The Grave Tattoo cover art

The Grave Tattoo

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The Grave Tattoo

By: Val McDermid
Narrated by: Julie Maisey
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About this listen

When torrential summer rains uncover a bizarrely tattooed body on a Lake District hillside, old wives' tales also come swirling to the surface. For centuries Lakelanders have whispered that Fletcher Christian staged the massacre on Pitcairn so that he could return home. And there he told his story to an old friend and schoolmate, William Wordsworth, who turned it into a long narrative poem.

Wordsworth specialist Jane Gresham, herself a native of the Lake District, feels compelled to discover once and for all whether the manuscript ever existed - and whether it still exists today....

©2006 Val McDermid (P)2006 W. F. Howes Ltd Amateur Sleuths Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Mystery Small Town & Rural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Thriller Detective

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Critic reviews

"Absorbing modern mystery." ( Times)
"An irresistible combination of contemporary psychological thriller and historical mystery." (Tess Gerritsen)
All stars
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I enjoyed this book very much, especially where it went back in time to the Mutiny on the Bounty, Wordsworth and other historical figures. This is a book of intrigue, greed and murder and although fiction, it allows your imagination to flow.

Brilliant

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A well written, though perhaps a little protracted, tale. The historical elements sometimes stretch the imagination but generally hold the narrative together.
The narration is good - though I’m not sure why all the residents of The Lake District have north east accents.
The kind of audio book you might enjoy on holiday or when out for a walk through the fells.

Far fetched but nonetheless enjoyable

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The story held me all the way through.
Written well read easily
It was great.

So good

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Thoroughly engrossing. A few hours sleep lost listening to ‘just one more chapter’
Sorry to have finished it.

Hard to switch off

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Not sure if I was going to enjoy this story but glad I persevered. Narration confused me at times not too sure about accents.
Warmed to characters eventually

slightly different from usual Val McDermid

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I totally enjoyed this book, both content and the oratory. I found it difficult to put it down from start to finish.

Great read

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Started off a bit slow and rambling but eventually got going and developed. Excellent last quarter. Well narrated.

A good enough story

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As with all Val McDermid’s books I found this captivating from the start, I couldn’t stop listening and was sad to finish

Excellent

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I was a bit sceptical about this at first, finding the little Wordsworth insertions a bit distracting. However the pleasant narration and the coming together of the story won me over. Not a thrill a minute type book, but a good listen and an interesting idea.

Something different from Val. Good narration.

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I truly enjoyed the story with the historical twist, but why so many fancy words??

Great story that is marred by absurd words!

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