The Queen's Cook

By: Tessa Afshar

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross, Rachel Botchan

In the heart of ancient Persia, the empire’s Jewish citizens face an ominous edict that threatens their very existence. Roxannah, the daughter of an impoverished Persian lord, is devastated by the news but feels helpless to come to the aid of her Jewish friends. Desperate to support her family, Roxannah approaches the royal physician, Adin—the man whose kind eyes haunt her—and seeks his help to find employment in Queen Esther’s kitchens.

In the opulent palace of Susa, Roxannah tries to survive the spiteful ploys of the other cooks as she ascends through the ranks. Her loyalty earns her the trust and friendship of Queen Esther, who is navigating dangerous politics with wisdom and grace. When Roxannah and Adin uncover a sinister plot against Amestris, the king’s most powerful wife and Esther’s archenemy, they find themselves tasked with the impossible job of discovering the culprit. As secrets unravel and alliances are tested, the fate of Esther’s reign hangs in the balance.

“A tender and touching tale. Tessa Afshar has given us two wonderfully charming heroines.”—Angela Hunt, New York Times bestselling author of The Emissaries series

©2024 Tessa Afshar (P)2024 Recorded Books

Great book

I enjoyed the story of Esther told from a different vantage point and imagery. I also enjoy these narrators.

The writing is brilliant and captivating

A lovely, well developed story filled with unexpected events and laced with beautiful imagery. The characters are captured with such great detail that you can vividly imagine them and wish you could know them. This is a most enjoyable book to fall into when in need, or simply desire, an escape.

Love it.

If only Tessa Afshar's books didn't come to an end. Engaging, intelligent, thoughtful, Godly. It's hard to wait for the next one.

My favorite author

My favorite author has given us another amazing book from characters in the Bible. History has been woven into the story of love and mystery.

Love the story

I liked this story a lot. It made me go back and read the book of Ester in the Bible. It was unique to have a different perspective of the story.

Absolutely phenomenal!

I had a hard time shutting this off so I could sleep. It is a phenomenal book.

Loved.

This is such a beautifully written piece. I am looking forward to more in this series.

Palace intrigue

Tessa Afshar is great at weaving multiple stories throughout her books!
However. This particular reading audio version was complicated by 2 readers that were not specific to the characters. Also, the male reader was very dry. It was confusing to keep the characters straight when the readers changed, but the voices did not represent specific characters.
Otherwise, it was great!

Amazing, even funny at times

More than any of Tessa’s other books, this one made me laugh out loud many times. I very much enjoyed the lightness in banter between characters. More of that in the next ones please! In our all-too-serious-world we need reasons to laugh out loud. Thanks for being my driving companion, and bringing great joy.

Exciting plot & great fiction woven around a story we all love.

Tessa has written another breath-taking novel. So creative & well written I couldn't wait to listen!
The plot & storyline woven into a dearly loved Old Testament story but with a twist. Love EVERYTHING Tessa writes!