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The Owl Killers

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The Owl Killers

By: Karen Maitland
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

England 1321: Deep in the countryside lies an isolated village governed by a sinister regime of Owl Masters. But their dark status quo is disturbed by the arrival of a house of religious women. Why do their crops succeed when village crops fail, their cattle survive despite the plague? Accusations of witchcraft and heresy run rife, while the Owl Masters rain down hellfire and torment on the women, who must look to their faith to save them from the lengthening shadow of evil... a shadow with predatory, terrifying talons.

©2011 Karen Maitland (P)2011 Oakhill Publishing Ltd Genre Fiction Gothic Historical Horror Literary Fiction Mystery Scary Exciting Fiction Witchcraft Suspense Village

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Critic reviews

"Maitland has conjured up a medieval world startling in its brutality and unrivaled in it's fury." ( Booklist)
All stars
Most relevant
I'd read Company of Liars, and didn't think another book could come close to that, but The Owl Killers exceeded all my expectations. It was utterly enthralling from start to finish and I loved every minute.
It did take me half an hour or so to get into it, but after that I became increasingly immersed in the character development and the story line, and David Thorpe's narration was fantastic.
As with Company of Liars, the descriptions are so good that you can almost feel & smell what it was like to live in those times! The plot is intriguing, the descriptions vivid and I found the book totally addictive - I couldn't stop listening and was disapointed when I got to the end.

utterly enthralling, loved every minute

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I did not enjoy this as much as the tremendous "Company of Lairs" it just does not seem as well held together as Company. It is not a bad listen although the narrators voice for the "Marthas" gets on my nerves a little. I would certianly recommend this with more hesition then I would recommend "Company of Lairs"

It's ok but.....

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a great plot and an insight into a particular way of life.
love this narrator.

fabulous read

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Facinating story about the tensions between medieval Christian society and Paganism in a rural village.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Owl Killers?

This would be a 'spoiler'

What does David Thorpe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Fantastic narration. The book had a number of Flemish women, David Thorpe brought each character alive despite them all being called 'Martha'. Very clever.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Its 17 hours in length.

Any additional comments?

Lost a star, in my opinion, because the story reached a crescendo in the last chapter...........but little resolution was reached in the epilogue. Slightly disapointing but well worth listening to.

Clever and atmospheric

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Excellent story line with great characters, lovely twists and turns, not quite as good as the compay of liars though. Great spin on a historical tale. Still well worth the money and the time. Cant wait for more from Karen Maitland

Gripping to the end

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