
The Minotaur
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Rosalyn Landor
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By:
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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
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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)
As always, anything read by Roslyn Landor is beautifully done.
Enjoyable Listen
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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.A horrid family
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SIX STARS.
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Trendy Rendy
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Top notch Barbara Vine
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Engaging
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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.
Slow start, but worthwhile in the whole
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PS: Very well read.
Good, but misleading genre
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Where does The Minotaur rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
very highWho 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.Vine with Landor is the best
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Very slow
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