The Minotaur
A Novel
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
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Minotaur
Buy for $20.57
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rosalyn Landor
-
By:
-
Barbara Vine
About this listen
As soon as Kerstin Kvist arrives at remote, ivy-covered Lydstep Old Hall in Essex, she feels like a character in a gothic novel. A young nurse fresh out of school, Kerstin has been hired for a position with the Cosway family, residents of the Hall for generations. She is soon introduced to her "charge", John Cosway, a 39-year-old man whose strange behavior is vaguely explained by his mother and sisters as part of the madness that runs in the family.
Weeks go by at Lydstep with little to mark the passage of time beyond John's daily walks and the amusingly provincial happenings that engross the Cosway women, and Kerstin occupies her many free hours at the Hall reading or making entries into her diary. Meanwhile, bitter wrangling among Julia Cosway and her four grown daughters becomes increasingly evident. But this is just the most obvious of the tensions that charge the old remote estate, with its sealed rooms full of mystery.
Soon Kerstin will find herself in possession of knowledge she will wish she'd never attained, secrets that will propel the occupants of Lydstep Old Hall headlong into sexual obsession, betrayal, and, finally, murder.
Also available in a Random House Large Print edition and as an eBook
©2006 Barbara Vine (P)2006 Books on TapeListeners also enjoyed...
-
A Dark-Adapted Eye
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Harriet Walter
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 288
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 258
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 259
Like most families, they had their secrets...and they hid them under a genteelly respectable veneer. No onlooker would guess that prim Vera Hillyard and her beautiful, adored younger sister, Eden, were locked in a dark and bitter combat over one of those secrets. England in the '50s was not kind to women who erred, so they had to use every means necessary to keep the truth hidden behind closed doors - even murder.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Even better in audio form
- By Jennifer on 08-20-11
By: Barbara Vine
-
No Night Is Too Long
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Shelley Thomson, Samuel West
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
Tim Cornish thought he'd gotten away with murder. For months after he'd killed his lover off the Alaskan coast, there hadn't been a word. But then the letters started to arrive. It seems that someone knows what Tim has done.... This compelling thriller delivers such a dark picture of romantic love that murder seems its natural mate. Frightening, suspenseful, and deeply unsettling, No Night Is Too Long is a modern crime masterpiece and will be enjoyed by readers of P. D. James and Ian Rankin.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well done
- By SB on 03-30-22
By: Barbara Vine
-
The Brimstone Wedding
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 160
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 125
Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing reader elevates book to a higher level
- By Doggy Bird on 10-04-14
By: Barbara Vine
-
The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
When literary celebrity Gerald Candless suddenly dies, the beautiful façade he has carefully created begins to crumble. Behind the vision of the happy family on the English seashore lie Candless’ inexplicable cruelty toward his wife, his manic devotion to his daughters, and the mysterious sources of his fiction. To assuage her grief, his loving daughter Sarah begins a memoir project. But it soon becomes an obsessive search for identity. As Sarah digs into her father’s secret past, the startling logic of his puzzling behavior is revealed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of my Top 20 books
- By lyl on 01-01-13
By: Barbara Vine
-
King Solomon's Carpet
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Michael Pennington
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 17
Eccentric Jarvis lives in a crumbling schoolhouse overlooking the tube line, compiling his obsessive history of the Underground. A group of misfits are also drawn towards his strange house: Alice, who has run away from her husband and baby; Tom, the busker who rescues her; truant Jasper who finds his terrifying thrills on the tube; and enigmatic Axel, whose deadly secret casts a shadow over all their lives.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By Pat on 04-04-11
By: Barbara Vine
-
Gallowglass
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Dermot Crowley
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Sandor is a wonderful storyteller and little Joe is ready to listen. The power of the educated over the simple is horribly clear in this disturbing and unusual relationship. As Sandor’s motivation both for rescuing little Joe and then for weaving his spell of words becomes clear, the darkness surrounding him is too much for them both, and for the beautiful ex-model sequestered in her Suffolk mansion by an obsessive husband.
By: Barbara Vine
-
A Dark-Adapted Eye
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Harriet Walter
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 288
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 258
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 259
Like most families, they had their secrets...and they hid them under a genteelly respectable veneer. No onlooker would guess that prim Vera Hillyard and her beautiful, adored younger sister, Eden, were locked in a dark and bitter combat over one of those secrets. England in the '50s was not kind to women who erred, so they had to use every means necessary to keep the truth hidden behind closed doors - even murder.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Even better in audio form
- By Jennifer on 08-20-11
By: Barbara Vine
-
No Night Is Too Long
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Shelley Thomson, Samuel West
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
Tim Cornish thought he'd gotten away with murder. For months after he'd killed his lover off the Alaskan coast, there hadn't been a word. But then the letters started to arrive. It seems that someone knows what Tim has done.... This compelling thriller delivers such a dark picture of romantic love that murder seems its natural mate. Frightening, suspenseful, and deeply unsettling, No Night Is Too Long is a modern crime masterpiece and will be enjoyed by readers of P. D. James and Ian Rankin.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well done
- By SB on 03-30-22
By: Barbara Vine
-
The Brimstone Wedding
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 160
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 125
Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing reader elevates book to a higher level
- By Doggy Bird on 10-04-14
By: Barbara Vine
-
The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
When literary celebrity Gerald Candless suddenly dies, the beautiful façade he has carefully created begins to crumble. Behind the vision of the happy family on the English seashore lie Candless’ inexplicable cruelty toward his wife, his manic devotion to his daughters, and the mysterious sources of his fiction. To assuage her grief, his loving daughter Sarah begins a memoir project. But it soon becomes an obsessive search for identity. As Sarah digs into her father’s secret past, the startling logic of his puzzling behavior is revealed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of my Top 20 books
- By lyl on 01-01-13
By: Barbara Vine
-
King Solomon's Carpet
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Michael Pennington
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 17
Eccentric Jarvis lives in a crumbling schoolhouse overlooking the tube line, compiling his obsessive history of the Underground. A group of misfits are also drawn towards his strange house: Alice, who has run away from her husband and baby; Tom, the busker who rescues her; truant Jasper who finds his terrifying thrills on the tube; and enigmatic Axel, whose deadly secret casts a shadow over all their lives.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By Pat on 04-04-11
By: Barbara Vine
-
Gallowglass
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Dermot Crowley
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Sandor is a wonderful storyteller and little Joe is ready to listen. The power of the educated over the simple is horribly clear in this disturbing and unusual relationship. As Sandor’s motivation both for rescuing little Joe and then for weaving his spell of words becomes clear, the darkness surrounding him is too much for them both, and for the beautiful ex-model sequestered in her Suffolk mansion by an obsessive husband.
By: Barbara Vine
-
The Blood Doctor
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Robert Powell
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 73
The First Lord Nanther, expert in blood diseases, particularly the royal disease of Heamophilia, and favoured physician to Queen Victoria, clearly hoped to be the subject of an admiring posthumous biography. But when his great-grandson, Martin Nanther begins to research his life for a biography, the Martin comes to suspect that his great-grandfather’s old records conceal more than they reveal.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
clever, excellent storytelling
- By connie on 07-09-11
By: Barbara Vine
-
Asta's Book
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Harriet Walter
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 141
It is 1905. Asta and her husband, Rasmus, have come to East London from Denmark with their two little boys. With Rasmus constantly away on business, Asta keeps loneliness and isolation at bay by writing a diary. These diaries, published over 70 years later, reveal themselves to be more than a mere journal. For they seem to hold the key to an unsolved murder and to the mystery of a missing child. It falls to Asta's granddaughter, Ann, to unearth the buried secrets of nearly a century before.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Confusing, by it could just have been me
- By Ilana on 10-01-12
By: Barbara Vine
-
A Fatal Inversion
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 85
In the long, hot summer of 1976, a group of young people is camping in Wyvis Hall. Adam, Rufus, Shiva, Vivien and Zosie hardly ask why they are there or how they are to live; they scavenge, steal and sell the family heirlooms. Ten years later, the bodies of a woman and child are discovered in the Hall’s animal cemetery. Which woman? And whose child?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Oh my!
- By Jill on 06-15-14
By: Barbara Vine
-
Thirteen Steps Down
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 39
Mix Cellini (which he pronounces with an S rather than a C) is superstitious about the number 13 and has always felt dogged by ill-luck. In the house where he lives, there are 13 steps down to the landing below his rooms. His landlady lives her life almost exclusively through her library, blind to the neglect and decay around her. However, Mix is obsessed with the life of the notorious John Christie, who lived in the same Notting Hill neighbourhood at 10 Rillington Place.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
As always, Rendell writes a very engaging yarn!
- By nina on 05-06-16
By: Ruth Rendell
-
The Killing Doll
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
No one would have described Manningtree Grove as fashionable. Few would have found it especially interesting. But it was not an unpleasant place to live: the old railway line lay in a valley, and the gardens looked onto it. It was the kind of place where nothing ever happened. Yet it was here that Peter Yearman first sold his soul to the devil....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
sutch good fantasy story
- By Marianne on 10-03-24
By: Ruth Rendell
-
The Rottweiler
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Nigel Anthony
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 162
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
The first girl had a bite mark on her neck, but they traced the DNA to her boyfriend. But the tabloids got hold of the story and called the killer 'The Rottweiler' and the name stuck. The latest murder takes place very near Inez Ferry's antique shop in Marylebone. When the Rottweiler’s trinkets start showing up in the shop, suddenly, everyone Inez knows is a suspect, and the killer feels all too close.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of atmosphere, and a Freudian mystery.
- By Sparkly on 11-03-12
By: Ruth Rendell
-
An Accidental Death
- A DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 1
- By: Peter Grainger
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,967
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,377
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,348
The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a sixth form student in the Norfolk countryside. As a matter of routine, or so it seems, the case passes across the desk of Detective Sergeant Smith, recently returned to work after an internal investigation into another case that has led to tensions between officers at Kings Lake police headquarters. As an ex-DCI, Smith could have retired by now, and it is clear that some of his superiors wish that he would do so.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent British Mystery
- By Customer on 09-07-16
By: Peter Grainger
-
Alison Larkin Presents: The Secret Adversary, Murder on the Links, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles
- By: Agatha Christie
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin, James Warwick
- Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Three critically acclaimed recordings are joined together in this dazzling Agatha Christie Triple Bill, read by award-winning narrators Alison Larkin and James Warwick, star of the Partners in Crime TV series on Masterpiece Theater.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Pitch perfect narration of Agatha Christie!
- By Mary Katherine Worth on 10-18-19
By: Agatha Christie
-
A Duty to the Dead
- A Bess Crawford Mystery
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,909
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,640
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,636
The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his patriotic footsteps, volunteering to serve her country as a nurse during the Great War. In 1916 she promises Lieutenant Arthur Graham that she will carry his dying request to a brother. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Terrific period mystery
- By Anne on 12-04-10
By: Charles Todd
-
The Best Man to Die
- An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 172
Who could have suspected that the exciting stag party for the groom would be the prelude to the murder of his close friend Charlie Hatton? And Charlie's death was only the first in a string of puzzling murders involving small-time gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women. Now Chief Inspector Wexford and his assistant join forces with the groom to track down a killer....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Classic who-dunnit
- By Kathi on 02-24-13
By: Ruth Rendell
-
The Shell Seekers
- By: Rosamunde Pilcher
- Narrated by: Hayley Atwell
- Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,594
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,238
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,222
At the end of a long and useful life, Penelope Keeling's prized possession is The Shell Seekers, painted by her father, and symbolizing her unconventional life, from bohemian childhood to wartime romance. When her grown children learn their grandfather's work is now worth a fortune, each has an idea as to what Penelope should do. But as she recalls the passions, tragedies, and secrets of her life, she knows there is only one answer...and it lies in her heart.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator Speed
- By TB on 01-18-18
-
Portobello
- A Novel
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 159
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 113
Ruth Rendell is widely considered to be crime fiction’s reigning queen. In Portobello, she delivers a captivating and intricate tale that weaves together the troubled lives of several people in the gentrified neighborhood of London’s Notting Hill. Walking to the shops one day, 50-year-old Eugene Wren discovers an envelope on the street bulging with cash. A man plagued by a shameful addiction - and his own good intentions - Wren hatches a plan to find the money’s rightful owner.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Portobello's Lovely Mean Streets
- By Lynn on 09-16-10
By: Ruth Rendell
Critic reviews
"Palpable, and...satisfying." (Publishers Weekly)
"This is very satisfying reading, a sort of blend of Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Trollope. Readers of both Rendell and Vine will love this expansive excursion." (Booklist)
What listeners say about The Minotaur
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Bibliophile1963
- 03-29-21
Enjoyable Listen
Excellent mystery novel up to Barbara Vine’s / Ruth Rendell’s usual high standards. The writing itself is beautifully crafted, the plot intricate, the characters both ordinary and horrible. Having the Swedish nurse narrate is a brilliant choice, allowing the reader to see “ordinary” English lives from a foreign perspective, thus enabling a more gothic sensibility regarding otherness in the “ordinary.” This is furthered by the character John, her so-called “mad schizophrenic” patient who in fact is one of the most sane members of the family, though his Asperger’s syndrome allows them to scapegoat him. The slowly building tension won’t allow you to put the book down once you’ve begun it. An absolutely delightful, strange, mysterious read!
As always, anything read by Roslyn Landor is beautifully done.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Vernon
- 04-07-15
A horrid family
What did you love best about The Minotaur?
Barbara Vine's descriptions of loathsome people. I also like the fact that her books don't start off with the murder that needs to solved. Rather, the tension in the story builds and culminates with the murder.
What did you like best about this story?
The detailed descriptions of country life in England in the 60s.
Have you listened to any of Rosalyn Landor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Never heard Rosalyn Landor before this. Great voice for characters.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Moved? Disturbed more like it. Some of the family members were truly unwell.
Any additional comments?
I really enjoy Barbara Vine's books, and this one has definitely been one of my favourites.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Yennta
- 08-04-09
SIX STARS.
Six stars. Maybe her best, and she's so amazingly good! I've just re-listened to this book. It was absolutely riveting the second time around, just like the first. It's PERFECT. Perfect characters, perfect everything. I could see it, feel it, smell it. Rosalyn Landor was also, just perfect. This is just a terrific book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Alicia Czechowski
- 12-26-13
Trendy Rendy
The Minotaur started out fairly well, although I am not a fan of first-person narratives, the lazy authors fall-back. But soon the meandering tale of "family secrets" became wearying and Kirsten, in the character of narrator, grew flatter by the page. How can someone who is supposed to be a cartoonist write an epic tale without a trace of wit, humor or irony? I have known many, many professional cartoonists and, to a man (or woman) they are founts of comic mots and outrageous witticism and are especially adept at black humor. Then, comes the trendy autism theme which seems like a how-do-I-get-out-of-this-mess plot device, ending in dull summary. Is Ruth running out of steam, or does she just not want to send us her very best anymore?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Susan B.
- 12-12-07
Top notch Barbara Vine
Barbara Vine draws you along through the story, introducing history, bit by bit, the same way you get to know someone. By the end of the story you find yourself completely intrigued by the goings on. I wanted to listen to it again right after finishing it. Great for any fan of Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell, one of the best of hers I've "read".
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Joan
- 07-21-09
Engaging
The audio is well read and the story is terrific. The story unfolds like those told by another favorite mystery writer of mine--PD James. It is full of emotion, vivid characters, and a chilling environment that mirrors the internal lives of some of the characters. I've always liked Barbara Vine, but this is my favorite. I can still hear the narrator's voice matter of factly telling the tale of life in this highly charged country family.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Calliope
- 05-31-17
Slow start, but worthwhile in the whole
I've found a lot of Barbara Vine books are slow at the start and then they draw the reader into the intriguing, twisted dealings of a dysfunctional family.....and the Minotaur is one of those. The story is written from the point of view of the young Swedish nurse, hired by a small and eccentric British family to take care of the adult son who (she realizes years later) has autism.
I'd read many reviews of the book that called it one of Barbara Vine's best, but I don't agree. Good, but not great.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- A. Listener
- 02-06-08
Good, but misleading genre
This is a wonderfully written book, with fine lines of humor, suspense, and tragedy. I would not, however, call it a mystery as some have. There is some mystery to the story, in that you glimpse the end in the beginning and you wonder how things get there, but it is not a "whodunnit".
PS: Very well read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marie
- 12-01-12
Vine with Landor is the best
Where does The Minotaur rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
very high
Who was your favorite character and why?
The main character, of course.
Any additional comments?
Trying to describe the effect of this book is like trying to describe great sex. It is just best to experience it. I immediately checked to see if Audible had any other books written by Vine and read by Landor. Such an experience should be repeated. No luck, but there was a Barbara Vine with Robert Powell. Variety is the spice . . . . P.S. You won’t find any dry, boring sex-by-numbers in this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Rahim
- 08-12-10
Very slow
I enjoyed the modern "gothic" novels of Barbara Michaels and had a friend recommend this book. Thick atmosphere, but terrible pacing- very slow moving. At the end of Part I, realized that only a handful of events had occurred that actually moved the plot forward. There is also a little skipping in the recording. I did like the narrator which is why I gave it two stars.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful