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The Speaker of Mandarin

A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery, Book 12 (Unabridged)

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The Speaker of Mandarin

By: Ruth Rendell
Narrated by: Michael Bryant
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About this listen

There were some things about Chief Inspector Wexford's trip to China that he could never have dreamt of: That an old woman would haunt him from one city to the next. That a man would be tragically drowned. Or that, back in England, he would be investigating the murder of one of his fellow tourists.

©2009 Ruth Rendell (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Modern Detectives Mystery Fiction China Suspense
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Loved the glimpse into China in the ‘80’s and tourists behaviour. Part 2 is Rendells twisting turning whodunnit romp.

Terrifically interesting part 1

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The narrator did not excel on this reading. At times, he seems to be rushing to get through the story. Very little expression, and most of the characters sound the same, which makes it difficult to follow.

I probably won't finish this book, which is a shame, because I have enjoyed the other Wexford stories.

Narrator is boring

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alright, but not one of the better ones. I enjoy them more when the narrator does an accent for Wexford.

okish

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I eventually enjoyed this book, a bit long winded and the book goes into a lot of different intermingling stories and one wonders where it is going.

Intriguing but long winded

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Definitely not one of Ruth Rendell better Wexford stories. Choc full of racial cliches and stereotypes. Reflects a time when casual racism was the norm. An angry intolerant racist Wexford. The disparaging of China, Chinese characters etc ends up being racist window dressing that has little to do with the ultimate murderer. Sad, it has tarnished my view of an otherwise excellent author.

Best avoided, full of racial cliches

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This Ruth Rendell hasn’t aged well. It’s set in the 1980’s but is so crammed with snobbish middle class values, misogyny and racism that it’s hard to believe these attitudes were acceptable even then. Disappointing.

Hasn’t aged well…

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