fab!

what a great find. reviews made me a little hesitant but am glad I ignored some of them. good length for the story and the narrator makes u feel toy are there. lovely. fab. cant asit to order next one.

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A lovely, cosy, mystery series!

This audiobook was warm, friendly, humorous, and soothing, remaining engaging throughout. Whilst the village was so chocolate-boxy that they actually produced their own fudge, it still managed not to feel saccharine. The plot was not particularly intricate but the characters were a diverse mix in age, gender, and nationality, and I very much enjoyed the fact that despite being a rural village every one of its residents felt as though they had found a place for themselves within it. Even Alfie's Aunt Augusta, or 'Gussie', was embraced by her neighbours despite her unconventional approach to life (and interior design). Her friends, Liz and Marge, were a delight and I was glad to see them take such a central role in the story.

A character from whom we heard less - but whose presence was very welcome - was Alfie's friend, Oscar. Obsessed with his Wildean namesake, Oscar's dry wit and plagiarised observations could have been a gimmicky irrelevance but they never felt such. Instead he lent the stories a touch of elegance, and I enjoyed each of the little asides where Alfie called to update him on events. I have long collected quotes from Wilde, and was pleased to see the author sneak in several in this fashion.

I connected with both the village and its inhabitants much more immediately than I have any other contemporary cosy, as even with the Cherringhambooks it took me a while to settle into them. The only disappointment with this book is its brevity, but as it only cost a couple of pounds I can't really grumble about that. I have already downloaded the following two books, and am looking forward to spending more time in Bunburry as the collection expands. I think the Bunburry mysteries will prove to be the perfect bedtime listening, though with this one I was always tempted to listen longer than I'd originally intended!

I do, however, wish that Lubbe Audio didn't add jangly music to the beginning and end of their audiobooks. It may only be something they do with their cosy mysteries, but as with Cherringham (where they begin each tale with something that sounds like a James Bond theme being played on a doorbell) the Bunburry mysteries start and finish with the sort of tune you'd only expect to hear from an icecream van towing a fairground waltzer. I'm sure it probably does help give each series a distinct signature, but it is rather annoying when listening at bedtime - especially if the musical flourish at the end wakes the listener up!

The narrator Nathaniel Parker was new to me but has a very pleasing voice. Rich and resonant, lively and expressive, his performance was charming and ideal for a series like this one. I hope they stick with him for future books in this series, as Cherringham has with Neil Dudgeon, because he brought the village to life very nicely.

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9 people found this helpful

It would be good as a first chapter

As the first chapter of a mystery it settles the characters in nicely and there’s some up to date portraits of English village life (having the signposts in metric made me laugh - i had visions of the whole village not knowing how far it is to anything)

For those of us who like a bit of mystery in the lot however it’s disappointing- far too short to develop the plot. It’s like reading chapter one of a good book only to have everything wrapped up at once. I see there’s a whole range of further ‘books’ in the titles and I wonder if the author would be better sitting down and thinking through a tight plot line - obviously talent here which could be put to greater things

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Gentle

This story is gentle and entertaining. Shorter than most I listen to, it would be good for a long journey. Nathaniel Parker did a wonderful job of narrating the story and I would happily listen to him read just about anything! Good, but nowhere close to the Cherringham saga also by Lubbe!

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loved it

a really nice story good rounded likeable characters and an interesting story line... more please.

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Delightful

Nathaniel Parker narrates this wonderful scenario so well, his voice is just right for the cosy Cotswold village folk. Excellent listen.

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I cannot rate this high enough.

If I could give it 100 I would...at last a real cosy mystery, read superbly by Nathaniel Parker.
Everything about it, is what I have been waiting for..if you love Agatha Christie you will love this..if you love
, in your face blood and gore, you won’t..

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11 people found this helpful

Really good listen

Narrator is aka actor for Inspector Lynley. A surprising amount of good character voices.
The story is quite interesting however I thought the ending was quite abrupt. This could be because it's the first story and the author is setting the scene and story lines for all the characters involved.
Also it felt shorter in length, although it's actually the same length as most of the books I listen too. So possibly because I was enjoying it so much I listened to more of it for longer.
I will be purchasing the next one in the series to see what happens next.

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Brilliant

A marvellous story made all the better by the excellent narration by Nathaniel Parker.
The rest of this series is now an auto buy for me. Loved it.

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Bun-tastic

I really enjoyed this audiobook, so much so I bought the second in the series and pre-ordered the third. The narration is first class and the characters are interesting. It’s a pleasant, easy listen, well-worth the money.

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