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Penhallow

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Penhallow

By: Georgette Heyer
Narrated by: Ulli Birvé
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About this listen

Hated for his cruel and vicious nature, ruling his family with an iron hand from his sickbed, tyrannical patriarch Adam Penhallow is found murdered the day before his birthday. His entire family had assembled for his birthday celebration, and every one of them had the ways and means to commit the crime. As accusations and suspicion turn in one direction and then another, the claws and backstabbing come out, and no one is exempt from the coming implosion.

©1942 Georgette Rougier (P)2015 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Celebration

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Critic reviews

"Georgette Heyer is second to none in her ability to make detective stories entertaining." ( The Sunday Times)
"Sharp, clear and witty." ( The New Yorker)
"Rarely have we seen humour and mystery so perfectly blended." ( The New York Times)
All stars
Most relevant  

Where does Penhallow rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Really good novel (mystery not Regency) from Georgette Heyer, with a truly unexpected, unusual ending. It will have taken some courage to break so many of the established 'rules' of crime fiction. Good for her!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

They are all pretty dreadful, but that's the point of the book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Ulli Birvé’s performances?

Not knowingly! Although she's good at performing the voices, and hence the characterisation benefits, she is awful at pronunication. For instance there's a character called Charmian, but the narator pronounces it as Charmain throughout. What's even worse, she made it sound like Chow Mein! It was an irritant that never went away.

Any additional comments?

Does Audible check the merchandise it retails for quality? Does it pass on listener feedback to the recording companies? I'd love to see some evidence of Audible's quality control.

Great book - shame about the narrrator!

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A rather silly story but quite enjoyable spoilt but the weired pronunciation by the narrator.

Georgette's Cornish family saga

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Turgid, slow moving story, too many characters and goes on for far too long. Not what I expect from a Georgette Heyer novel. Can't fault Ulli Birve's performance but not sure even that saves it. I would suggest giving this book a wide berth - pick any other book by Heyer instead.

only heyer book I haven't enjoyed

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This Daphne du Maurier imitation by Georgette Heyer doesn't quite come off. The main problem, as I see it, is that one approaches it expecting one thing, and find another. As a book by an unknown author it might, at least, be less disappointing.
The reader is also a disappointment, in that her delivery is very close to the standard 'text-to-speech' that is now provided with most books as standard.

An unexpected disappointment

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So disappointed with this. It was the last book that I had left to read from Georgette Heyer, whose books I always looked forward to as they always cheered me up and usually provided a light chuckle somewhere along the way. Not a bit of that here. Completely depressing, no likeable characters, save one who had some semblance of compassion for others and no real plot to speak of.

My least favourite Georgette Heyer novel.

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Based on Heyer's previous books, this gripping story was quite different & at times difficult to listen to. The tension within the storyline was palpable. We expected a 'happy ever after' ending and were disappointed. Ulli Birví's excellent narrative was the main reason I listened to the end. I definitely would not have finished the book.

Do Not Blame the Narrator

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Georgette Heyer wrote fabulous regency romances and gripping 1930s detective fiction. This is closer to the latter, but what is missing is her wonderful humour. This is a dour and downright unpleasant tale. I felt so when I first read it, and I still think so after listening to the audio book.
Ulli Birve is an acquired taste. When I first listened to one of her recordings I had to do so at 1.5x speed to get past her … delivery… style. However, she has done most of GH’s detective stories, and I now find her performance more in keeping with the genre.
But if this is your first attempt at a Heyer, please don’t be put off! Try “The Unfinished Clue” - a real corker!

Don’t judge Georgette Heyer by this book.

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A family brought up in a atmosphere of "Divide and Rule", resulting in disharmony and hatred.
It has the gamit of characters, from the cowards, bullies, weaklings hypochondriac and just down right perverse and nasty.
The person who eventually takes the blame for the murder, is not the one responsible. However greed and a wish to be on top or escape the cesspit, stops any need to peruse the truth.
I didn't find it pleasant to listen too, which is why I gave it two stars.

A story of brutality.

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Not Heyer's best work.
The reader is dreadful! An expressionless voice with no characterisation. There are misplaced emphases in sentences and irritating mispronunciation. Overall a poor listening experience. Disappointing

Not very good!

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What could Georgette Heyer have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not in the same league as her Regency novels

How did the narrator detract from the book?

No personality

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None

Any additional comments?

The book was dreadful. The story was never interesting - though I persisted to the end in the hope that it would have something that redeemed it. The narrator is so totally without personality that, even if the book had been interesting, she would have spoiled it. I will never read another Georgette Heyer non-Regency novel and I will never listen to another audiobook narrated by Ulli Birve.

Absolutely Awful!

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