Apple Tree Yard Audiobook By Louise Doughty cover art

Apple Tree Yard

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Apple Tree Yard

By: Louise Doughty
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
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About this listen

Yvonne Carmichael has worked hard to achieve the life that she always wanted: a high-flying career in genetics, a beautiful home, a good relationship with her husband and their two grown-up children. Then one day she meets a stranger at the Houses of Parliament and begins a passionate affair with him - a decision that will put everything she values at risk.

At first she believes she can keep the relationship separate from the rest of her life, but she can't control what happens next. All of her careful plans spiral into greater deceit and, eventually, a life-changing act of violence.

Apple Tree Yard is a psychological thriller about a woman's adultery and an insightful examination of the values we live by and the choices we make, from an acclaimed writer at the height of her powers.

©2014 Louise Doughty (P)2014 Faber Audio Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense
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Editorial reviews

Louise Doughty’s gripping psychological thriller Apple Tree Yard is the story of Yvonne Carmichael: happy wife and career woman. When she embarks on an affair with an attractive stranger, at first it seems simple enough to compartmentalise the different facets of her life… but not for long. Narrated by the terrific Juliet Stevenson, Apple Tree Yard is a thrilling audiobook (available from Audible) that will have crime literature fans utterly gripped. Admirers of the book include such luminaries of the crime thriller genre as Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Hilary Mantel and S.J. Watson.

Critic reviews

“Doughty is a brilliant storyteller who knows how to build the suspense to breaking point.” ( The Times)
“A compelling cautionary tale of what happens when fantasy begins to occlude real life. ‘The trouble with stories is, they are addictive,’ Doughty states. In this case, she may never have written a truer word.” ( Guardian)
“ Apple Tree Yard is a chilling novel, in part because of the unsparing light it shines on our ability to deceive ourselves. Doughty has a particular gift for unsettling stories, for making us ask difficult questions of ourselves, our own relationships and choices, and this is her strongest book yet. It's not a comfortable read, but it is entirely compelling.” (Stephanie Merritt, Observer)
“Taut and psychologically persuasive ... A disquieting, perceptive and gripping read.” ( Daily Mail)
“Gripping.” ( Sunday Times)
“Welcome to Louise Doughty's world in which individuals are complex and fallible ... Doughty drops sharp, shiver-inducing insights, like winter raindrops, on every page ... The story is compelling but Doughty makes sure that we're enthralled by teasing us with tantalising glimpses of future events ... Her writing is piercing and potent, overpowering emotions captured in sharp, pithy phrases ... The court scene is one of the best I've ever read, the suspense and tension building to a taut peak ... Riveting.” ( Independent on Sunday)
“If a prologue to a novel is to whet the reader's appetite, Louise Doughty provides irresistible temptation with the opening of Apple Tree Yard... A compelling read ... Recollection, interspersed with the growing tension as the trial plays out in the Old Bailey, provides a perfectly dovetailed structure. But within the thriller framework lies a wealth of acutely observed detail, a dissection of social attitudes and an examination of lust, trust, predatory sex, risky behaviour and responsibility ... there is considerably more to Apple Tree Yard than thrilling narrative alone.” ( Herald)
“Nobody who reads Apple Tree Yard is likely to complain about feeling short-changed ... Here the sharp domestic details are powerfully combined with (among other things) a dark crime thriller, a gripping courtroom drama and an unforced meditation on the pleasures and dangers of self-deception ... Superbly teasing.” ( Readers Digest)
All stars
Most relevant
First, cudos to the narrator, Juliet Stevenson - maybe the best narration I've ever heard. Not a whole lot of drama or suspense in the first half of the book but it's so well written and narrated, and the main character so well portrayed, that there is no loss of interest . As well, from the beginning, there is a sense of impending doom Well more than a sense - it's introduced in the opening scene. I found the ending, I mean the very ending, a little baffling -- open to interpretation in my view. Was she remembering or imagining?

Well Writen, Well Told

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Would you consider the audio edition of Apple Tree Yard to be better than the print version?

I was intrigued by Part 1 of the TV version so decided to hear it and was delighted to find the narrator was Juliet Stevenson.

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

(Minor spoiler alert)
I do not know why the author gave away the courtroom reveal earlier in the story. There were enough other hints such as the chimp experiment discussion Yvonne had with her solicitor. I would have omitted that earlier piece of the barrister's cross examination as it comes up again virtually verbatim later. Always difficult to get stories told in flashback right and balance out suspense versus too much information.

What does Juliet Stevenson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Incredible characterizations by Ms.Stevenson. Sometimes I can imagine voices when reading in print but not all the time. She adds so much by her voice acting.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was moved by the family and friends' reactions. I was also moved by the human fallibility component in general and how life can "turn on a dime".

The reveal

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Where do I start to review this book. It has so much in it. A profound psychological drama, cleverly unfolded, with so many facets. The book explores relationships, morality, motivations, perceptions, personality and the exigencies of circumstance which can turn our lives inside out. The author considers the working of the law and its relationship to underlying moralities, the meaning of truth and lies. Her central character lives and breathes through the outstanding performance of Juliet Stevenson. I loved this book and will look for more by this author.

Complex questions

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great story and book. enjoy, right up to the ending. would read this author again for sure

surprise.......last page

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Dashing off a quick review after finish this book. I did not like it at all. I'm giving it a three-star overall rating though because it's a well told story, but the topic of sex and adultery is one that doesn't appeal to me in the least and I found the story very grim and depressing. A respected researcher and scientist, Yvonne Carmichael, is happily married and with grown children when she meets a strange man wearing a snazzy suit one day while at the house of commons. He takes her down to the crypt to the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft (I did not know there was a church in the house of commons), where they have quick sex in a broom closet. From there they begin a sordid love affair, sordid because her unnamed lover is addicted to risky sex in unlikely places. This is supposed to be a smart woman in love with her husband and with everything to lose, and she nearly does when a work colleague rapes her when she gets drunk at a university party, which lead to even more dreadful consequences. I almost dropped it toward the beginning, but then stuck to it only because it was one of my favourites, Juliet Stevenson narrating, and I knew things were bound to get interesting since it's a thriller. But I almost wish I hadn't read it, because I feel dirtied by it now. Wondering whether I should ask Audible for my credit back. I would certainly be in my rights, but then I guess it wouldn't be morally acceptable for me to publish a negative review in such a case, would it? I got this originally because of the narrator, as not infrequently buy books I know nothing about when they are read by someone I really like, and also because none other than Hilary Mantel and Helen Dunmore were among those who gave it rave reviews. I'm sure others who aren't turned off the topic of sex like I am will find it quite good. I blame the antidepressants for preventing me from fully enjoying it, but then I would need antidepressants anyway after finishing the book, so it all evens out in the end.

Sordid

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If you could sum up Apple Tree Yard in three words, what would they be?

Brilliant story, cleverly told and perfectly narrated.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Apple Tree Yard?

It's such a slow build but you're there all the way - scared, intrigued - and you care about all the characters.

What about Juliet Stevenson’s performance did you like?

Perfect pitch, rhythm and pace. She is The Business.

Any additional comments?

I am almost prepared to listen to it again.

Juliet Stevenson could read me the phone book.

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