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Readers LOVE Murder by Candlelight!‘I absolutely loved this… The story grabbed me from the beginning and I devoured it.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'The perfect village mystery. A golden-age world with an energy that is totally contemporary.’ J.M. Hall, author of A Spoonful of Murder
‘A beautifully constructed puzzle… I so hope this will be the start of a series.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Brilliant characters that leap off the page.' The Sun
‘Very entertaining… Full of red herrings, plot twists and turns. I thought I knew who was the killer but I was wrong.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘All the ingredients of a classic mystery… enormous fun.’ Orlando Murrin, author of Knife Skills for Beginners
‘What an utterly delightful and clever mystery… I highly recommend this book.’ Reader reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A fabulous romp… witty, devious, fast paced and totally absorbing' The People's Friend
‘Terrifically good, and just great fun!… All of the clues are provided, but so are a number of very good red herrings… I can’t wait to see more of Arbie and Val.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘WOW. I loved this book.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Absolutely perfect! This is the book I have been craving since I last read the Thursday Murder Club series!’ Reader reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(P)2024 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
Praise for Faith Martin:
‘A gripping series noted for its labyrinthine plotting, stunning twists and turns, an exquisitely drawn cast of characters, and – without the help of modern technology – some wonderfully entertaining, good old-fashioned detective work’ The Lancashire Post
‘Absolutely loved it… The characters were some of the best I’ve read in a long time.’ Angela Marsons, no. 1 bestselling author of the Kim Stone series
‘A brilliant book! The pairing of Ryder and Loveday is a stroke of genius.’ Clare Chase, author of the Eve Mallow and Tara Thorpe mysteries
Praise for Murder by Candlelight
‘The perfect village mystery. A golden-age world with an energy that is totally contemporary’ J.M. Hall, author of A Spoonful of Murder
‘A charming and clever take on a locked room murder’ Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, author of The Doctor Nell Ward Mysteries
‘A wonderful Wodehousian world of intrigue and suspicion and a tricky puzzle to solve.’ Helena Dixon, author of the Miss Underhay Mysteries
‘All the ingredients of a classic mystery – engaging characters and an impossible crime. The story races along like a runaway locomotive… enormous fun.’ Orlando Murrin, author of Knife Skills for Beginners
'Brilliant characters that leap off the page.' THE SUN
' We devoured this whoddunit in one sitting!' BELLA
'With murder, intrigue, and ghostly happenings, this will satisfy cosy crime fans.' HEAT
'Her knowledge of the genre and easy writing style makes this an effortless and fun read.' MY WEEKLY
'A clever mystery.' WOMAN’S OWN
'This engaging and energetic mystery hosts an abundance of engaging characters and is great fun.' PLATINUM
And I love listening to them.yes it’s a bit soppy and far fetched but that’s why I love it.
Faith does a wonderful job of capturing sense of time and place - that probably never really existed( but we all wish did).isn’t that what fiction is?
The language used and attention to detail is lovely.
A gentle easy listen with enough interest to keep me wanting more.
It reminded me a bit of Bandings by PG Wodehouse.
Yes it’s a locked room murder mystery. Sorry no spoilers.
The narrator was very good and suited the well story.
I know that his voice of Valentina was a bit deep and some found irritating but It didn’t bother me.
First book I purchased by Faith Martin and I will be getting another.
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Really enjoyable cosy mystery
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Entertaining yarn
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The opening is pretty standard, you have to set the scene and get to know the characters and world etc ... but the middle takes forever to pass by. The actual murder and sleuthing doesn't occur until quite late on from what you'd expect of such a book. I think, by the point it actually happens, I'd forgot it was due to happen. My brain had just slipped into the fact that I'd somehow, for some reason, decided to read a book about a reluctant ghost hunter. All thoughts of murder had practically slipped away.
That being said, the end third of the book was very interesting and definitely saved the piece. I feel the deductions made and the way things played out were logical and all made sense. It just had a feeling of being very rushed due to the first two thirds being done at such a slower pace.
On the whole, I enjoyed it, but this was primarily due to the sudden speeding up of pace at the final third.
The narrating, for the most part, was broadly fine. I do feel the narrator's range does not fit a female character. This led to the unfortunate voicing of Val, one of the main characters. To my ears, at least, she sounded like a very bored, dull and quite dumb-sounding person due to the voice given her. Which, might I add is not her character at all.
Very slow, but a good final third
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Muder by candlelight
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