Audible Review ~ Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

My thanks to the publicists midas and Audible.co.uk for my listening copy of Murder on the Orient Express

Written by: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Tom Conti, Jane Asher, Ruta Gedmintas,Walles Hamonde, Paterson Joseph, Rula Lenska, Art Malik, Eddie Marsan, Sophie Okonedo

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins 

Performance

Release Date:01/11/2017

Publisher: Audible Studios

What begins as a routine journey on the luxurious Orient Express soon unfurls into Agatha Christie's most famous murder mystery. On board is the famous detective Hercule Poirot, and one man who, come morning, will be found dead, his compartment locked from the inside.

This Audible Original dramatisation follows the train as it's stopped dead in its tracks at midnight. The train's stranded passengers soon become suspects as the race to uncover the murderer begins before he or she strikes again.

This all-star production features lead performances from Tom Conti (The Dark Knight Rises, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence) as Hercule Poirot, Sophie Okonedo (After Earth, Hotel Rwanda and Ace Ventura) and Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes, V for Vendetta and Hancock) plus a full supporting cast and even sound effects recorded on the Orient Express itself.

Starring: Tom Conti as Hercule Poirot, Sophie Okonedo as Mary Debenham, Paterson Joseph as Colonel Arbuthnot, Walles Hammonde as Hector Macqueen, Jay Benedict as Monsieur Bouc, Jane Asher as Mrs Hubbard, Rula Lenska as Princess Dragonioff, Ruta Gedmintas as Countess Andrenyi, Eddie Marsan as Ratchett and Art Malik as the Narrator.

Also featuring: Marie Rabe, John Chancer, Cedric Cirotteau, Andreas Karras, Barnabas Reti, Cristina Catalina, Greg Canestrari, Harry Hadden-Paton, Christope Delesques, Atilla Akinci, Hakan Silahsiz and Jeff Gerard.

©1934 Agatha Christie (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

This is an excellent performance of one of Agatha Christie's most iconic novels. Murder on the Orient Express has been read, watched and listened to countless times in the eighty years since its first publication, and its universal and timeless appeal never wavers.

I sat quietly on a rainy afternoon to listen to this Audible original recording and was immediately transported to the elegant world of detective, Hercule Poirot and his now famous investigation into the murder of a passenger, on the Simplon-Orient Express as it travels from Istanbul via Italy, to Calais.

The performances throughout the narration of the story are very, very good. Tom Conti in the iconic Poirot role ensures a strong character interpretation and the other characters are equally as compelling, particularly, Jane Asher as Mrs Hubbard and Rula Lenska as Princess Dragonioff. Art Malik does a superb job as narrator and holds the story together with his customary charm.

The performance comes in at just over 5 hours, so can be listened to quite easily in the space of a couple of afternoons or evenings, or even better listening to this performance of Murder on the Orient Express would break up a long journey by making the time go by really quickly.


Perhaps just not a train journey !!

You can find the Audible recording of Murder on the Orient Express by clicking here 

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Review ~ Monster 1983 written by Ivar Leon Menger (Audio)

New from Audible

October 2016

Callum Blue (Dead Like Me), Anastasia Griffith (Damages) and Marc Warren (Hustle) star in new audio-drama from Germany's master of thriller.

Anastasia Griffith (Deputy Taylor Dunford)

Callum Blue (Sheriff Cody)

Marc Warren (Deputy Landers)

Drawing influences from Poltergeist, Stand By Me and E.T. and other Spielberg classics, the story unfolds in the small coastal town of Harmony Bay, Oregon. Still reeling from a sudden and profound family tragedy, Sheriff Cody uproots his elder son Michael, and younger daughter Amy, from the chaos of Orlando to begin a new, more relaxed life in the Beaver State. Soon after their arrival however, this new-found tranquillity is disturbed by a succession of brutal but mysterious deaths. As the plot twists and turns its way through small-town secrecy, psychiatry wards and the supernatural, Cody comes under increasing pressure to solve each new case whilst keeping his family safe from harm.

©2015 Ivar Leon Menger (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

My thoughts..


When I first opened the Audible file of Monster 1983 and saw that there were 190 chapters I must admit that my heart sank a little, but then I discovered that some of the chapters are very short and take only a few minutes. And to be honest, once the story begins, both the chapters and the hours fly by very quickly.

The story is creepy from the offset, the small coastal town of Harmony Bay comes alive with intrigue and as the new sheriff tries to investigate a series of macabre killings you can’t help but be drawn into the whole creepy scenario.

The fact that Monster 1983 is a dramatic production of several voices gives the story a noticeably theatrical feel and I found that each individual narrator brought something very different to the story. I really enjoyed the distinctive and individual nature of their interpretation.

In many ways Monster 1983 is a chilling but entirely plausible version of small town America. Harmony Bay is a place of secrets. It is a town where petty grievances are allowed to fester and where control and domination go hand in hand. The chilling nature of the supernatural content grows gradually but with real intent until the malice and mayhem which is evoked becomes frighteningly realistic.

Monster 1983 is definitely one of those productions that you want to listen to with all the lights on and, preferably, not too late at night!

Best Read With ...A caffeine laced-Americano and generous slices of freshly caught tuna..

Audio Download Details

Listening Length: 7 hours and 18 minutes

Program Type: Audiobook

Version: Original recording

Publisher: Audible Studios

Audible.co.uk Release Date: 12 Oct. 2016

My thanks to Audible and Leanne at Midas pr for the opportunity to listen to Monster 1983

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