The Darwin Affair Audiobook By Tim Mason cover art

The Darwin Affair

A Novel

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Darwin Affair

By: Tim Mason
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later - and only a block away - Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin's target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? And who is this shadowy figure witnesses describe as having lifeless, coal-black eyes? Soon, Field's investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a diabolical madman named the Chorister. As the investigation takes Field from the dangerous alleyways of London to the hallowed halls of Oxford, the list of possible conspirators grows as the body count escalates. And as he edges closer to the Chorister, he uncovers dark secrets that were meant to remain forever hidden.

With ingenuity, intelligence, and wit, debut novelist Tim Mason has created a powerfully entertaining thriller. For fans of Caleb Carr and Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Darwin Affair is a rousing tale that both Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would relish and envy.

©2019 Tim Mason (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books Crime Fiction Historical International Mystery & Crime Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Assassin Exciting Scary Suspense
Riveting Thriller • Complex Storyline • Excellent Narration • Compelling Protagonist • Historical Authenticity
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
I enjoyed this book, but the villain was over the top. For me, there was no mystery, and I prefer a mystery where I can't tell who did the deed until the end. It kept my interest because of the discussion of the political and sociological ramifications of Darwin's work.

Too Much Villain

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a slightly gruesome murder mystery that reads like a Dickens novel. The characters are wonderful. There is plenty of suspense and love the additional of the real people of the time. The narrator was superb.

Great Victorian style murder mystery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Darwin Affair was written by a playwright, and his ability to set a scene together with the narrator's wonderful work (and accent) makes the book alive with a sense of place and time. A thrilling if a bit harrowing story with elements of the grotesque. Historical figures are cleverly woven into the story set in Victorian England. The subject matter - Darwin's Origin of Species, people willing (and plotting) to do violence to obstruct scientific progress - and setting made this a notch better for me than just a thriller with a properly formidable villain, but it is that.

I'd say fans of Oliver Twist, Luther, Sherlock Holmes and the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia will enjoy.

Engaging and exciting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Just a heads up for sensitive readers: this book is a little more horror than mystery. Fairly gruesome.

Well written but gruesome

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved the novel. Was a bit confused in the beginning with all the characters storied. But then, beautifully bleended the stories. Loved it to the end.

A bloody Brilliant book!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It was so full of stuff. It was hard to follow at first... I had to rewind the chapters and listen to them over again because i had a hard time believing my ears. Tim mason must be a genius to come up with such a story involving Charles Darwin, and Charles Dickens.

Wow! All kinds of amazing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As soon as they input Typhoid Mary in England I was done. I'm more of a fan where you don't know who did it til the end. Loved the storyteller though- he was great with all the accents.

More fiction, less historical.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I did enjoy the story and it was riveting with the heroics of inspector Field( although he seems to lose or forget his gun at a couple critical moments) . But I admire his toughness and the author does give vivid picture of locations. Very good narration , I do tend to agree with another reviewer that there was a bit too much villain that could have been toned down slightly . But 4 stars is still good from my perspective 😊

Good story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
... just when you think the story is done... like a forest fire, it flares up again and takes you off into another, almost separate, direction. So many bodies, so much blood, so many body parts, so many evil people. I stayed with it... had to know how it ended ... but this author’ s off my list!

Not for the faint-hearted!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A captivating mystery in which the principles of Charles Darwin and a Charles Dicken’s character are central to the story. The story follows many of the historical events, places, and evolutional theories discussed during the reign of Queen Victoria. Prince Albert’s, philosophies are a central part in the mystery and action of the story.

Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field and his officers are on the hunt for a serial killer. Their efforts are thwart by the shortsightedness of the police officials and the cunning of an intelligent and resourceful adversary.
Philosophy, church doctrine, and the theory of evolution are all entwined in this exciting story.

It becomes a little slow and the murders can be gruesome. I found the story very satisfying and it held my interest.

A new Victorian thriller

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews