A Murder of Magpies - Judith Flanders

Written by Judith Flanders
Read by Susan Duerden
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Release date: February 24, 2015
Duration: 08:20:14

Social historian Flanders (The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens’ London) makes her fiction debut with an amusing mystery set in the eccentric world of British book publishing

It’s just another day at the office for book editor Samantha Clair. Checking jacket copy for howlers, wondering how to break it to her star novelist that her latest effort is utterly un-publishable, lunch scheduled with gossipy author Kit Lowell, whose new book will deliciously dish the dirt on the fashion industry. But little does she know how much trouble Kit’s book is about to use. Before it even goes to print. When police inspector Field turns up at the venerable offices of Timmins & Ross, asking questions about an undelivered package that was addressed to Sam, she knows something is wrong. The messenger sent to deliver the package was murdered, and then Kit goes missing.

Suddenly, Sam’s nine-to-five life is turned upside down and she is propelled into a criminal investigation. Someone doesn’t want Kit’s scandalous manuscript published and unless Sam can put the pieces together in time, they’ll do anything to stop it.

Susan Duerden gives voice to Flanders’s first-person protagonist, publishing editor Samantha Clair. With consistency and emotion she creates a high level of authenticity in the reactions of a woman unaccustomed to big-money book sales, let alone murder and mayhem. Duerden maintains a swift pace without hurrying, and her accents are distinct as Sam travels by foot, rail, and air throughout Europe, searching for clues about her missing author, Kit Lowell. The only disappointment in this enjoyable narration is a flat delivery of the audiobook’s sharp humor. However, Duerden’s light tone works well for a book that is edgier than a traditional cozy, and she delivers the occasional profanity with spunk. J.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine