
A Beautiful Poison
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $25.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Saskia Maarleveld
-
By:
-
Lydia Kang
About this listen
Just beyond the Gilded Age, in the mist-covered streets of New York, the deadly Spanish influenza ripples through the city. But with so many victims in her close circle, young socialite Allene questions if the flu is really to blame. All appear to have been poisoned - and every death was accompanied by a mysterious note.
Desperate for answers and dreading her own engagement to a wealthy gentleman, Allene returns to her passion for scientific discovery and recruits her long-lost friends, Jasper and Birdie, for help. The investigation brings her closer to Jasper, an apprentice medical examiner at Bellevue Hospital who still holds her heart, and offers the delicate Birdie a last-ditch chance to find a safe haven before her fragile health fails.
As more of their friends and family die, alliances shift, lives become entangled, and the three begin to suspect everyone - even each other. As they race to find the culprit, Allene, Birdie, and Jasper must once again trust each other, before one of them becomes the next victim.
©2017 Lydia Kang (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Excerpt from “Two Fusiliers” by Robert Graves, from The Complete Poems Volume I, edited by Beryl Graves and Dunstan Ward. Reprinted with kind permission of Carcanet Press Limited, Manchester, UK. © 1995 The Robert Graves Copyright Trust.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding
- A Novel
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brooklyn, 1942. War rages overseas as brother and sister Will and Maggie Scripps contribute to the war effort stateside. Ambitious Will secretly scouts for the Manhattan Project while grief-stricken Maggie works at the Navy Yard, writing letters to her dead mother between shifts. But the siblings’ quiet lives change when they discover a beautiful woman hiding under their back stairs.
-
-
Hard to believe….
- By Laurie on 11-22-24
By: Lydia Kang
-
Opium and Absinthe
- A Novel
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York City, 1899. Tillie Pembroke’s sister lies dead, her body drained of blood and with two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker’s new novel, Dracula, has just been published, and Tillie’s imagination leaps to the impossible: the murderer is a vampire. But it can’t be - can it? A ravenous reader and researcher, Tillie has something of an addiction to truth, and she won’t rest until she unravels the mystery of her sister’s death.
-
-
2nd Book — High Society in New York in 1800’s
- By Linda on 07-24-20
By: Lydia Kang
-
The Impossible Girl
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Manhattan, 1850. Born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female resurrectionist in New York, she’s carved out a niche procuring bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will pay exorbitant sums for such specimens—dissecting and displaying them for the eager public. Cora’s specialty is not only profitable, it’s a means to keep a finger on the pulse of those searching for her. She’s the girl born with two hearts....
-
-
A well-told story!
- By Carole Wooten on 10-31-18
By: Lydia Kang
-
The November Girl
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, Cody Roberts
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I am Anda, and the lake is my mother. I am the November storms that terrify sailors and sink ships. With their deaths, I keep my little island on Lake Superior alive. Hector has come here to hide from his family until he turns 18. Isle Royale is shut down for the winter, and there's no one here but me. And now him. Hector is running from the violence in his life, but violence runs through my veins. I should send him away, to keep him safe. But I'm half human, too, and Hector makes me want to listen to my foolish, half-human heart.
-
-
Haunting modern day folktale
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 07-07-23
By: Lydia Kang
-
A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons
- By: Kate Khavari
- Narrated by: Jodie Harris
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh is the first woman to hold the position at University College of London. When she attends a dinner party for the school, she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon. What she doesn’t expect is for Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives, to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, and evidence quickly mounts.
-
-
Clean cozy mystery
- By dubois940 on 08-21-22
By: Kate Khavari
-
The Vine Witch
- The Vine Witch, Book 1
- By: Luanne G. Smith
- Narrated by: Susannah Jones
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.
-
-
Middle aged single wine-o seeking same
- By Pamela Metcalfe on 12-13-19
By: Luanne G. Smith
-
The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding
- A Novel
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brooklyn, 1942. War rages overseas as brother and sister Will and Maggie Scripps contribute to the war effort stateside. Ambitious Will secretly scouts for the Manhattan Project while grief-stricken Maggie works at the Navy Yard, writing letters to her dead mother between shifts. But the siblings’ quiet lives change when they discover a beautiful woman hiding under their back stairs.
-
-
Hard to believe….
- By Laurie on 11-22-24
By: Lydia Kang
-
Opium and Absinthe
- A Novel
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York City, 1899. Tillie Pembroke’s sister lies dead, her body drained of blood and with two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker’s new novel, Dracula, has just been published, and Tillie’s imagination leaps to the impossible: the murderer is a vampire. But it can’t be - can it? A ravenous reader and researcher, Tillie has something of an addiction to truth, and she won’t rest until she unravels the mystery of her sister’s death.
-
-
2nd Book — High Society in New York in 1800’s
- By Linda on 07-24-20
By: Lydia Kang
-
The Impossible Girl
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Manhattan, 1850. Born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female resurrectionist in New York, she’s carved out a niche procuring bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will pay exorbitant sums for such specimens—dissecting and displaying them for the eager public. Cora’s specialty is not only profitable, it’s a means to keep a finger on the pulse of those searching for her. She’s the girl born with two hearts....
-
-
A well-told story!
- By Carole Wooten on 10-31-18
By: Lydia Kang
-
The November Girl
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, Cody Roberts
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I am Anda, and the lake is my mother. I am the November storms that terrify sailors and sink ships. With their deaths, I keep my little island on Lake Superior alive. Hector has come here to hide from his family until he turns 18. Isle Royale is shut down for the winter, and there's no one here but me. And now him. Hector is running from the violence in his life, but violence runs through my veins. I should send him away, to keep him safe. But I'm half human, too, and Hector makes me want to listen to my foolish, half-human heart.
-
-
Haunting modern day folktale
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 07-07-23
By: Lydia Kang
-
A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons
- By: Kate Khavari
- Narrated by: Jodie Harris
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh is the first woman to hold the position at University College of London. When she attends a dinner party for the school, she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon. What she doesn’t expect is for Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives, to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, and evidence quickly mounts.
-
-
Clean cozy mystery
- By dubois940 on 08-21-22
By: Kate Khavari
-
The Vine Witch
- The Vine Witch, Book 1
- By: Luanne G. Smith
- Narrated by: Susannah Jones
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.
-
-
Middle aged single wine-o seeking same
- By Pamela Metcalfe on 12-13-19
By: Luanne G. Smith
-
The Raven Spell
- A Novel (A Conspiracy of Magic, Book 1)
- By: Luanne G. Smith
- Narrated by: Susannah Jones
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a nearly fatal blow to the skull, traumatized private detective Ian Cameron is found dazed and confused on a muddy riverbank in Victorian London. Among his effects: a bloodstained business card bearing the name of a master wizard and a curious pocket watch that doesn’t seem to tell time. To retrieve his lost memories, Ian demands answers from Edwina and Mary Blackwood, sister witches with a murky past. But as their secret is slowly unveiled, a dangerous mystery emerges on the darkened streets of London.
-
-
Too gruesome for my sensibilities
- By Carol A. Marsyla on 03-09-22
By: Luanne G. Smith
-
Toxic
- By: Lydia Kang
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Amanda Ronconi
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hana has grown up hidden by her mother in a secret room of the bioship Cyclo until the day her mother is simply gone - along with the entire crew. Cyclo tells her she was abandoned, but she's certain her mother wouldn't leave her there to die. And Hana isn't ready to die yet. She's never really had a chance to live. Fenn is supposed to die. He and a crew of hired mercenaries are there to monitor Cyclo as she expires, and the payment for the suicide mission will mean Fenn's sister is able to live. But when he meets Hana, he's not sure how to save them both.
-
-
Aptly titled Toxic delivers thrills N chills
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 11-18-23
By: Lydia Kang
-
The Address
- A Novel
- By: Fiona Davis
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibility - no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America. The opportunity to be the female manager of the Dakota. And the opportunity to see more of Theo, who understands Sara like no one else...and is living in the Dakota with his wife and three young children.
-
-
Should be a movie!
- By Linda Slater on 10-19-17
By: Fiona Davis
-
Rosemary and Rue
- An October Daye Novel, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie’s survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations.
-
-
Missed Matched Pair
- By G Reinhardt on 11-26-11
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Spellbreaker
- Spellbreaker, Book 1
- By: Charlie N. Holmberg
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden, Joel Froomkin
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells and those, like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain.
-
-
Interesting read/listen
- By Roderica Ruddle on 12-21-20
-
The Librarian of Crooked Lane
- The Glass Library, Book 1
- By: C.J. Archer
- Narrated by: Marian Hussey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she's descended from magicians, she's skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she's just an ordinary woman who loves books. She seeks answers from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won't be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.
-
-
Fun to be Back
- By Meg on 10-12-22
By: C.J. Archer
-
Keeper of Enchanted Rooms
- Whimbrel House, Book 1
- By: Charlie N. Holmberg
- Narrated by: Amanda Leigh Cobb, Graham Halstead, Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rhode Island, 1846. Estranged from his family, writer Merritt Fernsby is surprised when he inherits a remote estate in the Narragansett Bay. Though the property has been uninhabited for more than a century, Merritt is ready to call it home—until he realizes he has no choice. With its doors slamming shut and locking behind him, Whimbrel House is not about to let Merritt leave. Ever.
-
-
I don't know how to fairly review a book like this
- By Katelyn Standiford on 12-06-22
-
The Einstein Prophecy
- By: Robert Masello
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As war rages in 1944, young army lieutenant Lucas Athan recovers a sarcophagus excavated from an Egyptian tomb. Shipped to Princeton University for study, the box contains mysteries that only Lucas, aided by brilliant archaeologist Simone Rashid, can unlock. These mysteries may, in fact, defy - or fulfill - the dire prophecies of Albert Einstein himself.
-
-
Very good but you sort of want more...
- By Matthew on 09-13-15
By: Robert Masello
-
The Accidental Alchemist
- By: Gigi Pandian
- Narrated by: Julia Motyka
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unpacking her belongings in her new hometown of Portland, Oregon, herbalist and reformed alchemist Zoe Faust can't help but notice she's picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing three-and-half-foot gargoyle - not to mention a master of French cuisine - and he needs Zoe's expertise to decipher a centuries-old text. Zoe, who's trying to put her old life behind her, isn't so sure she wants to reopen her alchemical past... until the dead man on her porch leaves her no choice.
-
-
Brixton ruined this for me.
- By Meep on 02-05-17
By: Gigi Pandian
-
Cleopatra's Dagger
- By: Carole Lawrence
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York, 1880. Elizabeth van den Broek is the only female reporter at the Herald, the city’s most popular newspaper. Then she and her bohemian friend Carlotta Ackerman find a woman’s body wrapped like a mummy in a freshly dug hole in Central Park - the intended site of an obelisk called Cleopatra’s Needle. The macabre discovery takes Elizabeth away from the society pages to follow an investigation into New York City’s darkest shadows.
-
-
Trigger Warning!!!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 06-19-22
By: Carole Lawrence
-
A Curious Beginning
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry - and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
-
-
For fans of Elizabeth Peters and Gail Carriger
- By L. Williams on 06-29-16
By: Deanna Raybourn
-
Angels and Demons
- By: Dan Brown
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization, the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra.
-
-
A must for fans of The Da Vinci Code
- By Geoffrey on 04-14-04
By: Dan Brown
What listeners say about A Beautiful Poison
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sonia
- 08-05-17
Interesting, lovely story
It took a bit for the story to evolve but I would not call it a romance story.
Those were turbulent times in the US, World War I and the influenza epidemic.
There was a mystery, tragedy, death and yes a bit of romance. Not a complicated story, not a YA story, even though the characters were under 19.
There's no car chases, shoot outs, any whiz bang, just a basic historical mystery.
Saskia Maarleveld adds a great deal to the story. Even though it took me a while to figure out which male character is speaking, it took nothing away from the story or her performance. I find myself taking a chance on a new author, if the synopsis sounds interesting AND Ms. Maarleveld is reading.
A lot of chemistry talk, which to be honest, for me did not add or detract from the story, just a part of it.
If you like period/historical, low key mysteries, you surely will enjoy it thoroughly, I did.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stace
- 01-31-18
Starts off slow
Be patient it starts slow but if you give it time you’ll want to keep listening. Twists you don’t see coming ended up being worth the listen to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CogMom
- 08-07-17
Character driven historical medical mystery
At first I found the writing a bit too flowery, but as I got into it, the murders and plot twists pulled me in. The narrator was good, but I couldn't always tell one character from the other by voice alone. Overall, a good story and well worth a credit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lana Lee Plum
- 11-09-17
It is the details that solve the mystery
The story of three childhood friends coming together for a dinner and the death of a guest set them on a search to solve the murder. It is set in New York City during World War I . The characters are varied and well developed so your interested is held throughout the tale. The question to answer is what and who are killing all these characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jenny5309
- 10-10-17
Wonderful story
What a well-written, well-read story! Engaging!A must read. The prose is beautiful and the narrator was great!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stefania S Evans
- 07-07-21
Just ok
I have mi è feelings about this book. The ending was great but I feel like the characters were weak. I liked the historical part of the story but the story was slooooow. Overall not bad.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rachel Rode
- 02-17-18
Highly recommend
What a great novel. A beautiful poison consistently kept me captivated in its characters and in the era which it takes place. I’m personally a nerd for biology and chemistry as well as mystery novels so many key elements were right up my alley. It’s a quick read so I recommend trying it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- marn
- 02-24-18
outstanding thriller
I had no idea until the very end who the culprit was! excrllant excellent reading!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Kindle Customer
- 03-10-18
A Beautiful Poison....by Lydia King
To think I ordered this awesome novel by accident because I am blind in one eye. That was the best mistake I ever made.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- reader
- 03-03-18
Historical details, intriguing story & characters
There was a bit of a slow start because the characters seemed flat at first, but isn't that true with getting to know people in general? You can't really either like or dislike a person based only on first impressions. The characters grew as the story progressed and as they learned more about life and themselves. The mystery kept me guessing until the end and was not what I would have expected--certainly not a typical "romance" (somehow I think the reviewers that said it was did not actually listen to the whole book). The ending was actually better than I would have predicted and exactly fit the characters and the plot details that had been unfolding all along. I would highly recommend this book and would listen to another by this author. I thought the narrator did an excellent job also.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!