The Mystery of the Crooked Man Audiobook By Tom Spencer cover art

The Mystery of the Crooked Man

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The Mystery of the Crooked Man

By: Tom Spencer
Narrated by: Claire Warrillow
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About this listen

Meet Agatha Dorn, cantankerous archivist, grammar pedant, gin afficionado and murder mystery addict. When she discovers a lost manuscript by Gladden Green, the Empress of Golden Age detective fiction, Agatha's life takes an unexpected twist. She becomes an overnight sensation, basking in the limelight of literary stardom.

But Agatha's newfound fame takes a nosedive when the 'rediscovered' novel is exposed as a hoax. And when her ex-lover turns up dead, with a scrap of the manuscript by her side, Agatha suspects foul play.

Cancelled, ostracised and severely ticked off, Agatha turns detective to uncover the sinister truth that connects the murder and the fraudulent manuscript. But can she stay sober long enough to catch the murderer, or will Agatha become a whodunnit herself?

©2024 Tom Spencer (P)2024 Bolinda Publishing
Amateur Sleuths Cozy Mystery Fiction
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Critic reviews

'Not your usual cosy, and that's exactly what I loved! Spencer tip-toes on that line between traditional and modern with a delicate charm and deftness of touch to create a juicy whodunnit. Simply brilliant!' (Jonathan Whitehall, author of The Bingo Hall Detectives)

'With a prickly protagonist and a plot that's twistier than a bag full of corkscrews, this one will keep you guessing until the end.' (Fiona Leitch, author of The Cornish Wedding Murder)

'This edgy mystery takes you down a dark path with unexpected turns, intriguing Golden Age breadcrumbs and a thorny denouement.' (Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, bestselling author of A Murder of Crows)

All stars
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Enjoyed the book. I hope there will be more adventures with Agatha Dorn in the near future.

Eccentric heroine, Funny Dialogue, Interesting Plot

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performance was great
story was good
writing totally confusing
didn't love it
so
meh is all i want to say

doesn't live up to the hype

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Picked this book because of rave review in Sunday NYT and glad I did! Intricate plot, strange and slightly spooky, but all very apt. Especially nice wordplay and grammar jokes, always a treat. Yes, there was a crooked man. We knew it all along. We just didn’t know what or who it was. Worth knowing.

What a treat!

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I particularly enjoyed the witty, acerbic voice of the protagonist. Although I liked the twists and turns of the plot, I am tired of female characters who are constantly drunk. Agatha is much more interesting when she is sober.

The fabulous narration by Clare Warrilow

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I loved the references to Agatha Christie, but the story had little oomph to go along. Nice, fun, I’d read another but I’m not rushing out for it.

Fun with a good twist

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This mystery is different. Not to keep you waiting, I ended up loving it very much, but in the beginning it was a different story because I didn't like the protagonist. Some reviews called her cantankerous or prickly, but she was more than that. I knew I needed to like her on some level for me to like the book, but I was perplexed at how the book was going to get me there because she was simply untenable. All this was set in a context of delightful writing and a beautiful performance on Audio.
Agatha (the protagonist) begins by using agonizingly wrong techniques for job promotions and is dreadfully paranoid of the actions of her colleagues and family. That didn't help me like her more. But slowly I began to sympathize with her and her intentions and then eventually root wholeheartedly for her.
In the end, as the mystery came together, one gains a great understanding of why Agatha is
Agatha. It was a fun journey to solve a mystery as well as understand a mystery of a fictionalized human being. Quite a masterpiece.

Different...in a good way

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