The Sword-Edged Blonde cover art

The Sword-Edged Blonde

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The Sword-Edged Blonde

By: Alex Bledsoe
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
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About this listen

 It should have been a case like any other: a missing princess, a king willing to pay in gold for her return. But before he realizes it, private investigator Eddie LaCrosse, a slightly shopworn sword jockey with a talent for discretion and detection, is swept up in a web of mystery and deceit involving a brutally murdered royal heir, a queen accused of an unspeakable crime, and the tragic past he thought he'd left behind.©2007 Alex Bledsoe (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Action & Adventure Classics Dark Fantasy Detective Fantasy Fiction Mystery Private Investigators Royalty Paranormal

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Critic reviews

"Stylish and self-assured: Raymond Chandler meets Raymond E. Feist." (Publishers Weekly)
"Fans of Glen Cook's Garrett novels or hard-boiled detective fiction will appreciate this well-crafted gem of a tale." (Library Journal)
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I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the next books in the series. Perfectly balanced with no stupid exaggerations, well designed characters, a real pleasure and fun to listen to and a captivating (and a bit creepy!) mistery. Definitely recommend!

Truly enjoyable

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I wasn’t keen on the narration because the narrator had a really deep and very American accent and I was visualising something medieval so it took a bit of adjusting to. All in all an odd listen but enjoyable.

Weird story, a cross between Neil Gaiman and a medieval whodunnit

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Any additional comments?

i came across this series after listening to and very much enjoying The Tufa Novels. I am half way through the Eddie LaCrosse Series now and am enjoying them just as much. Something a bit different, well described characters and enough twists to make it interesting without being so clever that you lose the plot! I definitely recommend this series and indeed the author - try the Tufa Novels too!

Very enjoyable

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I didn’t know what to expect but I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from this author.

Positive surprise

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I’m still not sure how much I enjoyed this! However it was free to read, so don’t look a gift horse in the mouth …….. by the way have already downloaded book 2. I must admit I’m not too keen on the narrator, he sounds similar to the guy who reads the latest Bosch books - Titus Welliver - but without much intonation.

Weird

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I enjoyed this, looking forward to my regular hour at the gym, which is when I get to listen to my books, and have already taken a look at the next in the series - so all good! The story snags the interest straight off, and didn't really wane - I wanted to know what had happened, and how matters were going to be resolved for everyone. There's a supernatural element to the story that I, along with our hero, had problems believing - which I suppose demonstrates the quality of the writing - you're not offered a supernatural story and left to just accept it. Eddy, the hero certainly didn't, so it made my scepticism reasonable. That said, the bulk of the book is Eddie understanding and then dealing with the mystery, which he does by ordinary mundane methods, with no woo-woo involved! There's some flashback chapters to his past. but they are of relevance to the present day, so sit well in the flow of the story. The setting is classic mediaeval, horses, swords, tankards of ale sort of thing.

This is read by Stefan Rudnicki, who has the most wonderful, rich, deep dark voice, yet manages to read the various women characters equally well as he does the men.

I listened to Alex Bledsoe's Tufa books, also narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, which I've enjoyed, so am pleased to find more books to explore.

Enjoyable, very listenable, good start to a series

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Good series of books, book 3 more sad. Book 4 good ending but book 5 seems OK. Was good when part of audible membership but 8hrs a bit short for £7.99 or 1 credit, though there are 4-5 hours books here.
Complex characters and reasonable fleshed out. Interesting old style cop and action and adventure

Good series and story

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a bit more light hearted and down to earth than what I expected despite the fantasy setting.

nice and enjoyable

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Great detective story, better than the description lead me to think it would be. Only found it because it was in my ‘recommended for you’ list. Thank you

Great ending, surprisingly good

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A fantasy gumshoe novel. Eddie LaCrosse has left his former life and become a private investigator. He's drawn back to his former life where he was a baron and good friend of the king until his lover (the princess) was killed. Now the queen has been accused of killing and eating her own child, and the king is wracked with grief. Eddie has to solve the mystery of what really happened, but there's a twist. There's an added complication because he recognises the queen from an earlier time.

Fantasy Gumshoe

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