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The Tarnished Chalice

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The Tarnished Chalice

By: Susanna Gregory
Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
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Summary

 On a bitter winter evening in 1356, Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael arrive in Lincoln - Michael to accept an honour from the cathedral, and Bartholomew to look for the woman he wants to marry. It is not long before they learn that the friary in which they are staying is not the safe haven they imagine - one guest has already been murdered.

It soon emerges that the dead man was holding the Hugh Chalice, a Lincoln relic with a curiously bloody history. Bartholomew and Michael are soon drawn into a web of murder, lies and suspicion in a city where neither knows who can be trusted...

©2006 Susanna Gregory (P)2007 W F Howes Ltd Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Abraham Lincoln Fiction Crime Middle Ages
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I enjoyed this for the most part, BUT... I found it was tedious and dragged, even the narration, though good, was quite soporific. I found that I had to keep rewinding to catch up as my mind had just wandered off.

Nevertheless, it was a good story, and I did enjoy it, I struggled a bit to keep up with all the different players though!

Quite good, not her best!

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A convincing and atmospheric description of medieval Lincoln, with two engaging main characters, however the plot was far too complicated to take in in audio book form. it felt like there were over forty characters, lots of sub plots and a dual timeline in which it kept referring back to events in Cambridge years before. I stuck with it and listened to the end, and the resolution was satisfying enough, but the sheer amount of plot stilted the enjoyment.

intriguing but over-complicated

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Andrew Wincott does a reasonable job, but he is not David Thorpe.

it would be wonderful if this, and previous book in the series, could be re-recorded by David Thorpe.

The characters of the characters have been changed which make it difficult to follow.

I would certainly purchase.

The Tarnished Chalice

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This was a very hard one to review objectively because while the story itself is interesting, in the Audible version it is, in my opinion, spoiled by the narrator. The narrator, Andrew Wincott, has an annoying overly dramatic style which renders the characters unbelieveable and the descriptive scenes forgettable. I've given this 4 stars because it is not fair to penalise Susanna Gregory for the short-comings of the narrator, but because the narrator ruined the audio-book, I cannot give 5 stars. This is a prime example of where a narrator's style can intrude on the story and ruin it. The narrator should be an enhancement, not a distraction.

Hard one to review objectively

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I LOVE this series of books, but to have two in the middle read by a different narrator and with different voice characterisation rather spoils the storyline. The story however is as intricate and fascinating as always.

Different !

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