The Listeners
A Novel
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The Listeners
Narrated by:
Erin Bennett
Buy Now for $28.65
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Narrated by:
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Erin Bennett
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Written by:
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Maggie Stiefvater
“Wonderfully observed—actually, flat-out wonderful.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Richly imagined . . . Stiefvater’s prose is as pungent as the sweetwater, with a snap that suggests the whimsy of a veteran storyteller.” —The New York Times
#1 New York Times bestselling novelist Maggie Stiefvater dazzles in this mesmerizing portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance, and a hotel—and a world—in peril.
January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society’s troubles.
Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines—to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.
Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotel’s walls, listening for the diplomats’ secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that June’s balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.
June has never met a guest she couldn’t delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallon’s polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.
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Editorial Review
History, but better
As a lifelong Maggie Stiefvater fan, I instantly jumped on her first adult fiction,
The Listeners. It’s a WWII story, but not in the way you might expect. Based on real events, the story takes us to West Virginia, where Axis diplomats are being held at a luxury hotel after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Though it’s grounded in history and hyperreal, in a way, the storytelling is classic Stiefvater: ethereal, with turns of phrase that leave you breathless at their cleverness. There’s a magic system here, too, presented practically but left mysterious. With a cast of characters that represent the clash of classes within a high-end hotel, narrator Erin Bennett does a splendid job voicing the array of dialects that would appear in such a setting. Prepare to be dazzled by this magical, historical work of art. —Melissa B., Audible Editor
A wonderful historical tale that resonates
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