Sweet Revenge

A Lady Arianna Regency Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Andrea Penrose

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

Lady Arianna Hadley's desire for revenge has brought her back to London from exile in the West Indies. Determined to find the men responsible for her disgraced father's murder, she disguises herself as a man and contrives to be hired as a chef in one of London's aristocratic households. But when the prince regent is poisoned by Arianna's special chocolate dessert, she finds her own quest has become intertwined with a far more deadly intrigue.

Because of his expertise in chocolate, the earl of Saybrook is asked by the government to investigate the crime. Though he, too, is fighting inner demons, he reluctantly agrees. His first confrontation with Arianna has them at daggers drawn. But when someone tries to kill them both, they become reluctant allies in the hunt to discover what evil is afoot.

As their investigation takes them from the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair to the slums of St. Giles, they uncover a cunning plan of fraud that could throw the government into chaos. Determined to bring the culprits to justice, they set an elaborate trap, but they find themselves dancing on a razor's edge - and one false step will prove fatal....

©2011 Andrea DaRif (P)2018 Tantor

Great Story

Loves the book and the characters- was only slightly annoyed by the terrible Spanish accent used for Dona Maria Castellano- otherwise- excellent!

Penrose & Sarah are WONDERFUL!!!

This was a great book read by a great voice! I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I have purchased the rest of the series. I was familiar with the Rexford & Sloane series so I knew Penrose was a marvel, but I am rather difficult to please when it comes to narrators. I read some of the reviews and since a narrator who doesn’t suit one’s taste makes it difficult to even finish a book, I usually listen to bad experiences in that area. Fortunately for me, I think Mary Sarah gave an Oscar winning performance - full of life and emotion and clearly defining each character. There was just one tiny thing that made me smile: the word “gel” came up a few times and Ms. Sarah pronounced it “jell”. For years I have mimicked Maggie Smith in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” saying, “Little gels! Little gels!” or I wouldn’t have noticed it. It did nothing to detract from her marvelous job! I hope Ms. Penrose writes at least a dozen more and Ms. Sarah narrates them all!

good story, but distracting narration

I've never left a negative review before, but the narration here was so dramatic that it distracted from the story. Alternatively whispered, then shouting. If you do choose to listen to this book, may I recommend speakers (with remote control) rather than ear buds? I'm fairly sure the book itself is worth reading...but I kept finding myself so annoyed with the volume and theatrical hysteria; I couldn't concentrate on the words.

The story line was good

I could not understand the narrator very well. She would go very soft and low so I couldn’t hear her and I could not distinguish between voices, male & female. I was always confused. Won’t listen to narrator again.

Interesting story horrible narrator

The story is good but the narrator is horrible. She drags out every word and the accents are horrible. I plodded through it but found my mind wandering and fast forwarding because the narrator was so boring