Black & Blue

Lord & Lady Hetheridge Volume 4

By: Emma Jameson

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Modern art dealer Granville Hardwick has a way with people - a way of making them wish he were dead. His London gallery is filled with works of questionable merit, his dating pool consists of other men's wives, and his home is the eyesore of a fine old neighborhood. The neighborhood of Scotland Yard's Chief Superintendent Tony Hetheridge, as a matter of fact. So when Hardwick turns up dead, bashed on the head by a rather tasteless reproduction, it's Hetheridge and his new bride, Kate, who embark on solving the case.

When he married Kate, Tony expected things to be different. But with Kate's ne'er-do-well relatives making trouble on the home front, and his own enemies attacking from within Scotland Yard, the case of the dead art dealer and three unfaithful wives might do more than change Mayfair. It might change Lord and Lady Hetheridge forever.

©2015 Stephanie Abbott (P)2016 Stephanie Abbott

narrator horrible with womens voices

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I was unable to finish the book. The narrator's attempt at women's voices was a mess.

Another enjoyable book

Matthew Lloyd Davis is a marvelous narrator. I love all the different voices he does.

Too much fun!

British-detective, British-humor, class-consciousness, family, family-dynamics, friction, friendship, laugh-riot, law-enforcement, London, mental-health-issues, mental-illness, murder, murder-investigation, procedural, wealthy*****

What lunacy! There is a murder in Tony's neighborhood and things start to go awry right away because DS Bhar's mother (the romance writer) has a special friend, and he seems to be the prime suspect. There are more problems with Kate's mentally ill mother and sister, and Tony is coerced into retirement! Chief Superintendent (Baron) Hetheridge, his new wife DS Kate Wakefield, and DS Paul Bhar (and even his MOTHER) are off on another bizarre homicide case and even the evil Duke Duncan Godington, (longtime psychopathic nemesis) shows up. Nowadays Kate's brother and his caregiver live with Kate and Tony, as does her bright but suffering young nephew. And even THAT sees changes! And that's just about the ongoing characters. The unusual people connected with the murder add spice to a very convoluted investigation with some fantastic plot twists and strange red herrings! This series is a whole lot of fun and laughs that make a mockery of reality. Love it!
I really appreciate the talents of voice actor Matthew Lloyd Davies to help me with easy differentiation of characters in the audio, and he always underplays the scenes!

Agatha Christie lives again

Where does Black & Blue rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 50

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. Trying to figure who was the murderer

Which character – as performed by Matthew Lloyd Davies – was your favorite?

Lord Hetheridge

Any additional comments?

Delightful characters set in England ranging from a peer of the realm to his cockney wife and her problematic family. The narrator brought the story to life w a wide range of accents.

Very good book

I love the story behind it, but the narrator is awesome and helps you visualize the story.

Good finale

It was a good wrap-up but I'd like more stories with these characters. Very interesting.

noodles

splits into little tangents in middle and loses thread of main plot. Accents more like Bollywood. Maybe too many minor characters.

Very good mystery

This is a very interesting novel. It has romance and intrigue without a lot of bad language. I have read the entire series to this point and I highly recommend it.

Circumnavigation of bureaucratic red tape!

Yes oftentimes there are so many do gooders in society, they get it entirely wrong. Most people only see what the media feeds them, and from their limited point of view. Very few have the access, talent and experience to see the whole picture, and understand what they are actually seeing.
So, this episode we see the effects of out side interference to the New Scotland Yard, and our particular small team of detectives.
It is continually expressed, that scientific processes have their place, but normally what solves cases, are the hard work and dedication of the detectives on the case, methodically processing, querying and re-assessing the various scenarios that would fit a crime, continuing to collect and assessing, to ensure that the information continues to fit a model that the team is suggesting.
This is a very good series, and the narrator does a splendid job with the various characters' vocalizations.

Love This Series

Have read and listened to the entire series and enjoy it so much. The characters are well drawn and the book is peppered with humor, though not a comedy. Can't wait for the next book.