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The Desperate Remedy

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The Desperate Remedy

By: Martin Stephen
Narrated by: Michael Tudor-Barnes
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About this listen

 In the dark days of King James I, a man must know his enemies to survive. To Henry Gresham, gentleman, scholar, courtier, and spy, William Shadwell is invaluable. A thief, informer, double-dealer, and pimp, he may not be the most moral of men, but he is one of Gresham's best sources. When Shadwell is murdered, Gresham's enquiries uncover a plot so audacious it is scarcely believable.© Martin Stephen; (P)Oakhill Publishing Ltd Historical Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Henry Gresham is a hero for all seasons, and The Desperate Remedy is a dashing delight that challenges what we think we know." (Val McDermid)
"The twists and turns of a burgeoning intrigue provide tightening suspense while Stephen interprets with delicacy the motives of complex characters." (reviewingtheevidence.com)
All stars
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An intelligent historical thriller, a pleasure to listen to. I could not recommend it more!

Absolutely fantastic!

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Having read a couple of others in this series I went into this pretty much knowing what to expect and was not disappointed. A rollocking good story told at a pace that keeps you into the story. The narration is excellent as well so all in all well worth the mustard!

A good listen...

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I came to this book with some uncertainty as it had very mixed reviews, however once started it is in every sense a page turner. Henry Gresham is wonderfully crafted hero the plot moves at a fast pace and submerges you in the grimy streets and murky world of Jacobean London. As the book progresses it unravels the web of deceit and plotting surrounding the Guy Fawkes story, it reminds us that this was a very real attempt to overthrow the King and Parliament and not the joke which it has become on the 5th of November. Yes there are some inaccuracies but they did not spoil my enjoyment of the book.

The narrator is excellent he very much brings the characters to life, a wonderfully enjoyable Listen.

What a treat!

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A well read book that was sufficiently gripping for me to listen to the end. I was a little put off by odd factual inaccuracies (e.g. Alnwick Castle - the seat of the Percy family - is twice referred to as being on the coast. It is 5 miles from the coast). Trivial but easily checked and, if this is wrong, what about the rest of the historical framework for there is a substantial amount of contemporary detail thrown in. The other offputting device was that it regularly resorted to the hero's reflections which, perhaps naturally in his circumstances, became repetitive to the point of rumination. Having said that, I always wanted to know what happened next even though I thought I knew the overall historical context fairly well.

The Desperate Remedy

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Yes, there are [at times fairly obvious] inaccuracies, but the storyline is compelling and the excellent reader makes most of the text. Don't let the weaknesses of the book distract you from its captivating strengths. If you can cope with the occasional inappropriately modern language or factual error you will love this.

fascinating despite shortcomings

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I enjoyed the storyline interesting and as always Michael Tudor Barnes brought the characters alive

The desperate remedy

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[2020] In lockdown I have been going back to listen to many of the audiobooks I have enjoyed most over the years.
"The Desperate Remedy" by Martin Stephen is an excellent historical story and the narration is excellent. However I have always felt some dissatisfaction with the story which seems to jump at a critical point.
I decided to follow this up and referred to a paperback copy of this book and discovered a whole section of the book is omitted from the audio version. To be precise pages 254 to 289 from my 2002 edition are missing from the audio version. This is a key part of the story which links together various characters and subplots.
So disappointed and Audible gets a One Star rating.

AUDIO RECORDING IS INCOMPLETE

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