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The Child's Child

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The Child's Child

By: Barbara Vine
Narrated by: Finty Williams
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Summary

What sort of betrayal would drive a brother and sister apart? When Grace and her brother Andrew inherit their grandmother's house, they surprise few people by deciding to move in together. But they've always got on well and the London house is large enough to split down the middle. There's just one thing they've not taken into account though: what if one of them wants to bring a lover to the house?

When Andrew's partner, James, moves in, and immediately picks a fight about the treatment of gay men, the balance is altered - with almost fatal consequences.

The Child's Child is both an intriguing examination of betrayal in families, and a taut, thrilling listen.

©2013 Barbara Vine (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Crime Fiction Fiction Crime Exciting Suspense Mystery
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I've read a lot of Barbara Vine, and listened to quite a few. One or two have been disappointing but Asta's Book and The Dark-Adapted Eye are superb, so I was really looking forward to this listen. However, it was very disappointing. About half the book is taken up with a 'book within a book' which was OK. There were parallels between the modern day situation and that in the 'book within', but nothing startling - no 'Aha' moment. There were also hints at the beginning of the story that there was going to be more to it. There is reference to a 'ghost'; and one of the characters has a disproportionate reaction to a situation that made one think 'Oooh what is he hiding?' The answer appears to be nothing. I was left checking my library for part 3 in which the strands which have been developed are pulled together - but there is no part 3. A very disappointing listen.

Disjointed and disappointing

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Really enjoyed the idea of a book within a book, although, I didn’t really get the juxtaposition. Always a good story from Barbara Vine, so I don’t want to say I was disappointed because I did enjoy it, I just found it a little flimsy and what did annoy me at times, was the repetition….how many times does something have to be explained. I was not expecting such an abrupt ending that wasn’t actually an ending at all….I thought my audiobook had skipped and had to go back, only to find, it hadn’t skipped, but just ended without and end….bizarre.

What happened to the ending?

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A decent listen thanks to great narration, but i struggled to keep up with who everyone was again after beginning in modern day, jumping back 90 years, then returning again. I realise it maybe goes to show how ignorant prejudices have lessened in the wider public due to exposure, education, understanding, inclusion and acceptance but that we ultimately still witness the same level of vicious responses by some in society. Background, influence, lack of awareness and base human nature being just as responsible today as it was in the past. Some of the characters were a bit cliché but worth a listen.

Bit confusing

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I see that some listeners were disappointed by this book which just goes to show that we all have different tastes in books. I thought it an excellent novel with both the contemporary story and the recounting of the fictitious mid 20th century book held my attention and kept me listening. The book within a book structure illustrates the contrasts and similarities in social attitudes that have occurred in the last 80 or so years. The characters make a big impression illustrating a range of human behaviours and prejudices.
The narrator is very good.

Engrossing parallel stories

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I was wary about listening to this as many of the reviews were not very complimentary but, in my opinion, it was a really compelling listen.
The two stories said a lot about the changes in society over the last century or so, or should that be the perceived changes?
Give it a go especially as it's included for free, I'm really glad I did!

Really enjoyable, better than the reviews suggest.

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