Ice Blue

Lord & Lady Hetheridge

By: Emma Jameson

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Anthony Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave, chief superintendent for New Scotland Yard, never married - no children, no pets, no hobbies, and not even an interesting vice - will turn 60 in three weeks. With the exception of his chosen career, too sordid for his blue-blooded family to condone, his life has been safe and predictable. But then he meets Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield - beautiful, willful, and nearly half his age.

When Hetheridge saves the outspoken, impetuous young detective from getting the sack, siding with her against Scotland Yard's powerful male hierarchy, his cold, elegantly balanced world spins out of control. Summoned to London's fashionable Belgravia to investigate the brutal murder of a financier, Hetheridge must catch the killer while coping with his growing attraction to Kate, the reappearance of an old flame, and the secret that emerges from his own past.

Fall in love with Ice Blue, book one in the New York Times best-selling Lord & Lady Hetheridge mystery series.

©2011 Stephanie Abbott (P)2015 Stephanie Abbott

Meh...

I got this audio book for $1.99 and it was worth every penny. A decent plot, the narrator was good, the class distinctions were set and the characters believable. But, and this is a big but, I did not buy the romance, such as it was. This is a set up for a series, introducing the players and backgrounds. As a devotee of Georgette Heyer, I like sparkle, wit and chemistry in my romances. I found little in this book. An older, titled man and a "council flat" feisty Londoner. Nope. Even the author admitted the unlikelihood. I may read or listen to the others in this series because of the plotting, but if you want romance, go elsewhere.

English and Exemplary

Would you consider the audio edition of Ice Blue to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version but I thoroughly enjoyed the audio with Davies and his accent. He did a great job of differentiating between characters and pacing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ice Blue?

When Hetheridge shows Kate his fencing room and they spar, it was so smooth that they both were just play fighting. The approach to this scene was really well written.

What about Matthew Lloyd Davies’s performance did you like?

Matthew was able to portray each main character with a distinction that fit their role. His accents were spot on and his interpretation was perfect.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This was a fun mystery that had some surprising twists. I really want to know these characters more and bought the next book - looking forward to the character developement.
<3

Any additional comments?

If you like Elizabeth George,you will like this series too! :) Very well done!

Good story!

I liked the story but did not like the reader's female voices. Would be better with another reader.

A fun start to this series with brand new narratio

I loved this book. It's funny, warm, intelligent with great NEW narration and great characters and writing. It's a cozy-style police mystery, set at Scotland Yard. Our hero is a Chief of Detectives, Lord Anthony Hetheridge, and the heroine is a young female Detective Sergeant under Tony's command. There's snappy dialog, well-crafted mystery, plots and sub-plots, and the start of an endearing love story. The new narration is outstanding, some of the best I've come across on Audible. I'll be looking for more books with this narrator. If you like this type of book, this is a top-drawer example of the genre. I highly recommend it!

I hope there's more.

Great story. Super characters. Very believable setting. You will enjoy this book. I could not stop listening.

Another British Mystery series discovered

Emma Jameson has created a wonderful British mystery series. Her characters are well crafted and enjoyable. I look forward to the next installment.

Wonderful story, but...

What made the experience of listening to Ice Blue the most enjoyable?

The story is terrific, in part because of the writing and the mystery, and in part because the characters draw you and make you start caring about them (or hating them) almost immediately. And the writing is laugh-out-loud funny at times. I am already a big fan of this series and Ms. Jameson's books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ice Blue?

DC Barr telling a stuffy witness, in a perfect Indian accent, that he was a member of the Taliban.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Matthew Lloyd Davies?

Almost anyone! Mr. Davies has his moments, but overall I thought his narration too often had an irritating sing-song quality that made parts of some sentences audible, and other parts of the same sentence inaudible. His portrayal of Heatheridge was too ponderous and her portrayal of Kate grated on me: maybe a little too Cockney? Or maybe it wasn't the accent as much as the bratty edge Mr. Davies gave her speech.

Any additional comments?

I'm hooked on the series and Ms. Jameson's writing, so I will give the second book in the series a listen.

Could become a new regular

A new series, title was misleading but enjoyable nontheless. liked both man characters and will most likely continue to read future books.

Good Story, Terrible Narrator

I enjoyed this mash-up of a British police procedural and romance, but the terrible narration almost spoiled it for me. The narrator did a good job generally - and with Tony's part - but his interpretation of Kate was completely unacceptable. I was first thinking he made her sound like a fishwife, but that's not exactly true. It's more like an old-school British comedian doing an intentionally bad imitation of a woman. Someone like Benny Hill or the Monty Python crew being intentionally bad. Yeah, actually that bad.

I want to continue with the series, but will probably do so with the Kindle edition.

Awful narrator

The story is entertaining but the narrator makes the relationship between the lead characters totally unbelievable. The female lead (Kate) sounds like a Monty Python character. There is no way to imagine attraction between her and the aristocratic Tony. It’s also a little creepy to have a 60 year old man lusting after a 30 year old woman.
I think I would like this book better if I read it instead of listening.