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Before the Poison
(OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
HarperAudio 2012
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description

From New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson comes this mesmerizing story-within-a-story about a man pulled into a murder from the past—and his quest to uncover the truth.

Quietly reeling from the death of his beloved wife, Chris Lowndes decides to return to the Yorkshire Dales after twenty-five successful years spent in Hollywood composing film scores. He purchases Kilnsgate House, a charming old mansion deep in the country, but something about the place disturbs him. His unease intensifies when he learns Kilnsgate was once the scene of a sensational murder. More than fifty years earlier, prominent doctor Ernest Arthur Fox was poisoned there, allegedly by his beautiful and much younger wife, Grace, who was subsequently tried, condemned, and hanged for the crime.

His curiosity piqued, Chris decides to investigate, and the more he discovers, the more convinced he becomes of Grace's innocence. Despite warnings to leave it be, his quest for the truth is soon leading him through dark shadows of the past . . . and into a strange web of secrets that lie perilously close to the present.

A complex, multi-layered thriller, Before the Poison is one of Peter Robinson's most brilliant novels—and one readers won't soon forget.

"A gripping tale that brings to mind not only old-time Hollywood but also British 'golden age' storytelling in the Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier tradition."—Wall Street Journal

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Format:
OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen
Edition:
Unabridged
Street Date:
02/21/2012
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780062116253
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Peter Robinson. (2012). Before the Poison. Unabridged HarperAudio.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Peter Robinson. 2012. Before the Poison. HarperAudio.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Peter Robinson, Before the Poison. HarperAudio, 2012.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Peter Robinson. Before the Poison. Unabridged HarperAudio, 2012.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
cca12096-abd4-2a96-905f-99fbc4bd0ee5
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Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 17:23:33
Date Updated:
Jun 12, 2018 17:23:33
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 24, 2024 08:47:20
Last Metadata Change:
Nov 17, 2023 14:12:57
Last Availability Check:
Mar 24, 2024 08:47:23
Last Availability Change:
Dec 20, 2023 21:49:22
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 29, 2024 02:17:20

OverDrive Product Record

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        One of the world's most popular and acclaimed writers, Peter Robinson was the bestselling, award-winning author of the DCI Banks series. He also wrote two short-story collections and three stand-alone novels, which combined have sold more than ten million copies around the world. Among his many honors and prizes were the Edgar Award, the CWA (UK) Dagger in the Library Award, and the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Martin Beck Award.

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title
Before the Poison
fullDescription

From New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson comes this mesmerizing story-within-a-story about a man pulled into a murder from the past—and his quest to uncover the truth.

Quietly reeling from the death of his beloved wife, Chris Lowndes decides to return to the Yorkshire Dales after twenty-five successful years spent in Hollywood composing film scores. He purchases Kilnsgate House, a charming old mansion deep in the country, but something about the place disturbs him. His unease intensifies when he learns Kilnsgate was once the scene of a sensational murder. More than fifty years earlier, prominent doctor Ernest Arthur Fox was poisoned there, allegedly by his beautiful and much younger wife, Grace, who was subsequently tried, condemned, and hanged for the crime.

His curiosity piqued, Chris decides to investigate, and the more he discovers, the more convinced he becomes of Grace's innocence. Despite warnings to leave it be, his quest for the truth is soon leading him through dark shadows of the past . . . and into a strange web of secrets that lie perilously close to the present.

A complex, multi-layered thriller, Before the Poison is one of Peter Robinson's most brilliant novels—and one readers won't soon forget.

"A gripping tale that brings to mind not only old-time Hollywood but also British 'golden age' storytelling in the Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier tradition."—Wall Street Journal

reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        January 2, 2012
        At the outset of this haunting stand-alone from Arthur Ellis Award–winner Robinson (No Cure for Love), British film composer Chris Lowndes, a recent widower, leaves California after more than 30 years for the peace and quiet of the Yorkshire countryside. He buys isolated Kilnsgate House, which the estate agent neglects to mention was the site of a sensational crime. Intercut are passages from a fictional true crime book, Famous Trials, depicting the 1953 case against Grace Fox, who was convicted of poisoning her husband, Dr. Ernest Fox, at Kilnsgate, and hanged. While Chris’s initial interest is simple curiosity, the more he learns about Grace, the more his interest veers toward obsession. In piecing together the murder case and Grace’s extraordinary life as a nurse during WWII, Chris discovers as much about himself as he does about her. Robinson manages a melancholy tone without veering into the maudlin, and the presence of Grace Fox permeates every page. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.

      • premium: True
      • source: AudioFile Magazine
      • content: This stand-alone is every bit as compelling as Robinson's Inspector Banks series. Chris Lowndes, who has been working in LA as a film composer, returns to Yorkshire after his beloved wife's death. Narrators Toby Moore and Susan Lyons are both vital to this presentation, which moves back and forth in time and point of view. Chris has bought a large, old house that once belonged to a doctor whose wife, Grace, was convicted of murdering him in 1952 and was hanged. Amid the bleak Yorkshire dales, Chris feels Grace's presence and attempts to prove her innocence. Moore splendidly renders the modern Chris and those he interviews tirelessly about Grace. Lyons movingly captures Grace through her heartbreaking WWII diaries, written in the Far East. The listener becomes as caught up with Grace's story as Chris does. S.G.B. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
popularity
114
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shortDescription

From New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson comes this mesmerizing story-within-a-story about a man pulled into a murder from the past—and his quest to uncover the truth.

Quietly reeling from the death of his beloved wife, Chris Lowndes decides to return to the Yorkshire Dales after twenty-five successful years spent in Hollywood composing film scores. He purchases Kilnsgate House, a charming old mansion deep in the country, but something about the place disturbs him. His unease intensifies when he learns Kilnsgate was once the scene of a sensational murder. More than fifty years earlier, prominent doctor Ernest Arthur Fox was poisoned there, allegedly by his beautiful and much younger wife, Grace, who was subsequently tried, condemned, and hanged for the crime.

His curiosity piqued, Chris decides to investigate, and the more he discovers, the more convinced he becomes of Grace's innocence. Despite warnings to leave it be, his quest for the truth is...

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