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Penhallow

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About this listen

Hated for his cruel and vicious nature, ruling his family with an iron hand from his sickbed, tyrannical patriarch Adam Penhallow is found murdered the day before his birthday. His entire family had assembled for his birthday celebration, and every one of them had the ways and means to commit the crime. As accusations and suspicion turn in one direction and then another, the claws and backstabbing come out, and no one is exempt from the coming implosion.

©1942 Georgette Rougier (P)2015 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Crime

Critic reviews

"Georgette Heyer is second to none in her ability to make detective stories entertaining." ( The Sunday Times)
"Sharp, clear and witty." ( The New Yorker)
"Rarely have we seen humour and mystery so perfectly blended." ( The New York Times)
All stars
Most relevant
Based on Heyer's previous books, this gripping story was quite different & at times difficult to listen to. The tension within the storyline was palpable. We expected a 'happy ever after' ending and were disappointed. Ulli Birví's excellent narrative was the main reason I listened to the end. I definitely would not have finished the book.

Do Not Blame the Narrator

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Turgid, slow moving story, too many characters and goes on for far too long. Not what I expect from a Georgette Heyer novel. Can't fault Ulli Birve's performance but not sure even that saves it. I would suggest giving this book a wide berth - pick any other book by Heyer instead.

only heyer book I haven't enjoyed

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Where does Penhallow rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Really good novel (mystery not Regency) from Georgette Heyer, with a truly unexpected, unusual ending. It will have taken some courage to break so many of the established 'rules' of crime fiction. Good for her!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

They are all pretty dreadful, but that's the point of the book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Ulli Birvé’s performances?

Not knowingly! Although she's good at performing the voices, and hence the characterisation benefits, she is awful at pronunication. For instance there's a character called Charmian, but the narator pronounces it as Charmain throughout. What's even worse, she made it sound like Chow Mein! It was an irritant that never went away.

Any additional comments?

Does Audible check the merchandise it retails for quality? Does it pass on listener feedback to the recording companies? I'd love to see some evidence of Audible's quality control.

Great book - shame about the narrrator!

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This Daphne du Maurier imitation by Georgette Heyer doesn't quite come off. The main problem, as I see it, is that one approaches it expecting one thing, and find another. As a book by an unknown author it might, at least, be less disappointing.
The reader is also a disappointment, in that her delivery is very close to the standard 'text-to-speech' that is now provided with most books as standard.

An unexpected disappointment

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Georgette Heyer wrote fabulous regency romances and gripping 1930s detective fiction. This is closer to the latter, but what is missing is her wonderful humour. This is a dour and downright unpleasant tale. I felt so when I first read it, and I still think so after listening to the audio book.
Ulli Birve is an acquired taste. When I first listened to one of her recordings I had to do so at 1.5x speed to get past her … delivery… style. However, she has done most of GH’s detective stories, and I now find her performance more in keeping with the genre.
But if this is your first attempt at a Heyer, please don’t be put off! Try “The Unfinished Clue” - a real corker!

Don’t judge Georgette Heyer by this book.

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