Audio Books : Mystery and Suspense : Other quality : English


All from CD and unabridged. (32 kbps / 22 kHz Mono CBR Fraunhofer MP3)



#1. Jamacia Inn [1936] 10 hours 29 mins, read by Tony Britton.
Thrillingly exciting, beautifully written, passionate but never sentimental, Jamaica Inn is perhaps the most accomplished historical romance (in the proper sense of the word) ever written. It is set in early 19th-century Cornwall, at a time when the forces of order are gradually beginning to curb the reckless lawlessness of this wild region. After the death of her mother, Mary Yellan decides to leave her peaceful home in South Cornwall and travel up country to live with her Aunt Patience, who is married to Joss Merlyn, the landlord of the Jamaica Inn. The inn is a wretched place, solitary on the desolate moors between Bodmin and Launceston and shunned by those who pass it, but even more shocking to Mary is the state of her aunt, once a merry pleasure-loving woman but now wasted away by the brutality of her husband. As she tries to make a life for herself in the face of her aunt's pathetic fear and her uncle's contempt and viciousness, Mary begins to realize that Jamaica Inn is the centre of a criminal network stretching the length and breadth of the county, and that she must choose between protecting her aunt and destroying her uncle's evil trade. The story is a gripping one, made much more so by du Maurier's powerful evocation of the landscape it is set in...

#2. Rebecca [1938] 14 hours 48 mins, read by Anna Massey
Rebecca is a timeless classic in the gothic literature genre. Daphne Du Maurier weaves a tale full of mystery and suspense that grips the reader from the start and doesn't let go.
Max de Winter brings his new bride to Manderley, the home he shared with his beautiful first wife Rebecca, before her untimely death widowed him. Rebecca's presence still seems to permeate Manderley, haunting the new Mrs de Winter and sapping her confidence. The housekeeper Mrs Danvers who loved Rebecca and resents her place being 'usurped' feeds the young bride's insecurities at every opportunity and makes her doubt her husband's love for her. When whispers of murder start to be heard, Mrs de Winter starts to doubt her new husband as well as her own sanity. A fantastic tale that can be read time and time again without becoming stale. [HS]

#3. Frenchman's Creek [1941] 8 hours 47 mins, read by John Castle
Set in the 17th century, this story is basically about a wealthy, bored housewife and mother (Lady St. Columb) who finds herself falling out of love with her husband and wanting a change from the life she is living, or in her mind merely "existing". Although her husband adores her, realizing she needs a break from him and their surroundings, she leaves him "for a visit" to their Cornwall estate. With her children in tow, she expects nothing more than some peace and quiet. What she finds is a ship moored just off her property, and a mysterious but intriguing man...
(Frenchman's Creek is a difficult novel to categorize. The plot outline is that of a swashbuckling adventure story, but the writing style is dreamy and languid, and the story and characters are presented in a highly romanticized manner. In some ways, the novel can be seen as a precursor to modern bodice ripper historical romances, but again the more literary writing style and lack of sexual explicitness, as much as the ambiguous ending, set it apart from that genre.)

#4. My Cousin Rachel [1951] 12 hours, read by Jonathan Pryce
Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries - and there he dies suddenly. In almost no time at all, the new widow - Philip's cousin Rachel - turns up in England. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious woman like a moth to the flame. And yet, might she have had a hand in Ambrose's death?



Enjoy and Seed!!