Borrower of the Night

The First Vicky Bliss Mystery

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

After Vicky Bliss stumbles over a clue to the existence of a hidden masterpiece by a late Gothic sculptor, she and her then-boyfriend, Tony, embark on a contest of will and wits to find the treasure.

Don't miss any of the mysteries in the Vicky Bliss series.

©1973 Elizabeth Peters

Satsifying alternative to Amelia Peabody

I'd already listened to all the Amelia Peabody books, and I'm happy to report the Vicky Bliss books are pretty much in the same vein. This first installment weighs much more heavily on mystery than the others, keeping the reader guessing up to the very end. As always, Barbara Rosenblatt's narration is excellent.

great character !

vicky bliss is easy to ready and listen to start to finish. Can't go wrong with elizabeth peters

A fun story excellently narrated

I really enjoy all the Vicky Bliss stories, and Barbara Rosenblat’s narration is excellent. It’s so great to hear the story told by someone who sounds natural when speaking in a German accent.
Rosenblat makes Vicky Bliss sound like the brilliant scholar that she is, which makes me very happy.

Another wonderful Peters novel

Vicky Bliss is funny and bright and has a talent for trouble . The way I like my females heroines to be !

Mediocre

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I love Elizabeth Peters' series with Amelia Peabody but this story seemed full of holes and illogical at various places. I would not recommend it and did not send it to anyone.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I didn't think it was entirely logical. Why were all these people gathering at the same time to find the missing artifact for example. After all these years, the sudden gathering at the same time and place seemed far fetched. Multiple other aspects seemed illogical as well.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The quality of the audio was below the standard I'm used to. It had good volume and clarity, but I could hear her mouth movements and breathing too much. I would get used to it and then stop to listen again later and get distracted again.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe. Perhaps the script and visuals would make up for some of the other qualities.

Any additional comments?

Listen to the Amelia Peabody series instead :)

Perfect

Fun story and perfect reader. Her wry sarcasm and somewhat flippant delivery made the story pure joy to listen to. It fit the character so well that it felt like I was having a conversation with Vicky.

Laugh out loud

Narrator was excellent. Vicky has a fresh delightful view of life.
Refreshing and funny. I’m on to the next.

Barbara Rosenblat - what a gift!

This is a great mystery - clean and funny with an entertaining heroine and hero. What makes this book come to life is the narrator. Barbara Rosenblat is simply amazing! Her intonations and different voices for each character make this book easy to follow and picture clearly in my head.

I have listened to Ms. Rosenblat narrate many books, and have come to the conclusion to listen to anything she narrates - because she will make it thoroughly entertaining!

Vicky isn't Amelia

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I have read the entire Amelia Peabody series and loved the stories and characters. I thought this would be a similar read by the same author. Not really in the same class of story though- for me.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I actually skipped forward just to see if I was right about the ending. I was......

What about Barbara Rosenblat’s performance did you like?

She is great no matter who the author.

Was Borrower of the Night worth the listening time?

Not really, I skipped a good portion of it.

Please Get Another Narrator

I've read this book and it's one of my favorite of Elizabeth Peters', so I was really looking forward to listening to it in an audible format. The narrator ruined it for me. Her voice sounded like she was talking with her mouth full of food and her breathing was audible in the recording. As my children would say, gross! In addition her delivery was nasal and flat. I'm going to return this one.

I've gone back and listened to samples from other books Barbara Rosenblat has narrated, and she's done them well. I guess this one was just a dud, but if I run across another of her narrations, I will be sure to listen to the sample first.