Her First Five (1955-1959) - Mary Stewart Audiobook

Written by Mary Stewart
Read by Emilia Fox, Jane Asher, Ellie Heydon, Jasmine Blackborow
Format: MP3
Bitrate: Mixed
Unabridged

Mary, Lady Stewart (born Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow; 17 September 1916 – 9 May 2014) was a British novelist who developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations.

Madam, Will You Talk? (1955)
Narrated by: Emilia Fox
Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
Release date: 11-01-18
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Mary Stewart, leads listeners on a thrilling journey through a dangerous and deadly Provence in this tale perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym.

It sounds idyllic: a leisurely drive through the sun-drenched landscape of Provence. But Charity’s dream holiday turns into a nightmare when she becomes embroiled in a sinister plot to kidnap a young boy. She soon finds herself in a deadly pursuit and must uncover whom to trust…and whom to fall for.

“Whenever I look back now on the strange and terrifying events of that holiday in Southern France, I remember the minutes I spent gazing at the golden arches of the Roman aqueduct over the Gardon…the last brief lull before the thunder.”

Widowed Charity Selborne had been greatly looking forward to her driving holiday through France with her old friend Louise - long, leisurely days under the hot sun, enjoying the beauty of the parched Provencal landscape. But when Charity arrived at their hotel in the picturesque French town of Avignon, she had no way of knowing that she was to become the principal player in the last act of a strange and brutal tragedy. Most of it had already been played. There had been love–and lust–and revenge and fear and murder.

Very soon her dreams turn into a nightmare, when by befriending a terrified boy and catching the attention of his enigmatic, possibly murderous father, Charity has inadvertently placed herself center stage. She becomes enmeshed in the schemes of a gang of murderers. And now the killer, with blood enough on his hands, is waiting in the wings.

Wildfire at Midnight (1956)
Narrated by: Jane Asher
Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
Release date: 1990
Publisher: Chivers Audio Books

I FOLLOWED MARCIA TO HER ROOM…

She pushed her door open and groped for the light switch.

When the lights went on I heard her gasp. She was standing as if frozen, her back to me, her hands up to her throat.

Then she screamed, a high, tearing scream.

“The murderer. Oh my God, the murderer. . . .”

She grabbed my arm and pointed to the bed, her lips shaking so much that she couldn’t speak coherently. I stared down at the bed, while the slow goose flesh pricked up my spine.

Lying on the coverlet was a doll, the kind of frivolous doll I had seen dozens of times.
But this one was different. It was lying flat on its back on the bed, with its legs straight out and its hands crossed on its breast. The contents of an ash tray had been scattered over it, and a great red gash gleamed across its neck, where its throat was cut from ear to ear…

A young crofter’s daughter is cruelly and ritually murdered on the bleak Scottish mountainside. In the deceptively idyllic Camasunary Hotel nearby, the beautiful but troubled, Gianetta Brooke cannot seem to escape her pain or her past — not even in the remote hotel on the Scottish Isle of Skye. When she discovers that her ex-husband has booked into the same hotel, the peaceful holiday for which she had hoped takes on quite another complexion.

Very soon Gianetta finds herself tangled in a web of rising fear and suspicion. One of her fellow guests, however, is also hiding secrets… and a skill and penchant for murder. And now the killer only has eyes for Gianetta….

Mary Stewart stuffs much suspense in a 175-page book in this, her second book. Jane Asher reads.

Thunder on the Right (1957)
Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
Release date: 11-07-19
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Artist Jennifer Silver has come to the picturesque, secluded Valley of the Storms in the French Pyrenees to meet with a young cousin who is about to enter the convent there — only to discover that the young woman has died in a dreadful car accident. Or did she?

Doña Francesca, the bursar at the convent tells Jennifer, that a week or so ago Gillian was in a car crash and died at the convent a few days later. But Doña Francesca clearly has a sinister agenda, and there are reasons to think that the woman who died at the convent was not Gillian …

Lies abound in this strange and frightening place, but seeking the truth could lead Jennifer to her own violent death.

A reader said….”I read somewhere that Mary Stewart felt that this was the weakest of her novels, and I must agree (although Airs Above the Ground comes in a close second).

A review…Thunder on the Right starts off strong, but peters out mid-way and never regains traction. While the plot is intriguing: a missing (presumed dead) cousin, and art theft brokered through a French abbey in the Pyrenees, neither story line is fleshed out to gain full impact. Nor are the characters. Stephen Masefield is one of the most lackluster of Stewart hero I’ve ever read, and Jennifer Silver, the damsel-in-distress, lacks the spunk and intrepid spirit of a typical Stewart heroine. A disappointing offering from the Dame of romantic suspense.”

1958 - Nine Coaches Waiting
Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
Release date: 05-09-19
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Mary Stewart’s wonderful novel of suspense and intrigue set in the idyllic countryside of Savoy. A classic tale by one of the world’s most beloved authors.

A governess in a French chateau encounters an apparent plot against her young charge’s life in this unforgettably haunting and beautifully written suspense novel.

When lovely Linda Martin first arrives at Château Valmy as an English governess to the nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy, the opulence and history surrounding her seems like a wondrous, ecstatic dream. But a palpable terror is crouching in the shadows. Philippe’s uncle, Léon de Valmy, is the epitome of charm, yet dynamic and arrogant, his paralysis little hindrance as he moves noiselessly in his wheelchair from room to room.

Only his son Raoul, a handsome, sardonic man who drives himself and his car with equally reckless abandon, seems able to stand up to him. To Linda, Raoul is an enigma, though irresistibly attracted to him, she senses some dark twist in his nature. When an accident deep in the woods nearly kills Linda’s innocent charge, she begins to wonder if someone has deadly plans for the young count.

1959 - My Brother Michael
Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
Release date: 08-15-19
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

One of Britain’s most beloved authors, Mary Stewart leads her listeners on a journey of murder and deceit through the dusty roads of mid-century Greece in this tale that fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym are sure to love.

‘Nothing ever happens to me…’

So begins Camilla Haven’s letter home during her quiet holiday in Athens. But when a stranger begs her to drive a car to Delphi, swearing that it is a matter of life and death, Camilla impulsively takes the opportunity she’s been offered. Before long she is caught up in a whirlwind of intrigue, deceit and murder as she spins along the dusty Greek roads in a race against time to solve a 14-year-old mystery.

‘The longer I waited the less possible it seemed to walk out of the café and leave everything to settle itself without me, and the more insidiously did the other possibility begin to present itself. Dry-mouthed, I pushed it aside, but there it was, a challenge, a gift, a dare from the gods….’

A reader commented about this recording….“it has been a disappointment to listen to the Audible presentations of some of the best stories ever written. Why an author of her stature and obvious popularity has been inflicted with such inferior narrators is incomprehensible. Fraudulent accents uneducated (and unprofessional) mispronunciations of words, apparently unresearched and awkward interpretations of characters…It has been a disconcerting, uncomfortable, and often grueling experience to listen to these audiobooks. I cannot even finish this one….Audible’s selection of narrators for some Mary Stewart tales is an insult to the quality of the writing.

These are not my rip. The books are compliment of one of our downloaders. More to come. Thanks for all.