The Blood Card cover art

The Blood Card

The Brighton Mysteries 3

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Blood Card

By: Elly Griffiths
Narrated by: Luke Thompson
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 Elizabeth II's coronation is looming, but the murder of their wartime commander, Colonel Cartwright, spoils the happy mood for DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto. A playbill featuring another deceased comrade is found in Colonel Cartwright's possession, and a playing card, the ace of hearts: the blood card. The wartime connection and the suggestion of magic are enough for him to put Stephens and Mephisto on the case.

Edgar's investigation into the death of Brighton fortune-teller Madame Zabini is put on hold. Max is busy rehearsing for a spectacular Coronation Day variety show - and his television debut - so it's Edgar who is sent to New York, a land of plenty worlds away from still-rationed England. He's on the trail of a small-town mesmerist who may provide the key, but someone else silences him first. It's Sergeant Emma Holmes who finds the clue, buried in the files of the Zabini case, that leads them to an anarchist group intent on providing an explosive finale to Coronation Day.

Now it's up to Edgar, Max and Emma to foil the plot, and find out who it is who's been dealing the cards . . .

(P)2016 Quercus Publishing Plc©2016 Elly Griffiths Cosy Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Crime Heartfelt Magic Users

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Ratking cover art
The Sea Detective cover art
Murder in Tuscany cover art
The Dark Tide cover art
The Murderer's Son cover art
Broadland cover art
Shardlake: The Complete BBC Radio Collection cover art
The Accidental Alchemist cover art
Father Paolo Baldi Mysteries cover art
The Viaduct Killings cover art
Farthing cover art
Paradise Postponed cover art
Violet's Children cover art
More Than You Can Say cover art
Flora and Grace cover art
The Complete Short Stories cover art

Critic reviews

Griffiths pulls a truly startling rabbit out of the hat, demonstrating that this is more than the cosy mystery it initially appears
All stars
Most relevant
I loved the characters, the setting: the 1950s, Brighton and central London. Great plot tying into the past, both of the magic men, but also references to WW2 history.

The narrator was ok with everything except the female character voices which all sounded a bit silly. And there are a lot of women in this book. It didn't quite spoil it for me. But I would probably read the next book on Kindle

Another highly entertaining Stephens and Mephistopheles story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Such likeable characters - each with their own idiosyncrasies.... humour, self doubt, strength ... individual clues/off shoots are woven together to make the main story, which Elly Griffiths brings together at the end, always surprising one. The pace increases so that the action at the end is fast paced and exciting... brilliantly narrated. An excellent read.

So Entertaining ....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyable. Good characters. I love the setting in the 1950s. Better narrator than the one who narrated the two previous novels in the series.

Better narrator than for the two previous novels

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Both myself and my daughter really enjoy these stories

We know that area quite well and listening to them in Australia, keeps the memories alive

Brilliant story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Terrific retro mystery that is set in the fifties at the time of the coronation.
No internet, no mobile phones or social media, even TV was in it's infancy.
Strong characters and a twisting storyline with a surprising and satisfying ending.
Loved it!

Terrific retro mystery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews