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Espresso Tales
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
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Publisher's summary
Between glances in the mirror, vain Bruce contemplates a new career as a wine merchant. His troubled flatmate, Pat, finds himself looking for true love at a nudist picnic. Precocious Bertie, now six years old, prepares for kindergarten despite the horror of being forced to wear pink overalls. Meanwhile, his domineering mother, Irene, and his psychologist, Dr. Fairbarn, struggle with dark secrets as Bertie plots his rebellion against them.
It's business as usual in the Georgian townhouse at 44 Scotland Street, and McCall Smith's innumerable fans wouldn't have it any other way.
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I wanted to know who did what.
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44 Scotland Street: The Complete Series 1-5
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Read it after reading others in the series
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Not sure why the reviews are so polar opposite.
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At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
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Fun, light prequel
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Critic reviews
"McCall Smith's pacing is impeccable." (Publishers Weekly)
"Robert Ian Mackenzie's impeccable take on the characters reveals their trials, tribulations, blind spots, and charms." (AudioFile)
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Iris Grey rents a quaint cottage in a picture-perfect Hampshire village, looking to escape from her crumbling marriage. She is drawn to the neighboring Wetherby family and is commissioned to paint a portrait of Dominic Wetherby, a celebrated crime writer. At the Wetherby's Christmas Eve party, the mulled wine is in full flow - but so are tensions and rivalries among the guests. On Christmas Day, the youngest member of the Wetherby family, Lorcan, finds a body in the water. A tragic accident? Or a deadly crime?
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Iris Grey Mysteries
- By Beatrice on 12-09-18
By: M. B. Shaw
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Excellent Women
- By: Barbara Pym
- Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Mildred Lathbury is a clergyman's daughter and a mild-mannered spinster in 1950s England. She is one of those excellent women - the smart, supportive, repressed women whom men take for granted. As Mildred gets embroiled in the lives of her new neighbors - anthropologist Helena Napier; Helen's handsome, dashing husband, Rocky; and Julian Malory, the vicar next door - the novel presents a series of snapshots of human life as actually, and pluckily, lived.
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Still Waters Run Deep
- By Sara on 04-13-16
By: Barbara Pym
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Things We Never Said
- By: Nick Alexander
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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When Catherine learns that she is dying, she remembers the words her husband once jokingly uttered and decides to leave him the ultimate posthumous gift: a time capsule containing photographs of their life together along with tape recordings in which she recounts every secret she ever kept, every unspoken thought whether loving or treacherous - the things they never said.
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Boring couple, Boring Book
- By Shell on 12-23-18
By: Nick Alexander
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Us: A Novel
- By: David Nicholls
- Narrated by: David Haig
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Douglas Petersen may be mild-mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that seduces beautiful Connie into a second date...and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades later, they live more or less happily in the London suburbs with their moody seventeen year-old son, Albie. Then Connie tells him she thinks she wants a divorce. The timing couldn’t be worse. Connie has planned a month-long tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world’s greatest works of art as a family, and she can’t bring herself to cancel. And maybe going ahead is for the best anyway? Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in the marriage, and might even help him to bond with Albie. Narrated from Douglas’s endearingly honest, slyly witty, and at times achingly optimistic point of view, Us is the story of a man trying to rescue his relationship with the woman he loves, and learning how to get closer to a son who’s always felt like a stranger.
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Great novel - my favorite in years
- By Mark on 07-21-15
By: David Nicholls
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The Body on the Beach
- A Fethering Mystery
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Recently retired, Carole Seddon is residing in Fethering in the cottage she purchased with her ex-husband. There she maintains a quiet and sensible life with the companionship of Gulliver, her Labrador retriever. But everything changes when she and Gulliver, while taking their daily constitutional, find a corpse on the beach. What's more, there are two wounds on its neck. The body mysteriously disappears and the police dismiss Carole as a befuddled middle-aged woman.
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Reminds me of "Rosemary & Thyme" TV series
- By Crochetaway on 11-17-14
By: Simon Brett
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Staying On
- By: Paul Scott
- Narrated by: Paul Shelley
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Tusker and Lily Smalley stayed on in India. Given the chance to return ‘home’ when Tusker, once a Colonel in the British Army, retired, they chose instead to remain in the small hill town of Pankot, with its eccentric inhabitants and archaic rituals left over from the days of the Empire. Only the tyranny of their imposing landlady threatens to upset the quiet rhythm of their days.
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A Pleasant Meander
- By Ian C Robertson on 09-22-14
By: Paul Scott
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Cold Hand in Mine
- By: Robert Aickman
- Narrated by: Reece Shearsmith
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Cold Hand in Mine stands as one of Aickman's best collections and contains eight stories that show off his powers as a 'strange story' writer to the full. The listener is introduced to a variety of characters, from a man who spends the night in a Hospice to a German aristocrat and a woman who sees an image of her own soul. There is also a nod to the conventional vampire story ("Pages from a Young Girl's Journal") but all the stories remain unconventional and inconclusive, which perhaps makes them all the more startling and intriguing.
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Aickman is unique
- By Stark on 08-19-23
By: Robert Aickman
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What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
- Stories
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Piter Marek, Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In "Books and Roses", one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers' fates. In "Is Your Blood as Red as This?", an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. "'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" involves a "house of locks", where doors can be closed only with a key - with surprising unobservable developments. And in "If a Book Is Locked There's Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think", a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason).
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clever
- By jared rogerson on 03-15-18
By: Helen Oyeyemi
What listeners say about Espresso Tales
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-29-23
Meet more of McAall''s Quirky Characters
Uneven charater s. Usually author has ALL people, however minor interesting. But here only 2 stand out , but those make it worth the read. You find yourself rooting for the smothered 6 yr old genius . The portrayals of the narcissistic roommate, and the psychciatrist are hilarious & right on. Worth the read just for those .
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- Victoria
- 04-14-15
Great book!
Great narrator and excellent story! Captivating simple story. Reading it you feel like you are part of this word. Victoria
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- dora
- 02-19-13
love this book
If you could sum up Espresso Tales in three words, what would they be?
Absolutely charming characters!
Which scene was your favorite?
Bertie visits the psychologist and identifies Mummy as person who keeps him from enjoying his little boy life
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Could have done
Any additional comments?
I had read previously, but enjoy the narrator's voice and style. I let him read me to sleep every night. I love this book.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Deborah Freitag
- 03-24-17
Mrs Doubtfire
Wonderful story but sometimes I can't help thinking the narrator sounds like mrs doubtfire when ever he reads the women's parts.
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- Roger P.
- 06-28-19
Another great AMS story
I’m a big Smith fan. Great story. However, the quality of the audio is disappointing. Don’t let that deter you; just keep that in mind.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Green lady
- 11-21-22
Scotland St Series
I enjoyed the book but I wish the author written more in detail about the main characters and left out the boring characters. Also, the performance suffered, because the reader went right from the end of one chapter without pausing, and stating the number of the next Chapter. This wasn’t the case after every chapter but enough to be disconcerting as there was no definite, ending to a chapter. You found yourself trying to listen very hard for the end.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-10-24
Great Stories-Lovable Characters
Depth of character thoughts and emotions in these people, except for Bruce. Angus is my favorite. I’d like to be more like him.
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- Laurie Ann Muller
- 05-31-15
Please fix the editing of this book.
What made the experience of listening to Espresso Tales the most enjoyable?
Narrator is fantastic. Stories continue to be fabulous. When only 12 minutes were left in the book, I had to go get the next one because I can't bear not to know what's going to happen to these people next! This one has some top-notch cliffhangers.
What did you like best about this story?
The story? Absolutely nothing. I'm sure people wondered why I would suddenly laugh out loud for seemingly no reason. Other parts of the story made me express epithets. All in all, this series should not be missed.
Have you listened to any of Robert Ian Mackenzie’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I don't think so, but I'll definitely be more inclined to buy a book if I see he's the narrator.
If you could take any character from Espresso Tales out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Cyril. I guess Angus Lordie (sp.?) would have to come along, too. Or Dominica. Everyone's just so interesting, it's hard to choose.
Any additional comments?
My main reason for this review is the terrible editing problem, which I note another reviewer mentioned. The way the book is put together, some chapters start even before Mackenzie has finished uttering the last word of the previous chapter. In some cases, the number of the chapter fits the final word of the previous chapter so well that it's very confusing (the start of chapter 99 comes to mind). This happens with about half the chapters. In other cases, a suitable pause is taken between the end of a chapter and the beginning of the next.
This is the only thing marring a truly enjoyable experience with a truly stellar book.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Katherine
- 11-06-14
Super! I'm in for the whole series now
Delightful social commentary with just believable characters that you come to care about. I'm back looking for Number 3 and I just can't picture listening to anything else right now.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kristyn Rose
- 10-05-21
I enjoyed most of it!
In these stories, I’m particularly fond of Bertie’s plot line. And watching karma haunt Bruce. However, in making the point that Ramsey’s memoirs are boring….it is indeed boring. In my humble opinion.
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