The Spoilt Kill Audiobook By Mary Kelly cover art

The Spoilt Kill

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
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 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Spoilt Kill

By: Mary Kelly
Narrated by: David Thorpe
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $26.90

Buy for $26.90

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

About this listen

1950s Staffordshire. Within the clay tanks at the pottery company Shentall's, a body has been found. Amid cries of industrial espionage and sabotage of this leader of the pottery industry, there is a case of bitter murder to solve for Inspector Hedley Nicholson.

Kelly's mystery won the CWA Gold Dagger Award in 1961 for its impeccable sense of place and detail, and for the emotional weight of its central crime. The novel is part of a shift from the cosiness of crime novels before to mysteries characterised by their psychological interest and affecting realism. An influential classic.

©1961 Estate of Mary Kelly (P)2021 Soundings
Private Investigators Traditional Detectives Mystery Detective Fiction Suspense
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Spoilt Kill

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good enough, not excellent

The unique setting of this novel is its most commendable feature. The plot gets sidetracked on a banal heterosexual love plot, which drains the vitality—and interest—of the narrative. It’s not a must-read, even for fans of older crime fiction. But the realistic factory setting is rare in the genre and it’s developed well, so the novel is not a categorical waste of time, either.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great setting, intense psychological mystery

I was caught up in the fascinating business of the pottery factory in about 1960. There are two mysteries, both solved convincingly but with very different emotional weight. The end is wrenching but rings true.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Felt like required reading

I have been enjoying the classic series, so the background of this book made it a must read. If not for the outstanding reading by one of my favorite narrators, I would have returned it. All the elements of a good mystery were present, but I did not care for the main characters, so the entire book fell flat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful