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  • A Killer in King’s Cove

  • A Lane Winslow Mystery, Book 1
  • Written by: Iona Whishaw
  • Narrated by: Marilla Wex
  • Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (92 ratings)

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A Killer in King’s Cove

Written by: Iona Whishaw
Narrated by: Marilla Wex
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Publisher's Summary

A smart and enchanting postwar mystery that will appeal to fans of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

It is 1946, and war-weary young ex-intelligence officer Lane Winslow leaves London to look for a fresh start. When she finds herself happily settled into a sleepy hamlet in the interior of British Columbia surrounded by a suitably eclectic cast of small-town characters, she feels like she may finally be able to put her past to rest.

But then a body is discovered, the victim of murder, and although she works alongside the town's Inspectors Darling and Ames to discover who might have possibly have motivation to kill, she unknowingly casts doubt on herself. As the investigation reveals facts that she has desperately tried to keep a secret, it threatens to pull her into a vortex of even greater losses than the ones she has already endured.

A clever postwar mystery that will appeal to fans the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear or the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd. 

©2016 Iona Whishaw (P)2020 TouchWood Editions

What the critics say

“The 'find of the year', Iona Whishaw’s Lane Winslow series is a real treat. Set after WWII, Lane has left England for Canada...settling in the small village of King’s Cove. With a quaint cast of characters and the feel of Louise Penny’s Three Pines, the independence and quick wit of Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher and the intelligence of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, this mystery series has it all!” (Murder by the Book, Houston, TX)

“A good historical mystery with a cast of characters that will provide plot lines for the series to come. Iona Whishaw is a writer to watch.” (Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail

“Move over, Mr. Darcy! Inspector Darling and Lane Winslow join the ranks of Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane in this exquisitely written, psychologically deft postwar mystery. I couldn’t put it down. If you miss Mary Stewart’s sleuthing heroines, if you loved Broadchurch and its village of suspects, settle in, turn off the phone, and enjoy!” (Linda Svendsen, author of Sussex Drive and Marine Life

What listeners say about A Killer in King’s Cove

Average Customer Ratings
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent reading.

Beautifully written . Held my interest from start to finish. The narrator is excellent. Can’t wait to start the next book in the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An interesting time and place

It took a while to become engaged in this story taking place in post war BC, but I definitely got there. Part of the problem was the narration - there are no distinct voices for the main characters, and the dialogue often sounds rather flat. Sometimes I cannot tell who is speaking, the intonations and voice are the same. The narrator is especially lacking with male voices. Poor Constable Ames sounds like a soprano!
But if you can bear with the narration, it’s a very good story. One last note: I did wonder at the complete absence of any indigenous characters in a story set in the Kootenays of BC in the 1940s.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

enjoyed this book!

A Killer in Kings Cove was very good. Some had complained about the narrator's accents but I think she did fine. There were a lot of English people living in the Village and the Canadians got Canadian accents, Americans got American. Was kind of fun having a story in the province where I live in Canada! I'd read more of her books!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Tropey and bland

Actual mystery is plotted well enough, but I didn’t think that anything else really hit. Characters were fine, not great. Dialogue was bad. Show don’t tell problems. Characters don’t feel competent even with a particular experience or background. Extremely contrived at times, always advancing with too much granularity to trivialities, making it feel padded.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

WW1 & 2 crossover stories to Canada,

I really enjoyed this Canadian story.
Well done.
I won't hesitate to listen to the others in this series now.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Intro to King's Cove...

Seems to be another author I could follow. I like her style of storytelling. She lets the characters of the story develop over time, and allows them to reveal the mystery at a good pace.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling mystery and great narration

Nicely narrated! Enjoyed this tale of a former spy settling down in Canada only to be caught up in the murder of an unknown stranger.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Historic Mystery

Just a fun listen on commute to work. I've already downloaded the next two

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Easy read

Lovely to listen to a story in our province and the town it is set is lovely … outside of Nelson BC… enjoyed the story and narration …

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Accents

I was disappointed that almost all the voices had an English accent. Slight Canadian accents in policemen only.

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  • Aunt B
  • 2021-10-11

Clever and Comfortable

I really enjoyed this series opener. It wasn’t too suspenseful or tricky, but I found the storytelling style clever and fresh. It felt comfortable without needing too much time to get used to the characters or setting. I like that it went beyond a typical cozy mystery by adding some serious historical and social elements, but it doesn’t have the depth of trauma or the hard edges of Bess Crawford or Maisie Dobbs. I am looking for something lighter and so I appreciate the balance found here.
They performance was perfectly fine for me. I generally prefer British narration because it is not what I hear every day in the Southeastern USA. That means I don’t judge it as harshly as I would an attempted Southern accent. The Canadian accent was fine as well. I don’t know how someone who is more familiar with these regional dialogues might feel. I like that the same narrator continues with the other books in the series. I am moving on to the next one!

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Deborah
  • 2022-01-01

What a terrific series!

This series is fantastic, book after book. Well-developed characters, interesting historical insights, good plots. I highly recommend starting with this book and binging on the whole series!

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Kathleen Tresser
  • 2022-10-20

Unlistenable

Story was boring and difficult to follow. Not enjoyable. Couldn’t finish listening to this one.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • cheryl james
  • 2023-07-01

Summary

This book was not that interesting. At times it was a little flat. Not sure if I will continue the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Katherine
  • 2023-06-27

Great Listen!

So glad to discover a new-to-me series! Look forward to the next one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Bathysaurus Ferox
  • 2022-10-02

I've Listened to Them All Twice...

...And I've just pre-ordered the last three.
Iona Wishaw is a crafty writer, and Marilla Wex is the perfect narrator. Absolutely lovely scenery, believable neighborhood characters, proper mysteries and a cute side romance- what's not to love? I have something like 300 audiobooks in my library, but I've chosen to listen to this series more than once.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Dayhiker
  • 2022-03-30

Historical Mystery Set in Post-war BC

In the spring of 1946, British agent Lane Winslow retires to the wilderness of British Columbia, Canada, to forget about the war and the great love she has lost. When she finds the body of a stranger in the creek that supplies her water, she calls the police from near-by Nelson to investigate. But soon, every clue about this murder points to her. Hampered by the Official Secrets Act, there is only so much that Lane can tell handsome Detective Darling about her past.

Hauntingly beautiful settings, a strong sense of historical place and time, and a well-told story with a hint of romance, make this book a great choice. Nicely narrated by Marilla Wex, I highly recommend this audio book.

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