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The Attenbury Emeralds

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What to expect

'A delight.' - Irish Times
'A pitch-perfect Golden Age mystery . . . a gem of a period puzzle' - Financial Times

Thirty years ago, Lord Peter Wimsey encountered the Attenbury emeralds. The recovery of Lord Attenbury's magnificent gem made headlines - and launched the shell-shocked young aristocrat on his career as a detective.

Now it is 1951: a happily married Lord Peter has just shared the secrets of that mystery with his wife, the detective novelist Harriet Vane. Then the new Lord Attenbury - the grandson of Lord Peter's first client - seeks his help again, this time to prove who owns the gigantic emerald that Wimsey last saw in 1921.

It will be the most intricate and challenging mystery he has ever faced . . .

Critics Review

A pitch-perfect Golden Age mystery; not a pastiche but a gem of a period puzzle that belongs on the shelf beside the Wimsey originals.
Financial Times
A delight. The mystery is intriguing - and, more crucially, Paton Walsh perfectly captures Sayers's voice.
Irish Times
Jill Paton Walsh, assuming the mantle of Dorothy L. Sayers, convinces on all counts . . . Sayers would not have recognised that it wasn't her own work.
London Times
An absolute treat: civilised, intelligent and spellbinding
Daily Express
A great deal of fun
Times Literary Supplement
Sayers's fans won't be disappointed, and newcomers are in for a treat
Guardian
Walsh's writing meets the standards of excellence set by Sayers, using the mystery novel as a means to demonstrate that traits of endurance, honestly, and loyalty are always appealing. Wit matched with intelligence marks the soul not only of a good sleuth, but also of the very best mysteries. Watched over by the ghost of Dorothy L. Sayers, The Attenbury Emeralds has soul.
Huffington Post
Walsh does a seamless job of carrying on original author Dorothy L. Sayers' sparkling mix of prose and people (and this from a critic who usually hates this sort of thing).
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Walsh successfully recreates the tone and personalities of the originals and plausibly depicts the main characters later in life. Fans of literate period mysteries will clamour for more.
Publishers Weekly
We must admit - heretical as it may be - that we quite prefer the continuations to the originals.
Denver Post
Channelling the authority Sayers employed right up to her final book, Walsh shows that she has the full measure of the imperishable Lord Peter and the hyper-intelligent Harriet Vane
Express
A crime puzzle with deeper layers which makes for an entertaining and satisfying read
Historical Novels Review
Author Jill Paton Walsh
Narrator Edward Petherbridge
Duration 9 hours and 36 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781473633070
Format Audiobook
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Genre Classic crime and mystery fiction, Crime and mystery fiction
Availability AU, GB, IE

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