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Should You Ask Me

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Should You Ask Me

By: Marianne Kavanagh
Narrated by: Jilly Bond
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About this listen

 'I've come about the bodies. I know who they are.'

Just before D-Day in 1944, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, an elderly woman walks into a police station. She has information, she says, about human remains recently discovered nearby.

The bodies could have stayed buried for ever - like the pain and passion that put them there. But Mary Holmes is finally ready to tell the truth.

The young constable sent to take her statement is still suffering from the injuries that ended his army career. As he tries to make sense of her tale, William finds himself increasingly distracted. Mary's confession forces his own violent memories to the surface - betrayals and regrets as badly healed as his war wounds.

Over six days, as pressure builds for the final push in Europe, two lives reveal their secrets. Should You Ask Me is a captivating story about people at their worst and best: raw, rich, and utterly compelling.

(P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2017 Marianne Kavanagh Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Military War

Critic reviews

Charming, gleeful, a delight...brings Britain at war to vivid life (Guinevere Glasfurd, author of The Words in my Hand)
An intriguing and atmospheric novel, cleverly interweaving different times and crimes through an elderly and most unreliable narrator...absorbing (Amanda Craig, author of The Lie of the Land)
Vivid and brilliantly gripping. I was captivated from the first page. (Esther Freud, author of Hideous Kinky)
Intriguing... Just when you think there is no way to draw all the threads to a satisfying close, Marianne Kavanagh does it.
An unputdownable combination of thriller and psychological drama (Emma Thompson)
Kavanagh is a perceptive and vivid writer and this tale of ordinary lives transformed by extraordinary events has so much period atmosphere, you can practically hear the air-raid sirens.
Marianne Kavanagh's novel succeeds on so many levels. It's a thriller, a love story, a vivid portrait of wartime England, a cautionary tale, but above all, it's a fascinating study of suppressed guilt and the human need for absolution through confession. I absolutely loved it (David Haig, actor and playwright)
A beautifully written and gripping novel - boldly traversing genres and historical eras, yet always compassionate, wise and humane (Joanna Kavenna, author of A Field Guide to Reality)
A genuinely mysterious thriller, with an intense sense of time and place - a historical novel of a very different sort (Andrew Marr)
A moving Hardy-esque story of love, lies and loss thrown into sharp relief by its vivid WW2 setting. Indomitable Mary Holmes is a memorable character. (Elisabeth Wilhide, author of If I Could Tell You)
A highly emotional mediation on memory, ageing, guilt, and regret... Kavanagh's multi-layered narrative considers its reliability in a compelling reflection on time and perception, whilst immersing the reader in a rich historical landscape.
This ingenious page-turner, set in a a Dorset police station in 1944, will keep you guessing until the end...Marianne Kavanagh has produced an original brainteaser of a read
Very distinctive, almost genre-defying novel
It is an absolutely thrilling compelling and delightful read and the plot is so intricate. The characters are incredibly realistic and there is so much atmosphere I felt that I was transported back to the time period
Should You Ask Me is an absolute master class in story-telling
Should You Ask Me is one of the most unique books I've had the pleasure of reading
Part murder mystery, part historical tale, this is a read that blends both genres together in intriguing style.
All stars
Most relevant
Well crafted story with a good pace. Acutely observed characters, grounded in time and place, kept me listening past bedtime.
Highly recommend.

Great Listen

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One small criticism is that the voice of William was so quiet I could barely make out what he was saying, while Mary’s voice was loud enough to hear her perfectly well.

Excellent story

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