A Man of Some Repute Audiobook
By: Elizabeth Edmondson
Narrated by: Michael Page
Published by Brilliance Audio 07/01/2015
Very English Mysteries #1
8 hrs and 31 mins
A Man of Some Repute Audiobook Sample
A Man of Some Repute Audiobook
4.0 Hearts
I love reading books from England’s Golden Age of Mystery and it was a thrill to discover this modern writer who was retro and took on exactly the style and setting of those older mysteries and suspenses.
In this case, the author wrote a trilogy of stories that all connect through a murdered man’s dark legacy that don’t just stir up a seemingly peaceful English village and the castle manor, but dip straight into the Cold War, the past Great Wars, and those attached to the Selchester family.
The book begins with injured former spy Hugo Hawksworth being put out to pasture in a rural village with a desk job up at ‘The Hall’ an estate that was given over to the government secret service for trainings and to store the archives. Hugo was sent by his boss b/c there is a bad feeling that something is wrong there at The Hall and the nearby village of Selchester. Hugo is perfect for this as no one would suspect with his lame leg and his younger teenage sister in tow after the loss of their parents that he’s anything more than appears.
He’s staying at the old Earl of Selchester’s castle and soon lands into a cold case murder when the Earl who supposedly disappeared into a snowy blizzard seven years before may have turned up. Now, its a case of breaking unbreakable alibis from that night as Hugo hopes to help clear the Earl’s son and niece of being made the scapegoats when it looks like, because of Selchester’s line of work during the war, that it wouldn’t be good to have anyone delving too deeply into his death.
Like a lot of old-style country house/village murders, it gets along slowly and gently establishing characters, showing new light on everything including producing more people wanting to murder the guy. It was fun getting to know Hugo, Georgia, Freya, and the surrounding cast who will likely reprise in the continuing story.
Ah yes, unlike most books of this stamp, the author chose to close out the murder in this one, but leave some unfinished business carrying on through two more books with the same cast. It doesn’t feel like a cliffhanger, but it does leave a reader needing to keep reading the rest to get the full story.
I would definitely recommend this one to readers/listeners who enjoy classic-style whodunnits set in England of the 50’s.
A Man of Some Repute Audiobook Narration
4 Hearts
Michael Page was a new to me narrator. It took me a bit to settle into some of his voices, but I did and had a good time with how he vocalized the various country/town, class, and gender voices. He definitely had the pace and situation of the book down and I hope he continues to narrate the rest of the series.
Born in Chile, and educated in Calcutta and London before going to Oxford University, Elizabeth Edmondson divided her time between the countryside north of Rome and the spires of Oxford. She was married to an art historian and had two children.
In Edmondson’s words: “I write historical mysteries about love, marriage families and friendship, where the loyalties, feuds, secrets and betrayals of the past cast long shadows. I’m fascinated by characters who are quirky, mysterious, funny, unexpected and interesting and I want readers to share, as I do, in their joys and sorrows.
“My books are set in the Thirties, Forties and Fifties, at home and abroad. With dramatic and glamorous settings from icy lakes to Italian villas, from wintry Budapest to fashionable France, the landscapes are as powerful as the stories are complex. The tense realities of life mingle with supernatural elements : ghosts, prophetic dreams and voices from the past, but fun and humour also dance in and out of the light and darkness of the stories.
“My aim is to enthrall, delight and amuse readers as they are transported to a different era.”
Michael Page has been recording audiobooks since the mid-1980s and now has nearly 500 titles to his credit. He has won two Audie Awards and several AudioFile Earphones Awards. A PhD and a professional actor, Michael is also a retired professor of theater.
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