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Publisher's Summary

February 1355: Oxford explodes in one of the most serious riots of its turbulent history. Fearing for their lives, the scholars flee the city, and some choose the University at Cambridge as their temporary refuge. But they don't remain safe for long. Within hours of their arrival, the first of their number dies, followed quickly by a second. When Matthew Bartholomew begins to investigate the deaths, he uncovers evidence that the Oxford riot was not a case of random violence, but part of a carefully orchestrated plot.
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© Susanna Gregory; (P) Clipper Audio

What members say

Average Customer Ratings

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Performance

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Audible.com.au reviews
Audible.com reviews
Audible.co.uk reviews
No Reviews are Available
Sort by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • carlos101
  • 01-04-2008

Melodrama

This book reads like young adult fiction. The tone is melodramatic, not helped by rather overwrought narration. Most of the characters are one dimensional and eventually tiresome. Read Mistress of the Art of Death, instead. Slightly earlier period, far better writing.

12 of 14 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Lizzystick
  • 29-07-2009

Sorry...

But I Could not stand the reader, the first audible books I did not finish because of the reader.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Sarah
  • 10-03-2010

The Mark of a Murderer

I had high hopes for this book, as I read a lot of historical mysteries, but I found it extremely slow and boring and the narration was ridiculously melodramatic. It was a struggle to get through it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Wadie
  • 21-07-2008

As expected

I am familiar with these characters from reading the books. This was an enjoyable excursion into "long ago and far away". As a mystery, well, maybe it didn't play fair. The solution came outta left field. Not that the solution was bad, just a bit sneaky. It is a bit wordy but the characters are well developed and the historical back drop is sound. I enjoyed it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Glenda
  • 18-12-2017

Narrator is difficult to follow

Would you try another book from Susanna Gregory and/or Andrew Wincott?

Yes. I like the story, but I found the narrator difficult to follow after listening to David Thorpe’s narration of the othe books.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The voice was too theatrical and characters were indistinguishable.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Jorg
  • 08-09-2009

The Mark of a Murderer

I was introduced to Susanna Gregory's 14th century detectives through the sequel to this book "The Tarnished Chalice". I was immediately intrigued by the two main characters, Brother Michael, the waddling senior proctor of Cambridge University, and his corpse examiner and physician Matthew Bartholomew.

These two detectives guided me through the church-driven world of Cambridge in 1355 AD and its interesting crimes. The brilliant narration of Andrew Wilcott helped tremendously to bring all characters and the surroundings to life.

All in all I can only recommend this book. If you are willing to follow the author and her narrator into this unknown and mysterious milieu, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Judith A. Weller
  • 13-11-2008

Great Historical Mystery

This is a great historical mystery and is part of the Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles. I love these chronicles and was delighted to find one on audible. I hope they do more. The setting is Medieval Cambridge and as always the solution of the murder will come as a surprise. I adored the reader and all the Matthew Bartholomew CHronicales will be recorded.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Aileen
  • 07-11-2013

Fun but a little confused

I enjoyed this murder mystery set in Medieval Cambridge and found the two main characters - Matthew and Michael - really enjoyable. The dynamic between them is very fun and adds a layer to the story. However, the plot and clues just kept getting more and more elaborate and improbable. I found the denoument quite unsatisfying and many many threads were lost. It just didn't come together as a satisfying mystery, though the historic element is quite nicely done.

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Christopher
  • 13-04-2013

Scholarly detectives follow the body count

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Less carnage, more suspense, better detectives chasing fewer false leads.

Would you ever listen to anything by Susanna Gregory again?

Possibly

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Liked the setting & narrator's character voices.

Was The Mark of a Murderer worth the listening time?

Yes, but just barely

Sort by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Ruth
  • 25-10-2008

A good read

There are other books in the series featuring the same cast of characters, but this was my first (and the only one in the series available from Audible). I don't think it made a difference; the characters are very well defined in this book.

The story is set in 14th century Cambridge, but they could almost be walking round a dirty version of a modern town without cars. And there's a lot of walking! For all that, it's pretty good: the story unfolds gradually through the book, new twists appear and are resolved, and the ending is entirely satisfactory. No quibbles with the narration, either.

So why don't I give it all five stars? I suppose it's just because it doesn't stand out as the most gripping or wonderful or unmissable book. It's good enough, though, and I'm glad I listened.

19 of 20 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • shirley
  • 22-05-2016

Another excellent book

Wonderful story that keeps you guessing right up to the end. The narrator hits the mark.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Alison Marshall
  • 12-01-2018

Inconsistencies

Having heard the previous books read by another actor the inconsistencies of their characterisations of the main protagonists was very annoying. Even by the end I was still amazed at Brother Michael's suddenly gruff voice compared with previous readings. Apart from that, it was great!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Jennifer Chennell
  • 06-01-2018

disappointed

Found the book uo to normal standards but he Narrator was a bitter disappointment (first time i have ever heard the word stable pronounced 'sty ball' I would have simply skipped these books if not for the continuity issues. Luckily there is only two before David is back.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Chris
  • 05-10-2017

I can’t really comment on the storyline as I found the narrator so uninspiring I gave up on the book.

It is a shame that the narrator has changed to Andrew Wincott. It is difficult to differentiate between the characters and his voice is pretty monotone. David Thorpe read all of her prior books brilliantly.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Rosie Nice
  • 08-02-2018

Disappointing

Too long and found the characters confusing. The narrator has a pleasing voice but has the worst Welsh accent. Sounds more like Peter Sellars Indian.

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Mr. Rl Moriarty
  • 17-12-2017

Great book but dire performance

Would you try another book written by Susanna Gregory or narrated by Andrew Wincott?

I like Susanna Gregory’s books but this narrator doesn’t do justice to this one. I’m going to try the next one because I want to complete the series but I’m going to return this as I won’t listen to it again

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Mary Carnegie
  • 18-06-2017

Not very good

Too long, too complicated, too incredible, too many nasty people- no one attracts me at all. Couldn't get involved. The blurb was the best bit.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful