Slightly disappointing

I'm not familiar with the works if this author, I was just looking for a collection of crime short stories. Unfortunately, I found the stories very predictable and even boring on occasions. It is ok for background noise, but I would recommend not wasting your time if looking for engaging stories.

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For fans of Ngoako

I listened to this with interest. The foreword by Susan Howatch is very informative of Ngaio’s life. The stories are well written and conquer up a period of time long gone. They reflect the times they were written in and as she had a good life span they cover many years and changes. As it’s included with prime membership I would recommend this to all mystery fans.

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1 person found this helpful

An intriguing miscellany.

This serves as an excellent introduction to the range of Naigo Marsh's works, embracing her famous Superintendent Alleyn, her New Zealand homeland, advice and a script for Crown Court the 1970s TV series.

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Disappointing

Superb stories. The reader is dreadful and it’s such a disappointment because she sadly destroys all the nuances. I keep having to rewind-not good enough when the original writing was so good. How can such artistry end up sounding like the reader is reading the phone book?

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slight production flaw

I read Ngaio Marsh before Agatha Christie and have always preferred her writing, however these are an odd collection of stories and I have to wonder how some were included. The introduction is very long, it is interesting, but we are not told in the title info which author is offering their opinion, so have to wait til the end of the intro to find out - there are no gaps between the end of one story and the start of the next. In some cases the is barely a breath between the punchline and the next title, making them seem like one long and rather confusing sentence. A short pause to let the reader enjoy the end of a story would make the book considerably better. There were a couple I actively disliked, not least the pick your own end that was originalky a radio play and did not convert well to this genre and a single narrator. The narrator did well, given the eclectic mix of content - but I do feel that she must have been aware of running one story into the next as she rushed headlong to get to the end of the book - would I like to see more Ngaio Marsh books on Audible, yes, would I wish to hear more short stories or more from this producer - probably not

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5 people found this helpful

Good, but some audible oddness

The stories themselves and the narration were both fine, but there is barely a pause for breath between the end of one story and the start of another, and the style of writing was such that, without physically seeing the remaining blank page, it was sometimes hard to realise that one tale had ended and this was now a new scenario. Also, near the end there's a tv script but it is read as a script by one person having to say the character's name and then the line. It's odd, listenable but odd. Overall, I get the impression that no-one listened to the whole thing all the way through as a kind of audible proof-read (a proof-listen?) before relasing it.

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Very entertaining

Loved it,very funny. First time I have listened to her short stories and these are some of the funniest!. The narrator is excellent .

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1 person found this helpful

Period ngaio stories

Traditional pieces written between 1930s and 1970s and very much of their time and ‘golden era’ detective stories.

I prefer the full length novels but these stories were well performed and enjoyable.

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Excellent

Well worth listening to. Nice mix of shorts and introductions, very much enjoyed and very well read.

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anoying

I love this author and stories, but the backwards and forward of speech I found very irritating, and I was unable to follow the story. This was a poor portrayal 8f the authors work. the main thing I love about the stories is the charm of the day! deleted!

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