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Nine Lessons

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Nine Lessons

By: Nicola Upson
Narrated by: Sandra Duncan
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Summary
 In the years before the Great War, M.R. James told ghost stories by candlelight to a handful of friends and scholars. Now, twenty-five years later, those men are being killed off one by one. Josephine Tey is in Cambridge, a town gripped by fear as a serial rapist stalks the streets, and Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces some of the most horrific murders of his career. Archie and Josephine must race to stop another attack in this beautifully written, intricately plotted mystery.©2017 Nicola Upson (P)2017 W F Howes Ltd Crime Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime
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Brilliant narration! Always a strong voice, easy on the ear, but skilfully adapted to each character, no matter how minor. With Sandra, the story comes to life - a theatre production in the mind! Nicola’s characters are splendid and Sandra Duncan’s reading renders them unforgettable! Thank you !!

Sandra Duncan gives life to Nicolas great storytelling!

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beautiful narration as always and gripping story. I really want to sleep but I need to hear the end

excellent

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This story takes the stories of MRJames as it’s starting point rather than a real life murder, and it works as well as Upson’s other Tey novels. The continuation of the emotional lives of the characters is believable, though I’m hoping it gets less rather than more complicated. It’s the problem with multiple volume tales, like soap operas they have to have things happen - though things don’t happen in real life. Should art imitate life? Yes - or what else is it for, and anyway it’s been the modus operandi of this series of novels.

One small point - in real life people don’t nod. They say yes. Enid Blyton’s eponymous character does, but he’s a doll.

Excellent addition to the series

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I listened to the first book in this series and loved it, but when I tried another - the one set in the Minnack Theatre - the style I had enjoyed so much could not defeat the implausibility of the plot and I disliked it. I realise I may have skipped a few books in listening to this one next and started it with trepidation, but the MR James theme attracted me and I’m relieved to have enjoyed it almost as much as the first. My only quibble is the number of times the expression “s/he could only imagine …” occurs - once noticed it becomes annoying (Irrational but true!)

Third time lucky

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I've listened/read a number of these stories featuring Josephine Tey, her old friend Chief Inspector Penrose and her lover, Marta. The earlier books generally have more about their relationships than actual detection, whereas the present book has the reverse and a more cleverly constructed story referencing the ghost stories of the Cambridge scholar M.R. James. There are also more murders and more violence. I felt that some of the characters bordered on caricature particularly Marta's new daily help and Penrose's boss. The latter yet another fictional senior police officer who is rude and over-bearing: an over-used cliché of detective fiction Despite these criticisms I enjoyed the book, and think it the best in the series, but, like with the others, I was bored the over-long monologue by one of the characters explaining why he'd perpetrated the crimes, whereas the other criminal's identity is pulled out of the hat.

The narrator is excellent. At the end of the recording she interviews the author.

The best of the series so far

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