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Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder

Oscar Wilde Mysteries, Book 2

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Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder

By: Gyles Brandreth
Narrated by: Bill Wallis
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"I see murder in this unhappy hand...." When Mrs. Robinson, palmist to the Prince of Wales, reads Oscar Wilde's hand she cannot know what she has predicted. Nor can Oscar know what he has set in motion when, that same evening, he proposes a game of "Murder" in which each of his Sunday Supper Club guests must write down those whom they would like to kill. For the fourteen "victims" begin to die mysteriously, one by one, and in the order in which their names were drawn from the bag....

With growing horror Wilde and his confidants, Robert Sherard and Arthur Conan Doyle, realize that one of their guests that evening must be the murderer. In a race against time, Wilde will need all his powers of deduction and knowledge of human behavior before he himself - the thirteenth name on the list - becomes the killer's next victim.

©2008 Gyles Brandreth. All rights reserved. (P)2012 AudioGo Crime Fiction Historical Fiction Murder Mystery Traditional Detectives Detective Scary
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I enjoyed the knowledgable mix of history and fiction, believable dialogue from real people we know, and sometimes love - like Oscar, Constance, Arthur Conan Doyle, and sometimes mistrust, like Bosie, Walter Sickert, and sometimes "foresee" the future, like Willie Hornung, later brother-in-law of Doyle, and creator of Raffles, "gentleman thief and cricketer" - a shadow-side Holmes.
BUT, I'd never have bought this book to read, not when there's so much free stuff for Kindle of enduring quality, and also I'd've had trouble effacing the distinctive personality and posh accent of Gyles Brandreth from my mind's eye. Bill Wallis had such a genius for voices, so that Oscar and Bram Stoker are convincingly well-educated Irish, Doyle a respectable Edinburgh medic, the English of varied backgrounds, and Anglo-Scottish aristocrats, like Bosie and poor Drumlanrig, distinctive.
I like to go to sleep listening to Audible, so mostly I don't want anything too shocking or violent, nor too boring. This fits the bill very nicely.

Vocal tour de force by Bill Wallis

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sometimes the no time is given to absorb the story making it necessary to re- listen

the narrative and change of mood, accent, and tone appropriately

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Featuring detective Oscar Wilde and his unlikely partner, Arthur Conan Doyle, this novel is set in London, 1892, at the height of Wilde’s fame following Lady Windermere’s Fan. At a celebratory dinner party, Wilde invents a macabre parlour game: Who would you most like to kill? Guests—including Doyle, Bram Stoker, and narrator Robert Sherard—write down names in jest. Wilde laughs off the idea that anything could come of it. The next day, one of the “victims” is found murdered. As the deaths begin to mirror the game, Wilde and his circle are drawn into a dangerous investigation that takes them through London’s political, theatrical, and sporting worlds. Witty, dark, and richly atmospheric, this is an entertaining historical mystery which is very well read by the narrator.

Oscar Wilde and a game called murder is an enjoyable listen

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Where does Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the top ten of its kind (detective stories).

What did you like best about this story?

The interweave of imaginary and real personae; the accuracy of the historical data underscoring the real characters, including Wilde himself.

What does Bill Wallis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Her brings warmth and depth to the overall texture of the story while bringing the various characters credibily to life, also by varying their local accents.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES!!

Any additional comments?

A gripping, intelligent detective story. It never flags and always surprises.

Brandreth as enthralling as ever!

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Enjoyed the story and the friendship group of characters from history tracking down a murderer. Usually don’t enjoy ‘performances’ but this time the narration enhanced the story by bringing characters to life.

Oscar Wilde turned Poirot

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