Anne Perry

The Murder of the Century

By: Peter Graham

Narrated by: Eric Brooks

The spellbinding true story of Anne Perry, her friend Pauline Parker, and the brutal crime they committed in the name of friendship.

On June 22, 1954, teenage friends Juliet Hulme - better known as best-selling mystery writer Anne Perry - and Pauline Parker went for a walk in a New Zealand park with Pauline’s mother, Honora. Half an hour later, the girls returned alone, claiming that Pauline’s mother had had an accident. But when Honora Parker was found in a pool of blood with the brick used to bludgeon her to death close at hand, Juliet and Pauline were quickly arrested, and later confessed to the killing. Their motive? A plan to escape to the United States to become writers, and Honora’s determination to keep them apart. Their incredible story made shocking headlines around the world and would provide the subject for Peter Jackson’s Academy Award-nominated film, Heavenly Creatures.

A sensational trial followed, with speculations about the nature of the girls’ relationship and possible insanity playing a key role. Among other things, Parker and Hulme were suspected of lesbianism, which was widely considered to be a mental illness at the time. This mesmerizing book offers a brilliant account of the crime and ensuing trial and shares dramatic revelations about the fates of the young women after their release from prison. With penetrating insight, this thorough analysis applies modern psychology to analyze the shocking murder that remains one of the most interesting cases of all time.

©2013 Peter Graham (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

An extraordinary story in every way

Of the 100 or so true crime stories I've listened to, this is definitely in the top 10. The characters are unforgettable and intriguing observations mark every page. Narrator was fine once I speeded him up by 30%. Though I had seen the film Heavenly Creatures, this book held my interest throughout.

Worst reader ever for very good book

The reader is so shockingly robotic and slow I wondered whether it was a computer generated voice! Play it at least at 1.3x speed for it to sound remotely normal.

Ruined by the narrator

Would you try another book from Peter Graham and/or Eric Brooks?

No.

Would you recommend Anne Perry to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend that they read the print book and skip this audio version.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His reading is flat, labored and sometimes halting, without any emotion. And he hisses the final "s" on plurals and possessives. Very unpleasant to listen to.

Do you think Anne Perry needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I would like to learn more about her life after her release from prison and before she began publishing, but those years are private and should be kept that way if Ms. Perry doesn't want to talk about her life.

Any additional comments?

This book contains only the information that came out at the time of the trial and during the imprisonment of the two girls. Neither of them contributed in any way to the book. As far as I could tell, no one involved was interviewed.

hard to listen to

The narrator reads as though he has never read aloud. It is very hard to listen to

Deserved a better reader

This seems to be a well researched and fair book about the murder of Honora Parker and the people surrounding the case, including the murderers, their families, lawyers, press, etc. Unfortunately, it is narrated by someone who speaks in a halting and uninflected style. Sometimes I wondered if he understood what he was reading. I listened to the end because I was interested in the topic. (It also helps to increase the speed to 1.2 or 1.3.)

Messed up girls

it isn't mentioned here but I thought that I had read that Anne Perry was the girlfriend of Patricia Cornwall

Strange story

I found the story to really drag on. I felt there was more about fantasy stories the girls created than the actual story. Very confusing.
The narrator sounded like a robot. He. Spoke. As. If. There. Was. A. Period. After. Every. Word.
Coincidentally, I started listening the same day Anne Perry died. 😳 April 2023.
Good story made boring.

WORST NARRATOR EVER

great book, but who's the sniveling reader who is doing just that-reading out loud, but not in the way that a narrator should, again with varying voices for separate characters, and without sounding like a 9 year old reading our loud to his classmates in monotonous yet still haltingly. great book, still, if you can get past the narration.

Good Story, Poor performance

While the story contains details of the story I have never seen in print, it spends too much time on characters secondary to the story. The performance is subpar. The reader pauses in awkward places and has a rather monotonous delivery. It was difficult to listen to the story for stretches of time due to the poor vocal quality.

Impressive research, great story, worth the effort

Would you listen to Anne Perry again? Why?

I am going to listen to this again. The narrator did take some getting used to at first -- I seriously thought about returning this audiobook at first, but the story was so captivating that I changed my mind. After the first hour or so, the narration didn't bother me at all. I wanted to get the audiobook because I saw Heavenly Creatures a long time ago and the story stayed with me. I have read one or two of Anne Perry's books -- before learning about her past -- and was baffled by their popularity. At least now I understand how her writing got to be so insufferable.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Anne Perry?

There were quite a few. I enjoyed the psychological theories and speculations about the two girls, but what will stay with me is the description of the life that Hilary has made for herself.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

There were some rather odd pauses, as if he had run out of breath in the middle of a sentence, or mistaken a comma for a period. He also struggled with the pronunciation of some names and seemed to be sounding them out. (It was better than mispronouncing them, though.)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

None particularly --- none of the main characters in this book are very likeable. Pauline, Juliet, and their parents aren't people I would have cared to spend an evening with. Hilary Nathan, however, does still seem to be punishing herself for what she did, unlike Anne Perry who seems to have shrugged it off. Doesn't seem fair.

Any additional comments?

I love good history, and long, complicated true stories with lots of character and detail. This this book fits the bill on both counts. By the time that I had finished listening, I had learned even more than I wanted or needed to know about this case. I am going to listen to it again and have recommended it to my true-crime loving friends and to history buffs. Whoever changed the title to Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century ought to be fired. The original title made much more sense than the new one, which is both crass and misleading.