page turning who dunnit, even though ending anticipated from early on

the frustration of each character plays into an intrigue circling each of the two main characters. each of these women carries a personal tradegy around in their minds. for one it leads to the end of life, for the other to a new start

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

How sad it was

I liked all the characters and how they interacted and the fact it was based on a true story

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Wow wow wow

Where to start? Oh my goodness. This book is brilliant and will leave a lasting impression. Subject matter is obviously a thought provoking topic. The character in the title is in some ways not likeable but in other ways what she does is understandable. Beautiful relationship with Eva thought that wouldn’t be allowed in reality as unprofessional. Here it’s totally believable. The language, and character portrayals are superb and in this audio book this is all greatly enhanced by the wonderful narration. I was totally transported into each situation.
To me this is up there with A Man Called Ove and Lessons in Chemistry. Very memorable. Don’t know what the word is for” page turner” with audiobooks but this was it, for sure.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I was engrossed

Narration was wonderful. Very sensitive dramatisation of a true story. The character of Zina Pavlou was brilliantly created and not sentimentalised - you wanted to like her but she kept doing or saying abrasive or strange things and yet you increasingly felt sorry for her as her story unfolded and she experienced misogyny and racism by her Greek family and community and by the British legal system. It also highlights the unscrupulous nature of some journalists. The odds just kept on stacking against her - and the reader understands that if she was young, ‘attractive’ and not ‘foreign’ her treatment would have been different.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

The fact that the doctors report was left out!I love

I enjoyed listening to the narrator’s voice
which made the story easy to listen to and absorb the characters’ feelings and personalities.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Brilliant narrative excellent story very enjoyable unusual but interesting story

Enjoyed the book and would highly recommend… well read and shows great compassion. I really enjoyed it .

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great narration of a gripping story!

Great narration of a gripping story! Interesting to discover the treatment of women in the 1950s, and how foreigners were treated. I would recommend reading this.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

The unique story of a sad mother used by her son in a foreign country.

The reality of the situation is heartbreaking but believable, Enjoyed this book very much well written.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

brilliant portrayal of characters

I found out about this book on the Sara Cox book club on TV. I have started listening to books and reading books that I would never pick up myself just to broaden my horizons. I would never have picked this book up but because they reviewed it and I was intrigued I decided to download it on audible. this was a brilliant book. So intriguing and interesting and full of things about that era that I had never appreciated. It also made me appreciate how knowledgeable we are capable of being these days. The use of Google allows us to find out so much. no one could just look up about the previous murder that was referred to regarding Xena. Just fabulous couldn't stop listening.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Excellent

I had heard of this murder from a TV programme a few years ago and was interested to read this book, which is based on that.

I thought it was many things - thought-provoking, entertaining [in a weird sort of way], sad, mysterious etc. etc.
It was well-written and I liked the story of the interpreter Eva, as a backdrop to the horrific acts of Zina Pavlou.

What I liked best was the authentic portrait of the perpetrator and her family. Coming from a Greek Cypriot background, I was fascinated to hear the different characters portrayed by Eleni Kyriacou. Very well-researched ...especially on the trial and the facts on Holloway Prison.

The telling of the hardships of the Greek Cypriots in the London of 1950s was "spot-on". I know from my own Cypriot father's battles to be accepted by his English neighbours and workmates, just how difficult life was post-war in UK. The fact that many Cypriots had come to UK to make money to survive and to send back to their families in Cyprus, made it all the more poignant.

A big thank you to the narrator - Daphne Alexander. For once, all the pronunciation was true to life and authentic. Well done - and all the different characters were brilliantly differentiated. Excellent work.

This is the second book I have heard on Audible, I really enjoyed them both.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!