A Lady in the Smoke

A Victorian Mystery

By: Karen Odden

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

Following a humiliating fourth season in London, Lady Elizabeth Fraser is on her way back to her ancestral country estate when her train careens off the rails and bursts into flames. Though she is injured, she manages to drag herself and her unconscious mother out of the wreckage, and amid the chaos that ensues, a brilliant young railway surgeon saves her mother's life. Elizabeth feels an immediate connection with Paul Wilcox - though society would never deem a medical man eligible for the daughter of an earl.

After Paul reveals that the train wreck was no accident, and the inspector who tried to prevent it dies under mysterious circumstances, Elizabeth undertakes a dangerous investigation of her own that leads back to her family's buried secrets. Not only are her dowry and her reputation at stake; Paul's very life hangs in the balance when he is arrested for manslaughter. Now Elizabeth must risk everything for the man who has found a place in her heart. As the trial draws near, and Parliament prepares for a vote that will change the course of the nation, she uncovers a conspiracy that has been years in the making. But time is running out to see justice done.

©2016 Karen Odden (P)2017 Tantor

the Narrator killed it

I am a fan of Karen Odden (clean stories) read the 2 "Inspector Corravan Mysteries" but stopped at Chapter 8 of this one. I am sorry, do not mean to be unkind, but while the narrator is trying her best at accents, is it not good enough. I cannot listen anymore.

Read this author; avoid the narrator

Third time lucky, I managed to mostly ignore the inconsistent British accent attempted by the narrator. While it took me out of the story many times (ie, "father" doesn't rhyme with "bother"), the actual book was good enough to still make it worth listening to. I'm glad I persevered. However, I would definitely read/listen to something else by this author but would avoid the narrator unless she's reading in her own accent.

Excellent

Narration was excellent. Story and characters compelling. Highly recommend. will read this author again.

Great Story, Annoying Narration

Loved the story, the setting, the amount of detail in the writing. Very good plot and pacing. It is a compelling story. I persevered despite the extremely distracting narration.
The narrator was VERY bad at accents, including the one for which she read the main character. She puts far too much force on consonants, clips things unnecessarily, and has too breathy of a delivery but she does convey emotion. I suspect she would be fine with her own dialect. The male voices were considerably better than her female ones.

slow story

the story is very slow and hard to enjoy, outs one you keep feeling should get better at any moment.... but doesn't

That's Done

Great story, intricate plot, well laid out, methodical and captivating. But when it ended, I wondered why that was it. Abrupt and ill timed, it made me wonder if there is another book planned.

R.e.a.d.e.r.

The narrator made me unable to read the book. It might have been a good book but I couldn’t handle the slow, weird, breathless, whining voice. Accents are just mediocre.

Worth the time

Any additional comments?

This story was engaging and the narration excellent and consistent. Voices of characters were consistent and varied. Narrator used a good quality microphone so there were no extra sounds to distract. This is a story I will listen to again and again. Like visiting with a good friend. I will recommend to my friends who like these kinds of books!!!

DNF Due to Narration

DNF at 30%. I could not finish due to the audio narration. The voices of the different characters were strange and the pacing was weird. I hope to read the book at some point, as I did like the story so far.

story ok, odd accent

Story is mildly entertaining, due to information about railroads, medical practices and Victorian social norms. Narration was distracting, due to bizarre and inconsistent accent.