Death in the Andamans

By: M. M. Kaye

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Death in the Andamans is a masterpiece of mystery and romance from one of our most beloved authors. When a violent storm lashes the tiny Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, Copper Randal barely manages a safe return to Government House. She does get back in one piece with her hostess, Valerie Masson, Val's fiancé, and handsome naval officer Nick Tarrent, but one of the islanders is unaccounted for when the boats return to harbor. Cut off from the mainland and confined to the shadowy, haunted guest quarters, Copper and the other visitors conclude that one of their number is a murderer. The killer must be found before the storm destroys all trace of any possible clues. In Death in the Andamans M.M. Kaye has created the perfect blend of exotic setting and expertly crafted whodunit that mark her as one of our greatest literary talents.

©1960, 1985 M.M. Kaye (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Good Book. Less than stellar reader

Would you try another book from M. M. Kaye and/or Soneela Nankani?

Yes for M M Kaye,and No for Soneela Nankani

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It would have if I could of gotten past the reader. This book was not new to me. I have been a fan of M M Kaye's books for a long time and have read this on more than one occasion.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Soneela Nankani?

Davina Porter or
Kate Reading( good readers must not only have the voice but the acting chops.Oh my goodnes what a Davina Porter would have done with these books.)

Do you think Death in the Andamans needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Well, since M M Kaye died in 2002 I don't think that is going to happen,besides sequels are usually not very good. This book had a good ending and was complete.
If you had asked that of The Far Pavillians I would say it could have gone on forever. I would be very happy.I love M M Kaye and wished this book had gotten a better treatment.She deserves a well known and experienced reader.

Any additional comments?

The person or team choosing these readers is not very good.I hate to say this. I bought these immediately as they came out with such excitement. I didn't want to be negative.I love audible. Most of the books I have bought have been very good. The readers of Death in Berlin and Death in Cyprus were pretty good, especially Death in Cyprus.I will be watching out for the other two and be sure not to buy any thing they read.

Highly recommend

What about Soneela Nankani’s performance did you like?

This is an excellent narrator. The narrator is easy to understand and does a good job of voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to keep listening even when I ran out of time.

Great book and good reader

This is yet another of MM Kaye's great mysteries. As usual, the characters are interesting, the storyline has tension, humor, romance, and many twists and turns. And MM Kaye describes the islands so well that you can see them clearly in your mind's eye. And, Soneela Nankani is a darn good reader. At first, it threw me off that this book full of British people was being read in an American accent. But I soon realized that Soneela's reading is clear, her characterizations are very good, she has a fine sense of the internal drama of each character as they are speaking and thinking, and (unlike some readers) she actually knew how to pronounce the words (with a very few minor exceptions). One of my pet peeves is the reader who has the right accent, but who keeps stumbling over the proper pronunciation of the words. Soneela is a very good reader, so I got over the accent pretty quickly.

oldie but goodie

great story, but the narrator should have pre-read so she'd know the story. her intonation and emotion was off kilter a bit

Love the story...

I loved the story, but I felt like the reader did the male characters an injustice. They all sounded very wooden and not at all natural.

Perfect Murder Mystery

Would you consider the audio edition of Death in the Andamans to be better than the print version?

I wouldn't consider it to be better. I prefer reading the print version, but I enjoy the continence of being able to listen to the audio book during my commute.

What did you like best about this story?

This is a simple murder mystery, but I love M. M. Kaye's writing. I love the descriptions and characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't really have a favorite scene.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

Even though I know who did it, I still read this book over and over because I enjoy M. M. Kaye's writing so much.

Not her best

Not my favorite story of hers. Weak mystery and a bit drawn out. Once again the reader was poorly chosen for a M.M.Kaye book though not as bad as Death in Kashmir, where an Indian was chosen as the reader and it was not well performed. In this case, the reader was an American but all of the characters were British.

An awful choice of narrator ruins this book.

M.M. Kay's books are full of the exotic atmosphere of distant lands in the days of the
British Empire. It is hard to understand why Audible can not find a British narrator to read them. This book is poorly read by an American. Ms. Kaye's deserves better. Please Audible fix this.

Formulaic MM Kaye; mediocre mystery

Like all of Kaye’s “mystery” novels, this one follows a formula. Although partially easy to predict, several aspects of the outcome rely on information not provided to the readers throughout the book. I suspect this is one reason Kaye was never considered one of the better authors in this genre. Although the cast is solidly British living in a British bubble in an exotic locale, I must give her credit for at least trying to paint more of a backdrop. In most works we learn nothing of the locale (beyond the walls of the British bubble) but in this case she did spent significant time telling us about the Andamans.

A favorite novel not well-served by its narrator

This (along with Death in Kashmir, which I won't listen to because the sample is so very awful) is probably my favorite of M. M. Kaye's early "thrillers" set in various exotic locales. Unfortunately, the narrator does it no favors. All the female characters sound just alike; ditto all the male characters (these latter having a rather nasal quality as well), which makes for a confusing listening experience, even when one knows the story well, as I do.

Add to that several glaring mispronunciations, and you can see why I found it a disappointing treatment. Off the top of my head, I can remember flotsam (pronounced here as "FLOAT-sum") and pince-nez (which should be pronounced as "pahnz-NAY," not "pins-nezz"), both of which are easily found in any dictionary.

The worst, though, comes in the middle of the romantic denouement, when one character quotes a few lines of poetry: "He either fears his fate too much,/Or his deserts are small,/ That puts it not unto the touch/To win or lose it all." "Deserts" here should be pronounced "de-ZERTS" (as in getting one's "just deserts"), not "DEZZ-erts"! Even if one is unfamiliar with the usage, it ought to be obvious that the latter pronunciation completely wrecks the poetic meter--to say nothing of the romantic mood, coming where it does near the very end of the book!

It's a shame that both "Andamans" and "Kashmir" were given such disappointing treatments. The plot gets five stars; the narration, I'm being generous in giving three.