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The Estate
- Audible's Crime and Thriller Listen of the Month
- Narrated by: Denise Gough
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
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The Estate
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Audible's Crime & Thriller Pick of the Month: February 2020
Love nothing more than being engrossed in a creepy thriller or playing detective with a gripping mystery? You're not alone! Always ready for a challenge, the Audible editors have taken on the tough task of seeking out spine-chilling tales that will keep you up all night. Every month in 2020 we’ll bring you the very best in murder and mystery in Audible's Crime & Thriller Pick of the Month.Listeners also enjoyed...
About the author
Liza Costello’s stories and poems have been published and broadcast in The Irish Independent, The Stinging Fly and RTÉ Radio 1, among other places. She won the 2011 Dromineer Literary Festival's annual poetry prize and has also been short-listed for the Seán Ó’Faoláin International Short Story Competition, RTE Radio 1’s Francis McManus Award for short stories, and the 2015 Patrick Kavanagh Award for poetry.
She is the author of the Kindle Singles Retreat and Spin. The Estate is her first novel. She lives in the Irish midlands.
Editor's review
This is a twisting, sinister story that will keep you listening into the early hours, and will keep you guessing right until the very end. The atmospheric, isolated setting of the ghost estate is hauntingly imagined and Denise Gough brings these troubled characters to life.
A perfect listen for fans of The Girl on the Train.
Summary
There’s no place like home...and Beth hopes there never will be again.
Beth never had a settled home as a child, but that’s all behind her now. She’s fine. Great. Settled in her single life. Until friends start peeling away, moving on to careers and family, leaving her feeling impatient and angry. When she bumps into Jason at a party, she spots the opportunity for her own fresh start - to turn her back on a reckless life of drinking and missed deadlines. She can build a new life, too...can’t she? When she discovers that Jason has the opportunity to house-sit a new build out of town, she glimpses her chance. There’s only one catch - Jason needs to stay in town for the sake of his new job. But Beth can keep their dreams alive on her own, can’t she?
As her drinking worsens, and new friends turn out to be prospective enemies, her sense of reality begins to unravel. As Beth comes to confront the mysteries of her own past, she moves closer to understanding the desperate crime at the heart of the estate. But first she must learn who is behind the strange attacks on her new home. And is Jason who she thought he was? Can she even trust him?
In this taut crime novel set in the aftermath of the Irish recession, a change for the better turns into a nightmare of uncertainty. An edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Cass Green.
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What listeners say about The Estate
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anna
- 06-07-20
Narrative a shame!!
I just couldnt get into the story as the narrator just didnt do it for me, no way i could buy in and get hooked when every sentence sounds rushed! A shame as the story line sounded so promising!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- EdPeters
- 26-09-22
annoying voice
Good story, although unresolved maybe they'll be a sequel.
shame about the reader's accent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eamon
- 15-06-21
Just brilliant
A fantastic story that kept me enthralled from start to finish .
Full of twists yet a very plausible story .
I genuinely can’t recommend the Estate highly enough .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carol
- 24-02-20
Real thriller.
Great read! I found it difficult to put this book down, it was very chilling.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 07-02-20
A Strange Mix
I think that Audible will soon ban me from reviewing their special choices like this their "Crime and Thriller - Listen of the Month" because I keep getting sold on the concept then not being wholly enamored with the execution. In truth there is quite a lot to like about "The Estate", Liza Costello spends good time building her lead Beth. She's neither a likeable nor a particularly admirable character but she is definitely relatable which is absolutely key.
The main setting, one of Ireland's ghost estates is a good choice and comes to life nicely during the story. But it's that story that never quite hit the right balance for me. There was too much just thrown into it, broken families, drug use, violence against women and so on, all good crime fiction staples but it just got a bit muddled and the idea of the remote retreat and what happened there very much bolt-on rather than integrated.
I was also surprised at the relative flatness of Denise Gough's delivery, she has a lovely voice and accent but there was very little characterisation in there. That said, the last 30 minutes of this audiobook is dedicated to interviews with both the author and the narrator which were both genuinely interesting. Denise explained that as the story was being told from Beth's viewpoint she wanted to relate all through Beth's voice but I'd still prefer more of a performance personally. Liza explained that the whole thing began with the place, the ghost estate, and I definitely got that as she brought it and Beth to life well with the plot being the weaker part.
So, I finished it, I enjoyed it well enough and I'll be tempted to see what this author does next but I'm not convinced it's quite in Listen of the Month territory.
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38 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ann D
- 14-07-21
Fabulous!
I loved this book. The characters are well drawn, the story original and strong. It also has a solid ending. The narration is excellent in pace and tone. I don’t understand those who have found it lacking.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mrs M.
- 27-01-21
Could have gone somewhere
It had the makings of a great tale, but I though it ended up going nowhere which was a shame as I enjoyed it up until the point it ended.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jules Blunt
- 16-07-21
Inoffensive way to spend time but not very exciting
I felt there wasn’t much of a story here - and the explanations (later on - and avoiding spoiling it!) were unfulfilling and not fully explained.
The title should have better been ‘a woman who invokes indifference gets through a few years’. The drinking problem wasn’t really explored, nor the relationships.
Overall I would recommend this if you’re getting over a really gripping ‘we need to talk about Kevin’ style novel and want some light relief to do the washing up to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kathystorer
- 07-02-20
Very interesting
Listened too in one sitting.. Would highly recommend. Well done. Great story telling. Thanks very much
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M Yates
- 20-03-20
Good book, good narration.
Was really enjoying this book but I think there could have been more. The characters are all built up with a back story, personality, story arcs etc and then it ends... all too abruptly. So, it was good - but left with a feeling that it could have been longer
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