The Mute of Pendywick Place: And the Torn Page

The Mute of Pendywick Place, Book 1

By: Alydia Rackham

Narrated by: Bill Schafer

London, November 3, 1881. A young woman slips through the curtains of fog down Pendy Corner to the 26th house in the row. She vacillates at the gate. For, past that sullen door, she must seek the help of the distinctively eccentric and impatient young language expert named Basil Collingwood.

The fate of Europe, and indeed, the free peoples of the world may depend upon getting him to understand her.

The only trouble? She cannot speak a word.

Brace yourself for a heart-pounding, romantic romp through Victorian London, rivaling the best of Doyle and Dickens - for, this is only the beginning of a series that will sweep you from the glittering pomp of Hampton Court, to the smoky slums of Shoreditch, up the stairs to 221B Baker Street, and to the murky waters of the River Thames, alongside brilliant, peculiar and outcast characters who find themselves at home within the walls of a sulking old brownstone wedged into a winding London lane: a house known by both Sherlock Holmes and the Queen of England simply as Pendywick Place.

©2017 Alydia Rackham (P)2020 Alydia Rackham

Good

Good beginning and we learn who the characters are. Given audio for my voluntary review

Enjoyable and whimsical Victorian thriller

I enjoyed this short book, only disappointed that it wasn't longer. The narration was just a little bit over-the-top so slightly comical sounding although it was probably meant to be entirely serious. But that did not detract from my enjoyment.

The character, Victoria has a tragic and mysterious background I can't wait to dig more into.

Intriguing Historical Setting and Mystery

A mysterious beginning that beguiled and tantalized the listener to thirst for answers made this new to me serial, author, and narrator a welcome combination. I love historical mysteries and saw this one ties in with a few literary greats like Sherlock Holmes so of course I had to give it a try.

The Mute of Pendywick Place is a serial historical mystery story and this was the beginning introducing a mysterious woman who lacks the power of speech and struggles with other language and memory-related issues. She knows that she desperately needs to get to Basil Collingwood and somehow convey a desperate message. Basil is something of a shock as he is a speech teacher, but he is a quirky man with a few mysteries of his own. They get on like matches and gas, but I liked how their struggles to work together along with her struggles to communicate add a nice tension to the story. Revelations near the end of this first part came as fabulous twists.

I loved meeting the household at Pendy Place, Basil’s work with his patients and this mysterious woman. It was fun tripping over mentions of 221B Baker Street and Basil going to school with Mycroft, and I think I missed a few others though I did have the sense that I was in the Pygmalion/My Fair Lady story, too. I also liked how her speech and memory issues felt authentic as did Basil’s work with several speech and language issues.

Serials are usually problematic for me, but I have to say that this one was ended in a good spot. Finishing up one series of tied together scenes and stopping before another big series of scenes begins. It was fully developed even while having the work of introducing characters, setting, and the beginning of the plot.

Bill Schafer’s narration work was delightful. He voiced the accents, class differences, and genders well, but he also tackled several of Basil’s speech patient’s issues right, too. He caught the tone and pacing of the story so well. I would definitely listen to more of his work. The production quality was exceptional.

All in all, this was a great start to the historical mystery serial and I’m excited to see where it goes from here. I can recommend it to historical mystery fans.

Captivating Mystery

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the first part of a five part story but, I would still say that this is a standalone in that we do learn the identity of the main character in part one. However, the rest of the mystery related to the main character is still up in the air.

What a delightful story! If you like historical fiction with a bit of mystery - then this book is for you! The story draws you in immediately as you are transported in time to Victorian London and plunked down into the center of the mystery. The characters were well-developed and compelling. Basil Collingwood, the language expert, was very interesting and his efforts to communicate with the main character were captivating. Of course, the most intriguing being the main character - of whom we learn about in drips as she is mute.

The narrator, Bill Schafer, really reminded me of Alan Cummings - both in tone and execution of the narration. It was a very enjoyable listen!

Magnificent!

I can't wait to hear the next part of this adventure! The narrator made the characters come alive!

Fun but .....

It's really too bad that this narrator is so bad that I probably won't continue the series. Plus these books are pretty short to pay a full credit for.

Fun, Short Victorian Mystery

I really enjoyed listening to this one, I could tell the narrator had a lot of fun with the voices, accents and acting, and it definitely made it a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series. My only complaint is that it was a really quick (short) book being under 3 hours in length. It's great for the short road trip or an afternoon stuck at home.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Outstanding!

I sincerely hope we see the remaining four titles in this outstanding series show up on Audible in the coming months! Book 1 is more of an introductory novella to a delightful four-part story (well, okay, five part - if you count this one). There are other books as well, but the initial five cover the main story arc. I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a Victorian intrigue with a dash or two of romance. The story is suitable for all ages, as it is squeaky clean both in language and relationships. There is a bit of violence, but nothing gratuitous or gory.

The narrator did a fantastic job -- he reminds me so much of Alan Cummings. It felt a tad overdone at a couple points and some of the weightier moments could have used less levity, but those are more personal preferences than actual criticism. Wholeheartedly recommend snatching this one up, and don't forget to seek out the other titles as well!

Wonderful Victorian Mystery

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed ‘The Mute of Pendywick Place: And the Torn Page’. I was drawn into the story immediately, and disappointed when it suddenly finished too soon!

I can’t for book 2 in this series, so I can spend more time with these characters.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

I don't get it?

The many gushing reviewers must have listened to a different story. Annoying, over-the-top narration of a story that drags out. Not recommended.