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Penance

the basis for the new TV drama PENANCE on Channel 5

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Penance

By: Kate O'Riordan
Narrated by: Lisa Coleman
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'You know I did a terrible thing. What you cannot know is that there exists an extreme irony, in that, but for one unforgivable sin - far more terrible things might have transpired.'

The lives of Rosalie Douglas and her teenage daughter, Maddie, are changed forever when they meet Jed, a beautiful, charismatic young man at Bereavement Counselling. Inexplicably and self-destructively, Maddie holds herself accountable for her brother's drowning accident in Thailand.

Jed moves into their lives and their home. Calming the tensions between mother and daughter. He understands the twisted wilderness of grief. Lover and confidante to a besotted Maddie, gentle surrogate son to a grateful Rosalie - on the surface their lives are transformed. But underneath a deadly and morally corrupt triangle is taking shape...

Rosalie commits an unspeakable act which forces her to unravel the truth behind the beautiful stranger in their midst. The truth behind the death of her son. And the true extent of just how far she's prepared to go - to save what remains of her family.©2015 Kate O'Riordan Crime Fiction Mystery Fiction Grief Crime Suspense
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The presentation of this novel was excellent. The voice was easy to listen to, with a soft tone, and the accent used for Jed was good. The story is of a family devastated by the death of their son and the subsequent, slowly evolving manipulation of them by Jed carefully brings us and the mother to the realisation and proof of Jed's involvement in the death. The novel is well paced, well constructed, believable, and leaves you thinking about the theory of nature versus nurture. It is a really good listen.

Well constructed story, beautifully read

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I think I have probably listened to almost all of Kate O'Riordans books on Audible now and this is probably my least favourite. I wasn't convinced by the characters and although the storyline was engaging I wouldn't recommend it. I would start with one of her other books, The Girll in the Photograph is excellent as is The Shadow Hour.

Quite enjoyable but wouldn't recommend

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Story was good , a bit sad. Slow to start with but gripping once I got into it.

Good story , good narrator

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I found the story really slow to start and as a result kept loosing interest and kept having to start again.

The story only really gets exciting in the last few chapters. Long and drawn out up until then.

Not Amazing but have listened to worse

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