A Christmas Odyssey

De: Anne Perry

Narrado por: Terrence Hardiman

Henry Rathbone is called by an old friend whose son has gone missing 10 days before the Christmas holiday. Now in his early 20s, Lucien has known trouble for some time and has often fallen victim to the vices of drugs, alcohol, and women. His father now fears the worst. Their old friend and reformed brothel-owner, Squeaky Robinson, volunteers to help. Henry agrees and, joined by Crow, a young doctor at the clinic, the pair trawls the pubs, brothels, and opium dens of the West End in search of clues. And so they set forth on their odyssey into London’s dark streets, on a mission whose outcome they cannot begin to guess.

©2010 Anne Perry. All rights reserved. (P)2010 AudioGo

darker than I want for Christmas

Lots of dark and minuscule amount of Christmas; I like some of her other Christmas titles much more

wonderful story for Christmas!

before my I started this Christmas story I was worried after reading some body the reviews...I am so glad I disregarded and continue my read. it's a perfect story of true friendship, deep dispire and redemption. harsh for the faint heartened. perfect holiday story.
England in the 1800's was glorious for the privileged but for the the lost soul much could be found to lead you down a dark path. I felt truly wrapped with the true spirit of Christmas!

dark

while this is ultimately a story of a Prodigal son, and therefore hopefully redemptive, any positive message is over shadowed by the very dark subject matter. this is a story of the 1880s London underworld. it is grim and vivid and stomach turning at times. the narrator gives an excellent performance but overall this is a dark and negative tale. i certainly cannot recommend it of you are looking for an uplifting Christmas read.

It Didn't Make Me Care

I usually love Anne Perry, but I almost DNF this one. The first half is almost entirely focused on overblown Victorian sensibilities toward honor, and the horrors of the sinful pleasures. When a real mystery finally comes into play in the second half, there are some interesting twists, but we are trying to figure out who killed a whore and a drug dealer who we never knew within the story, and don't really care about.

Unexpected Fun

I did not expect an action packed start to finish Christmas story. I was thoroughly entertained.

Unexpected

Anne Perry's books are as much about human nature as they are about solving a murder. This tale involves a motley cast of characters who brave the depths of London's underworld in search of a "lost" son. There is quite a contrast between the depravity found beneath the city streets and the gaiety of the Christmas holiday above ground. This story explores how low a person can fall, yet, like many of Perry's other stories, offers a glimpse of hope and a chance and redemption .

A Christmas Odyssey

A really tough story about the underbelly of London and terrible addictions available

But it did end well

The prodigal son .

That is what this story was about, change, redemption and the prodigal son.
I enjoyed it.

NOT a Christmas Novel - even a little.

I love Anne Perry. Every year I look forward to reading one or more of her Christmas novels. This book has nothing to do with Christmas, short of coincidence with a calendar date. It is as dark a book as I've read in a very long time, and I've read at least one Stephen King recently. I stuck it through, waiting for some kind of redemption to the horrible story about human trafficking, and levels of sexual depravity I hadn't previously imagined (and I'm not a prude), and... there was no redemption. The ending was a brief outline lasting a few minutes, in an offhand tone. Up until that point - endless darkness and depravity. The title feels like a manipulation, as does the picture of the cover.

I gave it three stars because it was a decent character study, fairly well written, and wonderfully narrated.

A most interestingstory

Personally, I get so tired of all of the Sickly sweet pablum that most Christmas stories. most stories in general are predictably all about the most beautiful and superior people that always win in the end. Those stories are so tiring. This story has interesting substance and a worthwhile plot. Don’t worry, the characters are still, of course, the most beautiful and superior in spite of their foibles! 😛