Black Rainbow
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Narrated by:
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Barbara Rosenblat
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By:
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Barbara Michaels
About this listen
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Great story, poorly presented
- By Che on 02-26-10
By: Mercedes Lackey
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Scandal Becomes Her
- By: Shirlee Busbee
- Narrated by: Ashford MacNab
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Nell Anslowe and Julian, Earl of Wyndham, are an unlikely couple in every respect. Injured in a riding accident ten years ago, Nell was left with a fiance who abandoned their engagement and the firm belief that she will never marry. The abrupt end of Julian's unhappy marriage formed his resolve to remain a bachelor until the end of his days.
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Almost 2 hrs before the hero met the heroin
- By Cam on 12-29-13
By: Shirlee Busbee
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His Wicked Reputation
- By: Madeline Hunter
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Gareth Fitzallen is celebrated for four things: his handsome face, his notable charm, his aristocratic connections, and an ability to give the kind of pleasure that has women begging for more. Normally he bestows his talents on experienced, worldly women. But when he heads to Langdon's End to restore a property he inherited - and to investigate a massive art theft - he lays plans to seduce a most unlikely lady.
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Surprisingly good!
- By Jonna on 03-28-15
By: Madeline Hunter
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Push Not the River
- By: James Conroyd Martin
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700's - a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known.
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Save your time; buy something else.
- By AMS on 10-22-15
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The Cater Street Hangman
- By: Anne Perry
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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When a maid in the upper class Ellison household is strangled, Inspector Pitt is called in to investigate. He finds a world ruled by strict manners and social customs, where the inhabitants of the Ellison's neighborhood appear to be more outraged by the thought of scandal than they are by murder. Inspector Pitt finds a most unlikely ally in Charlotte, the Ellison's spirited daughter. But as the murders continue, Charlotte and Pitt find themselves drawn together by more than the investigation.
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I really like this book but it's not for everone
- By Ancient Warrior on 03-14-11
By: Anne Perry
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The Rules of Seduction
- Rothwell Brothers Series, Book 1
- By: Madeline Hunter
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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He enters her home without warning or invitation - a stranger of shadowy motives and commanding sensuality. Within hours, Alexia Welbourne is penniless, without any hope of marriage. Until Hayden Rothwell takes her to bed. When one impulsive act of passion forces Alexia to marry the very man who has ruined her, Hayden's seduction of Alexia is nearly complete. What Alexia doesn't know is that her irresistible new husband is driven by a secret purpose - and a debt of honor he will risk everything to repay.
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Susan Duerden
- By Kelly Ann Foster on 08-10-21
By: Madeline Hunter
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The Twelfth Enchantment
- By: David Liss
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucy Derrick is a young woman of good breeding and poor finances. After the death of her beloved father, she is forced to maintain a shabby dignity as the unwanted boarder of her tyrannical uncle, fending off marriage to a local mill owner. But just as she is on the cusp of accepting a life of misery, events take a stunning turn when a handsome stranger - the poet and notorious rake Lord Byron - arrives at her house, stricken by what seems to be a curse, and with a cryptic message for Lucy. Suddenly her unfortunate circumstances are transformed in ways at once astonishing and seemingly impossible.
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A Little Better than Just OK
- By Cariola on 02-10-12
By: David Liss
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An Arranged Marriage
- By: Jo Beverley
- Narrated by: Jill Tanner
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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When her vile brother's wicked scheming ruins her reputation, Eleanor Chivenham is forced into a marriage of convenience. Yet there is much more to her new husband than meets the eye, and soon her heart is filled with unexpected desires.
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Not really A Romance
- By karen on 06-04-18
By: Jo Beverley
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You May Kiss the Bride
- The Penhallow Dynasty, Book 1
- By: Lisa Berne
- Narrated by: Carolyn Morris
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Wealthy and arrogant, Gabriel Penhallow knows it's time to fulfill his dynastic duty. All he must do is follow "The Penhallow way" - find a biddable bride, produce an heir and a spare, and then live separate lives. It's worked so well for generations, certainly one kiss with the delectable Livia Stuart isn't going to change things. Society dictates he marry her, and one chit is as good as another as long as she's from a decent family.
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Slow Story. EXCELLENT SUPERB NARRATION!
- By Tracy T on 03-30-17
By: Lisa Berne
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Mostly a lovestory!! But what a narrator!
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This writing is criminal
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The Shadow of the Lynx follows beautiful young Nora Tamasin as she leaves her home in Victorian England. Recently orphaned, she sails toward the untamed lands of gold-rush Australia. Her journey will take her to the Lynx: the man her father designated as her guardian before he died. Rich, powerful, and commanding, the Lynx is a man who can safeguard her finances, but cannot control her heart. More than 56 million of Victoria Holt’s books have been sold worldwide. She also writes as Jean Plaidy and Philippa Carr.
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Oldie but good
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Dreadful narrator
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Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. This first in the series sends Emily on her first case after she successfully persuades a skeptical CIA recruitment officer that she is the best person for the job.
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Masterful writing and incredible narration
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Dinah Van der Lyn hears the cries for help through her hotel room wall, cries in English in the middle of Beirut. "Help" is the only English word spoken. She thinks the men are simply drunk and fighting. Her mistake is the first step on an odyssey of terror that will take Dinah to the fabled cities of Sidon, Tyro, Damascus.
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Ashley Court: the tumbledown ancestral home of the Ashley family, all blessed with 'the gift' of being able to speak to each other without words. When Bryony Ashley's father dies under mysterious circumstances, his final words a cryptic warning to her, Bryony returns from abroad to uncover Ashley Court's secrets. What did her father's message mean? What lies at the centre of the overgrown maze in the gardens? And who is trying to prevent Bryony from discovering the truth?
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A Bit of Atmosphere in Nostalgic Rom Suspense
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A Beautiful Blue Death
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Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison.
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I like cozy
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The Trouble with Harriet
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Ellie Haskell aspires to live a perfectly normal life with her husband and children in their lovely old house. But bizarre events and outlandish characters keep landing on her doorstep in Chitterton Fells, the charming little village by the sea. Just when Ellie means to escape her hectic life by taking a vacation in France, her long-lost father shows up with the ashes of his lady love in his suitcase. Ellie becomes suspicious as Daddy recounts the details of his storybook romance with Harriet, the platinum-blonde ideal of English womanhood....
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Haskell books better on the page
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By: Dorothy Cannell
What listeners say about Black Rainbow
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rocio
- 02-20-24
How things aren’t what they seem.
Entertaining, clever, unexpected. I love her as Elizabeth Peters, but as Barbara she dwells on the depths of the human mind and heart.
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- Karen
- 09-27-12
Jane Eyre with a twist!
A very enjoyable dark story written in four parts in the perspective of the Megan O'Neil who is a governess enamoured with her master Edmund Mandeville, and his sister Jane. The moral of the story seems to be, 'be careful what you wish for'. As always, Barbara Rosenblat brings the story to glorious life. Thoroughly recommended.
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5 people found this helpful
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- mildredeva
- 05-17-23
A seemingly happy family begins to spiral...
Performance is great! Strong characters, particularly the women. Characters of good and characters of bad intentions in contention.
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- Marie In Virginia
- 02-07-23
Delightful
As alway s a superb combination of Barbara Michaels perfectly spun, suspenseful gothic tale and Ms Rosenblat’s incomparable artistry as narrator. Fabulous!
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- Barbara Kindle Customer
- 06-14-14
Not usual Barbara Michaels, still worth a credit
When Barbara Metz/ Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters died I felt I had lost a someone I actually knew. Even her very early work is smart, and funny, if light and still managed to deal with the dark parts of life without being depressing. For example her book the Crying Child has been adapted to film, even though there were no kick-ass heroines. (I love those too). This book is so cynical that reading it is a surprise and difficult to enjoy. Its like biting into a chocolate truffle and getting a mouth full of hot peppers. There is only one character worth admiration in this story, the other female lead is a bit silly and vapid, the hero is narrow minded and vain, and these two are not balanced by sane competent characters. Even the admirable character solves her problems in a way that only desperation would make it ethical.
I began reading Barbara Michaels novels in my early twenties and 50 years later I still reread them from time to time. Under this pen name Barbara Michaels/Barbara Mertz wrote what an old librarian called cozy historical, gothic novels. I love them. Even all those years ago these books were smart, historically accurate and although light, never insulted the reader's intelligence. When she began to write more contemporary and historical mysteries as Elizabeth Peters I loved those too. Barbara Metz earned a doctorate in egyptology at a time when a female doctoral candidate had to be very very good, just to be allowed to apply. So while her books were fun, all of them were historically accurate and made sense. Her Amelia Peabody books are just wonderful.
All of which leads me to this book, and why it is so different from the ones I love to read when I need something cheerful. This is not a story about a hero who admires the spunky, smart heroine, and appreciates the fact that her care of his estates increased his fortune while he was away. Nope. He assumes she is just lucky and begins to spend the money. This book is more realistic and dark than any of her other books. Although I might appreciate the way our heroine handles the problem, the whole thing brought out a cynical sad feeling. I am so disappointed audible chose this book, out of at least twenty of her early books to record. There are early cassette recordings of her early work, so perhaps Audible will be able to give us some of her more usual books. For example the Wings of the Falcon deals with some of the dark sides of history, but also had characters who were not perfect, none of her characters were ever perfect, but they were for the most decent people, who grew into really delightful people
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall
- SLM
- 09-20-16
not funny
you won't mistake this for satire. you might mistake it for boring. but keep listening...
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2 people found this helpful
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- Voracious Reader
- 11-20-17
I'll buy a book if Barbara Rosen,blat reads it
I've read all of Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series and hope Barbara Mertz is in a
better place after a long seige with illness. Her stand-alone books are usually written under the name of Barbara Michaels. This is a good one, if a little predictable, with an interesting protagonist. Jane is an exceptionally petite woman who runs the very efficiently mill in her brother's, Edmund's, absence. He comes home from the war, apparently changed. He wants to marry up in society and his almost-fiancee has family titles but no money. Edmund spends lavishly and shuts Jane, half-owner, out of all decisions about the mill. He builds cheap hovels for the workers and starts using child labor. He is unmoved by a cholera epidemic likely caused by the unsanitary, overcrowded living conditions of his workers. When he learns his future bride disrespects him, he cuts ties temporarily and marries Megan, the governess, who came to the estate at his suggestion and possibly because of a prior involvement. Megan loves him and gets her wish to marry him - as the old adage says: be careful what you wish for. Edmund becomes more and more sarcastic, nasty, and dangerous. He is a sociopath who considers only what he wants without caring about consequences to others -- in fact, he blames his victims, saying they bring it on themselves. When Jane finally sees her brother for what he really is, she rises to almost supernatural heights (no pun intended!) to protect Megan. You can see some of the action coming, but that doesn't stop you from getting chills up your spine.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Kanders
- 05-27-22
Not Her Best
Spectacular narration by Barbara Rosenblatt, but the story itself was not as enjoyable as the author's other work. Barbara Michaels, aka Barbara Mertz،, aka Elizabeth Peters is one of my very favorite authors. I've read or listened to at least 20 of her novels. This one was atmospheric and started off promisingly enough, but it tried to do too much; too many things happened. characters were inexplicable. shifting points of view became quite confusing at times. some questions were left unanswered. ending was sort of anti-climactic.
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- Aaron Washington
- 01-18-24
Great Gothic novel
Slow and suspenseful, but a great story all in all would definitely read it again or suggested
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Overall
- Marcheta
- 08-01-11
Well-written and held my interest
This book was written in 1991 by Elizabeth Peters writing as Barbara Michaels. The house, Grayhaven Manor, is located in England and reminded me in the first half of "Jane Eyre." But the second half takes some very unusual turns and any similarities to "Jane Eyre" go out the window. The house returns again in "Vanish with the Rose" where it has been moved stone by stone from England to America. I really like the writing style and Barbara Rosenblat's narration. No racy romance here, just an entertaining story. I've been buying and listening to all the audible unabridged downloads of Barbara Michaels' books read by Barbara Rosenblat. Now I'll have to listen to the Elizabeth Peters books I've downloaded and haven't gotten around to listening to yet. She really is a great storyteller.
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15 people found this helpful