Lady Audley's Secret

By: M. E. Bradden

Narrated by: Flo Gibson

The origins of the modern thriller can be found in the mysterious plot twists of this remarkable Victorian novel. The mystery revolves around the disappearance of a young man and a lady who is haunted by more than one terrible secret.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audio Book Contractors, Inc.

Surprisingly good

My immersion in this story surprised me. The narrator was just right for the writing style and the plot kept me wanting to know more. The story is old fashioned but accessible.

HORRIBLE NARRATION!

The narration of this novel by Flo Gibson was so difficult to listen to that, although the story seemed intriguing, I couldn't continue listening. Although she has a very expressive reading style, her voice is obviously quite elderly. She sounds like she is at least in her late 90's and would be a very good narrator for a story being told by an elderly woman, but for this story it just didn't work.

It was bearable enough for the narration - like your grandmother telling a story - but as soon as she would try to "do the voices" of the characters for the dialogue, she would sound even older, and I was completely unable to imagine the young people of the story. I sometimes get annoyed when male narrators do the "drag queen voice" when they read dialogue for females of a novel, but, eventually, I get into the story and hardly notice it any more. It was impossible to get over Ms. Gibson's elderly voice when she was reading the dialogue of the young female protagonist or any of the other characters under 30 in the story.

I will try to find another narrator for this novel or just read it on my Kindle. A good lesson for me to listen to the sample before buying.