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Lady Takes the Case
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
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Publisher's summary
When a dinner party turns deadly, the feisty Lady Cecilia Bates and intuitive cat Jack are on the case, in this first entry to an exciting new historical-mystery series.
England 1912. Danby Hall is the only home Lady Cecilia Bates has ever known. Despite the rigid rules of etiquette and her mother the Countess of Avebury's fervent desire to see her married off, Lady Cecilia can't imagine life anywhere else. But now, with an agricultural depression sweeping the countryside, the Bates family's possession of the hall is suddenly in peril.
A possible solution arrives in the form of the imperious American heiress Annabel Clarke. The Earl and Countess of Avebury are determined that Cecilia's brother, Patrick, will win Annabel's hand in marriage - and her fortune along with it. To help the lackluster Patrick in this pursuit, the Bates and their staff arrange a grand house party upon the heiress's arrival.
When a guest dies after sipping from a glass meant for Annabel, it's clear the Bates have a more poisonous problem on their hands than a lack of chemistry. As the scandal seizes Danby, Cecilia sets out to find the culprit, with help from Annabel's maid, Jane, and Jane's curiously intelligent cat, Jack.
After the poison that someone had stashed away inside the manor is discovered, Cecilia is left with two possibilities: Either a resident of Danby snapped and tried to kill the arrogant heiress, or the threat is coming from one of their guests, who would love to see the Bates family's decline become permanent.
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Story
When Amy and Effy Tribble, two charming but impoverished spinster sisters, lose out on a much needed inheritance, they place an advertisement in The Morning Post and hire themselves out as professional chaperones. Vowing to prepare even the most difficult misses for marriage, the Tribble sisters will spend a London season on each client in this delightful Regency series, The School for Manners. Felicity Baronsheath, their first assignment, turns out to be more of a challenge than they ever imagined.
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What a shame
- By M.Redding on 06-06-18
By: M. C. Beaton
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Silent in the Grave
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
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Happily surprised
- By 9S on 07-04-09
By: Deanna Raybourn
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Nobody's Sweetheart Now
- By: Maggie Robinson
- Narrated by: Gemma Dawson
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
England, 1924. Lady Adelaide Compton has recently (and satisfactorily) interred her husband, Major Rupert Charles Cressleigh Compton, hero of the Somme, in the family vault in the village churchyard. Rupert died by smashing his Hispano-Suiza on a Cotswold country road while carrying a French mademoiselle in the passenger seat. With the house now Addie's, needed improvements in hand, and a weekend house party underway, how inconvenient of Rupert to turn up - not in the flesh, but as a spirit! Rupert has to perform a few good deeds before becoming welcomed to heaven.
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Fresh New Voice For Me..Very Good
- By John on 08-06-20
By: Maggie Robinson
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Kit and Elizabeth
- By: Karen Tuft
- Narrated by: Luone Ingram
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Lady Elizabeth Spaulding’s world has fallen apart. Despite living her entire life to please her demanding parents, the Duke and Duchess of Marwood, she has little to show for it. After Elizabeth’s second failed betrothal, her father’s debts and appalling acts of retaliation force him to flee the country, consigning Elizabeth and her bitter mother to a life of poverty and exile. But Elizabeth’s fortunes change one day when an elderly acquaintance makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
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don’t waist a credit
- By katlehmann on 05-27-21
By: Karen Tuft
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Mesmerized
- Mad Morelands Series, Book 1
- By: Candace Camp
- Narrated by: Will Thorne
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Olivia Moreland prides herself on discrediting charlatans, particularly the false mediums that flock to London. But when Lord Stephen St. Leger requests her help in investigating an alleged psychic's claims, she can't deny the ominous feeling she has within the walls of his ancient estate - or the intimately familiar connection she has with Stephen himself. The last time he'd called Blackhope Hall home, Stephen had watched as his elder brother claimed both the family title and the woman he loved.
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Read this AFTER “Her Scandalous Pursuit”
- By Karen on 08-22-20
By: Candace Camp
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Summerset Abbey
- Summerset Abbey, Book 1
- By: T. J. Brown
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
1913: In a sprawling manor on the outskirts of London, three young women seek to fulfill their destinies and desires amidst the unspoken rules of society and the distant rumblings of war.... Sir Philip Buxton raised three girls into beautiful and capable young women in a bohemian household that defied Edwardian tradition. Eldest sister Rowena was taught to value people, not wealth or status. But everything she believes will be tested when Sir Philip dies, and the girls must live under their uncle’s guardianship....
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Great for Downton Abbey fans, but…
- By Katherine on 03-11-13
By: T. J. Brown
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And Then He Kissed Her
- By: Laura Lee Guhrke
- Narrated by: Zara Hampton-Brown
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An expert in etiquette, Emma takes her pristine reputation most seriously. But the devilish Lord Marlowe is determined to prove that some rules of proper behavior are made to be broken....
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Love the story, but the narrator misses the mark
- By Lady Wesley on 05-19-20
By: Laura Lee Guhrke
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The Bachelor List
- Duncan Sisters, Book 1
- By: Jane Feather
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Constance Duncan has more important things on her mind than finding a husband - for herself, at any rate. Constance connects lonely hearts, and nothing will distract her from it - until she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a man of disastrously different views. Max Ensor is a politician whose outmoded attitudes outrage her - even as his powerful presence intrigues her. Clearly there is only one thing to do with such an exasperating man: convert him! Little does Constance know that Max has the same plan in mind for her....
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Disappointing
- By Yara N. on 02-16-20
By: Jane Feather
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Something About Emmaline
- Bachelor Chronicles Series 1
- By: Elizabeth Boyle
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Alexander Denford, Baron Sedgwick, is a gentleman to be envied. He lives a rakish life of well-celebrated ease and contentment and has one person to thank for his perfectly ordered existence - his dearest wife, Emmaline. She never complains about his mistresses or his penchant for late nights out. His friends are envious, but they don't know the truth - Emmaline doesn't exist. But when he starts receiving bills from London for clothes, shoes, hats, and a staggering amount of other female accouterments, he realizes something is decidedly amiss.
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Emmaline, the perfect wife, until.......
- By bebe on 07-07-20
By: Elizabeth Boyle
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The Pretenders
- By: Joan Wolf
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Deborah Woodly agreed to a pretend engagement with Reeve, Earl of Cambridge, because his straitlaced uncle wouldn’t let him touch his inheritance before his 26th birthday. Not unless he contracted a marriage, which would presumably “settle” him. Deb and Reeve promised not to fall in love, or marry, but to ultimately declare they wouldn’t suit. Broken promises, but also someone was trying to kill Deb.
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No pretending...
- By 🌿🌸Susynne🌸🌿 on 04-10-18
By: Joan Wolf
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High Rising
- A Virago Modern Classic
- By: Angela Thirkell, Alexander McCall Smith - introduction
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Successful lady novelist Laura Morland and her boisterous young son, Tony, set off to spend Christmas at her country home in the sleepy surrounds of High Rising. But Laura's wealthy friend and neighbor, George Knox, has taken on a scheming secretary whose designs on marriage to her employer threaten the delicate social fabric of the village.
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Beginning of a journey
- By Jerri C on 11-04-16
By: Angela Thirkell, and others
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Masked Ball at Broxley Manor
- A Royal Spyness Novella
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
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Fun, light prequel
- By CMMV on 01-01-15
By: Rhys Bowen
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Between Two Thorns
- The Split Worlds Series, Book 1
- By: Emma Newman
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him - with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer. There is a witness, but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break. A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs. But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she’s been born into?
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I hate writing Bad reviews but.....
- By Joseph Reeves on 04-26-17
By: Emma Newman
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What listeners say about Lady Takes the Case
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kestrel
- 02-10-20
Enjoyable characters, but too many loose ends.
The story opens with the dramatic death scene -- perhaps the author has heard that a good story begins in media res. We back up to all the action leading to the death scene, then follow with the remainder of the story. That by itself is a bit jarring, but forgivable, as it at least draws the reader in.
Lady Cecelia isn't bad as a main character, and the young lady's maid, Jane, is appealing from her sense of adventure and her desire for an independent life -- and her cat, Jack. Cecilia's brother, Patrick, is believable as a shy, introverted academic who'd rather potter about in his homemade laboratory than be the Viscount of Danby, a grand but crumbling estate. He's thrust unwillingly into the limelight when an American heiress arrives as a guest, and the entire household is set on a determined course to impress her sufficiently into marrying Patrick and infusing the estate with her wealth.
By the time the plot rolls back around to the death of an important guest, it's clear that things aren't all that they seem. Someone in the house is a murderer, and Cecilia is determined to find out who it is, with Jane's help.
As the story progresses, though, the story seems less and less satisfying. Not only does Jane help Cecilia, it seems that everyone they encounter is willing to help instead of warning them that they're meddling with murderers, and the reader begins to wonder just what time period this story is set in. The author divides the world into the good and the bad, where bad things only happen to bad people and the innocent emerge unscathed. The murder victim is revealed to be a scoundrel, as though his death must be somehow justified to the larger universe. The villains -- and it became obvious early that one of them was not what they claimed to be -- are nothing more than bad people behaving very badly indeed. Plot points turn on coincidences -- a jeweled snuffbox vanishes just after Cecilia and her friend just happen to have a long, close, detailed look at the cabinet containing them, for example. Or finding a cache of letters behind a loose board in the back of a closet, a hidey hole that only Cecilia knows about -- and it just happens that one of the guests finds it, too, but not the police. There are also unlikely events -- a characters who was almost falling-down drunk in one scene manages, in the next, to shoot an arrow with amazing accuracy.
The finale of the story leaves too many loose ends. The descriptions of Patrick's scientific studies of plants are a glaring reveal that the author knows nothing about medicinal plants beyond Digitalis, and hasn't bothered to research. The identity of the poison used for the dramatic opening death scene is never revealed except that it's some plant extract from Patrick's lab, and it's obvious that there was only one person besides Patrick who had access to his lab. Nor is it clear how the poison was administered. A side plot, tracking down the mistress of the murder victim, falls strangely flat. It's not even clear if it was meant to be a red herring. It's more of a distraction. Cecilia smells burnt cork and finds a small bottle with a cork that has been scorched, but the meaning of this is never explained. And in the final scene, a young woman turns up out of the blue, though her whereabouts had been unknown earlier, and where she's been is never explained.
I do hope the author improves with time. There's promise in this cast of characters for a light cozy mystery series. It just needs a tighter plot, without useless red herrings, loose ends, and plot holes large enough to drive a coach and four through.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Beth Hoskins
- 05-15-24
Enjoyable and entertaining
This is a good listen. Enjoyable as the characters really grow on you. Cecilia is adorable and can't keep herself out of trouble.
The performance was good.. I thought she was a little breathy at first but after a while I hardly noticed.
Would recommend.
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- AE
- 09-26-20
Fun story and great narration
I wasn't sure if I was going to like the story in the beginning, but I was soon captivated by Susan Lyons narration. Ultimately the story turned out to be fun without being silly or over done. I definitely want to read more books featuring Lady Cecilia.
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- E. Adams
- 10-25-20
Reader is Boring
The story is good but the reader has no ability in acting. Honestly I could have read this with as much or more enthusiasm as this reader.
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- Eileen Kerper
- 05-13-20
Never knew who it was till the end
Loved the story but would like to know how things went with everything when it was over. I can only hope that the unfinished details means there will be another soon. I did so like the main character and the family in it.
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- Laurie S
- 10-29-24
It’s okay
The writing is good. The story is a bit slow, but if you like a relaxed meander with lots of detail and lots of characters, this will be a fine listen, especially if it’s on sale. Increase the speed to 1.15 or 1.2.
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- Wild Horses Flying
- 02-09-20
Much Ado About Nothing
A plethora of lofty language but short on plot or even anybody much to like. If you're mainly looking for a very accurate and physical description of the manors, the incredible luxury of aristocracy in those times and the extreme disparity in the classes then this is very well done. But if you're looking for a mystery with some plot action more often than every third chapter and characters you enjoy spending some novel time with I do not recommend this book. Also, the narrator pushes the effete snob effect to the nth degree.
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2 people found this helpful