Murder by Candlelight cover art

Murder by Candlelight

Val & Arbie Mysteries, Book 1

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Murder by Candlelight

By: Faith Martin
Narrated by: John Hopkins
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About this listen

One suspicious death. Two amateur sleuths. And an utterly impossible crime…

The NUMBER ONE ebook bestseller!

'Amuses and intrigues in equal measure… a splendid start to what promises to be a long-running series’ Daily Mail

**************************************************

The Cotswolds, 1924. At the Old Forge in the quiet village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh a cry of anguish rings out: lady of the house Amy Phelps has been discovered dead. But with all the windows and doors to her room locked from inside, how – and by whom – was she killed?

Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift finds himself in the unlikely position of detective. The celebrated author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting is staying at the Old Forge to investigate a suspected spectre, but now the more pressing matter of Amy’s murder falls to him too.

With old friend Val, he soon uncovers a sorry tale of altered wills, secret love affairs and tragic losses – and plenty of motives for murder. When events take another sinister turn, Arbie must find the killer, fast. And to do so will mean cracking a most perfectly plotted crime…

Perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club, The Appeal and The Marlow Murder Club, don’t miss this stunning new series from the multi-million bestselling author!

©2024 Faith Martin (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Amateur Sleuths Cosy Crime Fiction Detective Domestic Thrillers Fiction Historical Mystery Witty Feel-Good Village
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What listeners say about Murder by Candlelight

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful narration

Enjoyed book very much and there were some red herrings. Look forward to more .The narrator excellent.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very Clever and Very Cute

I truly enjoyed this tale, I like Arbie and his uncle too! Arbie is written in the traditional self-effacing Englishman style that Hugh Grant used to pull off in his early movies. He essentially just wants to be left alone to loaf about, as a reticent English aristocrat.

However, his friends won’t let him. One has convinced/coerced him into writing a book, which turns out to be a bestseller - much to his dismay - it means being persuaded to pen a sequel.
The other friend (potential girlfriend), convinces/coerces him into solving the ghost mystery that is bothering the local “Lady of the Manor”, even more so when said lady ends up dead!

This is no bumbling or foolish amateur dramatics. The Detective assigned to the case is not an ineffectual, hapless, overwhelmed character. In fact, everyone is just right! Even the ones who are so wrong!

This is a lovely start to what I think will hopefully be an endearing series.

Unlike others, it took me a while to get accustomed to the narrator. It wasn’t the voice that I was expecting for such a youthful character, but he did a fine job and I acclimatised myself to his voice in due course. I have preordered book 2 - not due until January 2025.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good old fashioned murder mystery

I really enjoyed this audiobook, because it harks back to the golden age of mystery books from Agatha Christie, etc. Nothing gruesome or disturbing, but just a good old period mystery, that pits a supernatural sceptic against a spooky murderer... or so it seems. There are some great comic moments too that had me giggling to myself.

The narrator did a great job with the voices, differentiating between the various characters and the period accents were just so in tune with the book.

Very enjoyable and I look forward to future books in this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

the humor in it

I enjoyed the performance very much snd lijed the characters.the conclusion came perhaps X bit too suddenly

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The two likeable main characters

Enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters and the light hearted plot. Took a while to get going though.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyable cosy mystery

What a lovely book. Very gentle, don't expect a fiendish plot, but the main characters are likeable and the narration by John Hopkins is really good EXCEPT that the young woman 'detective' sounds like Ian McKellern's Christmas dame! I've no idea where he got the idea from for that voice !!!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun and light hearted.

Nice little story, locked room mystery, ghostly goings on and a host of interesting and slightly quirky characters make up this light and genteel murder mystery. expert narrated by John Hopkins who always brings characters and atmosphere to life. Nice little twist at the end.



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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Light, funnet, engaging

This was a light and enjoyable read. Hope there are more Arbie Swift and Val novels to come.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Different and engaging

Interesting characters and storyline. Sometimes amusing and really very well narrated. Overall extremely enjoyable. Looking forward to more Val and Arbie mysteries.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

well written cozy mystery

Good story and characters. the voice work on female characters was a tad off putting. If it's the same reader for the next one I'd probably buy the book.

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2 people found this helpful