Customer Reviews

A Sally Lockhart Mystery: The Tiger in the Well: Book Three

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This is far and away the best audiobook I've ever heard. I picked it up at a library sale, and popped it in the car cd player not expecting much. I was blown away. Anton Lesser is amazing. I never thought I could like the audiobook experience more than the good old paper book experience, but this changed my mind, big time! All the different voices and accents make you forget it's just one guy doing it all. Loved it!

Our heroine does faint at the very end of the book, but at that point it's fully justified. This romp through the sinister side of Victorian England is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I wouldn't insult this book by categorizing it as a "mystery," which makes me think with a shudder of rehashed plots and two-dimensional characters and dull prose.

Nor would I call this book a work for juveniles by any stretch of the imagination, any more than Orwell's 1984 is a juvenile book. While this novel may well be appropriate for and appreciated by some mature high school students, I would not lightly share it with any pre-teens. There are veiled references to child sexual abuse, and some references to prostitution. Set in gritty times, the novel reflects its era. Any reference to sex or adult themes in the book is tasteful and plot-driven, but an adult considering buying this book for a child based on its "juvenile" status should be aware, and be wary. It is certainly not appropriate for your average 9-12 year old, as the Amazon listing suggests.

Happily for those of us over age 12, it is written to enchant readers of every age. Whether you love it for its clever plot, its "in the trenches" view of the people and places of Victorian London, its subtle criticism of social mores of the time, its gentle flag-waving for socialism, its weaving of Judaic lore into the tale, or its simply fearless and fear-inspiring heroine, you WILL love it!

Now, when can I expect to see the movie version of this gem?...

Anton Lesser gives one of the best audiobook performances I've heard. This was an engrossing, thrilling reading with wonderfully realized vocal characterizations.