The Jewels of Paradise
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Narrated by:
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Cassandra Campbell
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By:
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Donna Leon
About this listen
Donna Leon has won heaps of critical praise and legions of fans for her best-selling mystery series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti, one of contemporary crime fiction’s most beloved characters. With The Jewels of Paradise, Leon takes listeners beyond the world of the Venetian Questura in her first stand-alone novel.
Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like so many of them, she’s had to leave home to pursue her career elsewhere, mostly abroad. With a doctorate in baroque opera from Vienna, she lands in Birmingham, England, as a research fellow and assistant professor. Birmingham, however, is no Venice, so when she gets word of a position back home, Caterina jumps at the opportunity. The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks, believed to contain the papers of a once-famous, now largely forgotten baroque composer, have been discovered. The composer was deeply connected in religious and political circles, but he died childless, and now two Venetian men, descendants of his cousins, each claim inheritance. With rumors of a treasure, they aren’t about to share the possible fortune.
Caterina has been hired to attend the opening of the trunks and examine any enclosed papers to discover the “testamentary disposition” of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions and a silent man follows her through the streets, she begins to wonder just what secrets these trunks may hold.
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One September morning in 2008, an investment banker approaching forty, his career in collapse and his marriage unraveling, receives a surprise visitor at his West London townhouse. In the disheveled figure of a South Asian male carrying a backpack the banker recognizes a long-lost friend, a mathematics prodigy who disappeared years earlier under mysterious circumstances. The friend has resurfaced to make a confession of unsettling power.
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dreadful
- By sam on 06-05-15
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Wicked Autumn
- A Max Tudor Novel
- By: G. M. Malliet
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Max Tudor has adapted well to his post as vicar of St. Edwold's in the idyllic village of Nether Monkslip. The quiet village seems the perfect home for Max, who has fled a harrowing past as an MI5 agent. But this new-found serenity is quickly shattered when the highly vocal and unpopular president of the Women's Institute turns up dead at the Harvest Fayre. The death looks like an accident, but Max's training as a former agent kicks in, and before long he suspects foul play.
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A Classic Cozy English Village Mystery
- By Sara on 10-08-14
By: G. M. Malliet
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Despite the Falling Snow
- By: Shamim Sarif
- Narrated by: Shamim Sarif
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Now a major motion picture. After an early career amongst the political elite of Cold War Russia, Alexander Ivanov has lived in America for 40 years and has managed to bury the tragic memories surrounding his charismatic late wife, Katya - or so he believes. For into his life come two women - one who will start to open up the heart he has protected for so long; another who is determined to uncover the truth about what really happened to Katya all those years ago.
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Beautiful snow fall
- By Mary findsplaces on 05-22-20
By: Shamim Sarif
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The Magnolia Palace
- A Novel
- By: Fiona Davis
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge
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This isn't my favorite but entertaining
- By Linda on 02-01-22
By: Fiona Davis
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And Only to Deceive
- Lady Emily, Book 1
- By: Tasha Alexander
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly.
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Tiresome
- By nkevinsc on 03-05-15
By: Tasha Alexander
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The Heart's Invisible Furies
- A Novel
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Stephen Hogan
- Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Cyril Avery is not a real Avery - or at least that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.
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Outstanding. A Must listen.
- By Keith G on 09-04-17
By: John Boyne
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Rosa
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Rabb
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In the last days of the First World War, socialist revolution swept across Germany, sending Kaiser Wilhelm into exile and transforming Berlin into a battleground. But for Detective Inspector Nikolai Hoffner and his young assistant, Hans Fichte, the revolution is a mere inconvenience. Four women from the slums of Berlin have turned up dead, all with identical markings etched into their backs, and Hoffner and Fichte have spent the better part of six weeks trying to crack the bizarre case.
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Imaginative Historical Thriller
- By Buzz on 03-12-11
By: Jonathan Rabb
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The Bishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germaine
- By: Andrew Greeley
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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With over 15 million copies of his books in print, Father Andrew M. Greeley has an unmatched flair for writing entertaining fiction that offers wry observations about religious and secular life. His popular novels featuring Bishop Blackie Ryan offer delightful locked-room mysteries set against the intricate politics of the Catholic church.
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predictble Greeley but has charm
- By connie on 06-24-09
By: Andrew Greeley
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Fundraising the Dead
- A Museum Mystery
- By: Sheila Connolly
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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At The Society for the Preservation of Pennsylvania Antiques, fundraiser Eleanor "Nell" Pratt solicits donations - and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of George Washington's letters is lost on the same day that an archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society president isn't pushing for an investigation. Nell goes digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of crime.
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Not Sure About This Series
- By Chalis on 11-21-14
By: Sheila Connolly
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The Stranger House
- By: Reginald Hill
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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For years, the Stranger House has stood in the village of Illthwaite, offering refuge to travellers. People like Sam, a brilliant young mathematician, who believes that anything that can't be explained by maths isn't worth explaining. And Miguel, a historian running from a priests' seminary, who sees ghosts. Sam is an experienced young woman, Miguel a 26-year-old virgin.
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an OK read
- By Jen Terry on 01-18-08
By: Reginald Hill
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What listeners say about The Jewels of Paradise
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sylvia
- 01-30-23
This lady knows how to write a mystery!!!!!
This is one of the most engaging mysteries I have ever read. It's not about a murder. It's a very different kind of mystery. I can't tell you what the mystery is because you realize what it is as the story develops. The author (I have read all of her Commissario Brunetti books which are fantastic) develops characters fully. She has a way of doing it in a very short amount of time. Her descriptions of people and settings are excellent. I was near Venice last summer and made a day trip there to bring to more reality the settings of her novels. Venice was just as she had described it.
Except for some slams of religion and the Catholic Church (I am Catholic), the stories and ethics are good. Actually, a few of the things she objects to in the Church are, in fact, matters of great controversy. But, she is an atheist (and I am not). Anyhow, the only problem with this book is how to stop reading (listening to) it so you can do the other things you have to do every day, LOL! Can't wait till Donna Leon writes another book!!!
The narrator is first rate!!!
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- Kristin
- 12-06-12
Not Brunetti
This was a non-taxing, easy listen. An interesting story - just a bit bland.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Julia L. Scott
- 01-07-13
A mystery without explicit violence and vulgarity
The story really drew me in--I enjoyed it enough to listen to it three times. It is different and I liked it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kathryn
- 10-17-12
Jewels of Paradise
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I enjoyed this book, I was surprised when the story ended. I had developed empathy for the main character and was disappointed that she hadn't resolved glaring issues in her life.
If you’ve listened to books by Donna Leon before, how does this one compare?
This book is similar, love the glimpses into Venetian life. I enjoyed the main character. I admire the way Donna Leon gives you insight into the characters' motivation through their actions, more than through narration.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The narrator is very talented. What I find maddening about Donna Leon's audiobooks is the Italian accented English. Why can't they be narrated like Andrea Camilleri's books? We all know the story takes place in Italy. Does every word and thought of the characters have to have an Italian accent? I wanted to bang my head at times. It must be the author's choice to have them narrated this way.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
no. Most of the action is cerebral. It would be a dull movie.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Gypsy Girl
- 03-18-16
An interesting detour for Donna Leon
If you read Donna Leon for Brunetti and the delightful Signora Elettra you may not enjoy this book. It has a slow start but I enjoyed it and found the historical research fascinating.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Avid Reader and Listener
- 10-03-12
Very enjoyable.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I really need to get to Venice! Love this audiobook and enjoyed the narrator too. Surprised how much I enjoyed it - a nice change from her Guido Brunetti series.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Helen
- 05-22-23
Suffered through it
I love Leon’s Venice in her Brunetti series … this was not enjoyable in the least
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-27-24
So dull and uninteresting!
We could not figure out where this story was going, and after a while didn’t care much anymore. So much extraneous narrative, leading nowhere, little comments about Venice, etc. Annoying to have so many quotations in Italian — which I have some training in — without translation. (I wonder whether the print book does translate these?). I understand that the author is tired of writing about Guido Brunetti, but maybe she should just retire.
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- Amanda
- 11-12-12
Not a slow moment.
Would you listen to The Jewels of Paradise again? Why?
It's an easy listen and never seems to have slow part to muddle through. A touch of mystery combined with history which I always enjoy.
Have you listened to any of Cassandra Campbell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Campbell's performance is pleasant to listen to and consistent with her other readings.
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4 people found this helpful
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- joan bateman
- 05-09-21
Another Leon book to savor
A complicated story. Many names and situations to remember but I enjoyed it. Well written as are all Leon's books. She is one of my favorite authors. Narrator produced an excellent presentation
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