A Fatal Waltz

Lady Emily, Book 3

By: Tasha Alexander

Narrated by: Charlotte Anne Dore

At her friend Ivy's behest, Lady Emily Ashton reluctantly agrees to attend a party at the sprawling English country estate of a man she finds odious. But the despised Lord Fortescue is not to be her greatest problem.

Kristiana von Lange, an Austrian countess once linked romantically with Emily's fiancé, the debonair Colin Hargreaves, is a guest also. And a tedious evening turns deadly when their host is found murdered, and his protégé, Robert Brandon - Ivy's husband - is arrested for the crime.

Determined to right a terrible wrong, Emily embarks on a quest that will lead her from London's glittering ballrooms to Vienna's sordid backstreets - and into a game of wits with a notorious anarchist. But putting Colin in deadly peril may be the price for exonerating Robert - forcing the intrepid Emily to bargain with her nemesis, the Countess von Lange, for the life of her fiancé.

©2008 Anastasia Tyska (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A wonderful choice for readers looking for a pleasant diversion from everyday troubles." ( Library Journal)

Enjoyable Lady Emily Story, but Flawed Narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of A Fatal Waltz to be better than the print version?

Not in this case, because the narrator is poor. By poor I mean that she was unable to maintain the same voice and class of each character. So, sometimes Lady Emily seemed like an upper class lady and sometimes she sounded like an Irish country girl. The narrator had a lot of problems staying in voice character. Highly distracting, but I still stuck with the story.

What other book might you compare A Fatal Waltz to and why?

I also enjoy the Charles Lennox mystery series. Both are upper class protagonists and both are charming and somewhat naive. Both use their friends to help them solve mysteries, and both have romance interests that are sweet.

What didn’t you like about Charlotte Anne Dore’s performance?

As I mentioned above -- very uneven narration. Unable to choose a voice and stick with that voice for that character throughout the story. Some of the narration worked, but the quality just doesn't compare to what I expect (and usually get) from Audible. I apologize for being so critical, but the narration drug the story down.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Did not appreciate the narration.

Any additional comments?

Love this series, and I plan on listening to all the books available in the Lady Emily series.

Why does Emily have a New York accent????

I didnt want to skip this book but was difficult not to after listening to the first chapter due to the narrator. Yikes! Kept hearing a New York accent in Emilys dialog. Hated what the narrator did with Margarets voice. As a debutant, she would have been taught proper dialect prior to going to Europe in hopes of winning the hand of upper class suitors. Just hard to get through. Cant wait for it to be over to get a new narrator and even better, to get to Bianca Amato, which is the only reason I decided to start this series.

Good novel, poor naration

Another good novel in a series by one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed the plot and the suspence, but the overall experience was diminished by poor naration. I disliked the lack of modlation in the narration between the character voices and with the plot twists. It detracted from the enjoyment of the novel.

Worst narrator EVER

Whoever told Charlotte Anne Dore that she should be a narrator lied to her. Her narration can be best-described as that of a robot speaking (no joke). It’s absolutely flat, as if it’s her first time reading the script.

Sadly, it *completely* distracts from the book. Someone did Ms. Alexander a great disservice by allowing this woman to ruin - I mean, read - her book. Why not someone with talent, like Nicola Barber, Davina Porter, or Katherine Kellgren?

The book/storyline itself is (IMO) a suspenseful & enjoyable segment in the Lady Emily series. Not sure if I can recommend it though, because you’ll be totally distracted by the reading of it.

Narrator not suited to story

What made the experience of listening to A Fatal Waltz the most enjoyable?

The story is the only way I was able to listen.

What didn’t you like about Charlotte Anne Dore’s performance?

Her accent and voice tone did not match Lady Emily as well as Justine Eyre who narrated "A Poison Season" Her errors in pronunciation were very disconcerting.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Lady detective flouts Victorian conventions and solves the crime anyway!