Deadly Engagement by Lucinda Brant

Narrated by Alex Wyndham

It took me no more than five minutes of listening to this to know that in Alex Wyndham, Lucinda Brant had found the perfect narrator for her story. I saw a recent entry on her Facebook page that said she was very excited at having engaged him to narrate this, the first of her Alec Halsey series of mysteries set in Georgian England – and having heard him, I can now understand why.

Mr Wyndham is a well-known face on television, having appeared in such series as the BBC’s recent adaptation of Little Dorrit, and HBO’s Rome. He has a number of audiobooks to his credit already, but Deadly Engagement appears to be his first foray into the world of historical fiction and romance, and on the strength of it, I can only hope that he’ll be narrating more in the genre. (I understand from the author that he’s already working on the second book in this series).

Alec Halsey is a career diplomat and brother to the Earl of Delvin. There is no love lost between the brothers, partly due to the persistent rumours surrounding the circumstances of Alec’s birth which indicate that he could actually be the rightful holder of the title. But Alec has no interest in being an earl, and is content with the life he is making for himself.

Returning to England after an absence of eight months, he is shocked to discover that his brother has just become engaged to Emily, the granddaughter of the Duchess of Romney-St. Neots – the young woman he had hoped to wed himself. Hard on the heels of this disappointment, Alec learns of the death of an old friend of his in a duel – a duel fought with the Earl of Delvin, supposedly in rivalry for the affections of Delvin’s new fiancée.

But this doesn’t add up. Alec knows Jack had no interest in Emily – that he wasn’t, in fact, interested in women at all, so when Jack’s mother – accompanied by his old flame, Selina Jamison-Lewis -approaches Alec and requests he tries to find out the truth, he can’t help but be intrigued, no matter that the women are effectively accusing his brother of murder.

The plot thickens further when, at a house party hosted by the duchess, Emily is attacked, her maid is murdered and one of the other guests is found shot dead in the garden. With help from his friend, Cosmo, and his former love, Alec begins to piece together an unpleasant picture of blackmail, extortion and murder, and to uncover the connections between these events and the death of his friend.

As this is a mystery, I’m not going to say more about the plot, save that it’s very well thought-out and executed, with plenty of twists, turns and red herrings along the way. Ms Brant kept me guessing as to the identity and motives of the villain right up until the last possible moment. The romance between Alec and Selina is fairly low-key, as that’s not the focus of the story, but it bubbles along in tandem with the mystery in a satisfying manner. It’s a minor niggle that things are left unresolved between the couple at the end, but then I suppose there had to be something left for the next book in the series!

Lucinda Brant has created a memorable hero in Alec Halsey, and all the other characters in the story are equally well realised. Alec’s former love, Selina, has endured a six-year marriage to an abusive man, and while the last thing she wants is another husband, she can’t help hoping that perhaps Alec still has feelings for her. Then there’s Tam, former apothecary’s apprentice and footman at St. Neot’s House, who becomes Alec’s valet; Alec’s eccentric uncle Plantagenet who is a very vocal advocate of reform; his friend Cosmo who means well but doesn’t always make the best decisions; and a number of other secondary characters who all have their parts to play.

Alec Halsey is a terrific hero – handsome, urbane, intelligent and deeply honourable, a man whose birth is shrouded in mystery but who is secure in the knowledge that he is his own man: “I at least can sleep easy at night knowing all that I have, all that I am, is rightfully mine.” Alex Wyndham’s portrayal of him is nigh on perfect; his own mellifluous baritone used to very good effect as he expertly captures all the nuances of Halsey’s speech, whether he’s pretending to ennui or taking decisive action. His interpretation of Alec’s unpleasant brother, the Earl of Delvin, is equally good. The brothers sound similar enough to be related, yet he gives Delvin an unpleasant, slightly nasal drawl and voices him without any of the depth and warmth that’s to be found in his performance of Alec so there is never any confusion as to who is speaking when the brothers appear in scenes together. The narrative is well-paced and clearly enunciated, and I’m pleased to report that the female characters are performed just as confidently and effectively as the men. Mr Wyndham softens his tone and raises his pitch just slightly, but never resorts to falsetto or screeching, unless it’s called for in the text (as happens at one point near the end). Every character is voiced appropriately and clearly identifiable throughout, although there were two characters – older gentlemen – whose gruff, gravelly tones were sometimes a little too similar. That said, there was never any difficulty in working out who was speaking as there are sufficient textual indicators to avoid confusion.

I’m giving Deadly Engagement a big thumbs up. The story might not be the most original of mysteries, but it’s very entertaining and I really enjoyed it. The author has clearly researched the period thoroughly and her attention to the historical detail really brings the story to life; this isn’t just a “wallpaper” historical, or a modern mystery featuring people in frock-coats and powdered wigs. She confronts some of the seedier sides of life in her stories, but does it in a manner that feels believable and isn’t at all salacious or sensationalist.

Ms Brant has obviously done her homework when it comes to narrators, too, because she’s found a real gem in Alex Wyndham. I’ve listened to many self-published audiobooks which have been let down by the poor choice of narrator, but fortunately, she seems to have taken a leaf out of Laura Kinsale’s book and spent a lot of time listening carefully before making her final choice.

I can’t wait for more!

Caz

Narration: A-

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in (more for the content of some of the discussions and revelations than sexual content as there are no “on screen” sex scenes)

Violence: Minimal

Genre: Historical Mystery with strong romantic elements

Publisher: Sprigleaf PTY Ltd

Deadly Engagement was provided to AudioGals by the author for review.