A Question of Numbers

A Lady Arianna Regency Mystery Series, Book 5

By: Andrea Penrose

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

With the threat of war looming over the Continent now that Napoleon has reseized the throne of France, London is abuzz with intrigue as diplomats from the European powers gather to negotiate a military alliance against him. But Lady Arianna and her husband, the Earl of Saybrook, are intent on staying clear of the conflict, deciding it's a battle for nations and armies to fight....

Until things turn very personal. When a Prussian diplomat is murdered, two items found in his pocket force Arianna and Saybrook to once again become reluctant allies with the shadowy head of British security and undertake a rescue mission to Brussels, where lies and deceptions swirl within the ballrooms of the British expatriate community as the armies of Wellington and Napoleon prepare to clash.

Love, friendship, loyalty. Trust will be tested as Arianna and Saybrook race against time to unravel a secret code which may hold the key to defeating the advancing French army. And as Arianna finds herself matching wits with Napoleon, it will once again all come down to a matter of luck....

©2019 Andrea DaRif (P)2021 Tantor

excellent mystrry

narrator's accent was sometimes distracting. pace and story kept one's attention. a very good read

Well-written Plot

The twists and turns and the details of the clues throughout the story were extremely well thought out.

Good story, not thrilled with the reader

I like the stories in the series. The reader speaks in a very slow affected way that is annoying. I found it was better if the reading speed was set to 1.1 instead of 1.0.

Good mystery.... Narrator not so good

I have enjoyed the stories for this cast of characters. The narrator was tolerable in the first 2 books but the remainder not so much it sounds like she has a lisp and it grates on my nerves. The author has me doing history research on Napoleon his capture and how he returned to power. In these trying times it does give hope that good will win over greed, thirst for power and the evil of men in power.

Lisping again

I really HATE to mention a lisp. ESPECIALLY since, as a child, I had to go to a speech therapist for a real lisp. This narrator only lisps sometimes! She definitely has no problem saying the word assassin. I just don't understand what she is trying to do....it's annoying and a little offensive to me. I enjoy these books but by now the narrator should be extremely comfortable voicing the characters. 😫

I can’t listen to Ms. Sarah’s voice; high, thin and indecipherable.

I like the author and the characters and have read the other books in the series. I’m going to have to read this one too. Ms. Sarah’s voice lacks depth making her hard to listen to and harder to understand. Neither my ear buds nor my car stereo are up to the challenge of making this audiobook enjoyable.

A lot happening

There are a lot of characters in this book. A lot of pieces being juggled and the narrator’s voice was particularly grating this time. I don’t know what it was that was different because she’s ready before but it was somehow overly dramatic.

Also, there were glitches in the production so it repeated lines at some points.