Devil's Breath
A Professor Eustacia Rose Mystery, Book 1
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Devil's Breath
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Narrated by:
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Rachel Capell
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By:
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Jill Johnson
About this listen
*** A BBC2 BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK ***
'A BLOOMING GOOD READ' - THE TIMES
'A MUST FOR LOVERS OF CRIME FICTION THAT'S JUST A BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE NORM' - HEAT magazine
'[THIS IS LIKE] SHERLOCK HOLMES MEETS GARDNER'S QUESTION TIME' - NISH KUMAR on BBC2's Between the Covers
'WITH EUSTACIA ROSE, JILL HAS CREATED AN UTTERLY UNIQUE CHARACTER AND HAS ENSURED THAT THE DETECTIVE GENRE TURNS A NEW LEAF. MYSTERY, MURDER, AND MULCH. WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE.' - ADIL RAY OBE
I've always been better with plants than people . . .
Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology who lives alone in London with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. She tends to her garden with meticulous care. Her life is quiet. Her schedule never changes. Until the day she hears a scream and the temptation to investigate proves irresistible.
Through her telescope, Professor Rose is drawn into the life of an extraordinarily beautiful neighbour, Simone, and nicknames the men who visit her after poisonous plants according to the toxic effect they have on Simone. But who are these four men? And why does Eustacia Rose recognise one of them?
Just as she preserves her secret garden, she feels inexplicably compelled to protect her neighbour, but Eustacia soon finds herself entangled in a far more complicated web than she could ever have imagined. When her precious garden is vandalised and someone close to Simone is murdered with a toxin derived from a rare poisonous plant, Eustacia becomes implicated in the crime.
After all, no one knows toxic plants like she does . . .
'FASCINATING AND EERILY COMPELLING.' JESSICA FELLOWES, New York Times bestselling author of The Mitford Murders series
'AN INTOXICATING TALE, DEVIL'S BREATH MIGHT TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY.' SALENA GODDEN, author of Mrs Death Misses Death
'Professor Eustacia Rose, genius botanical toxicologist, eccentric loner, instinctive detective and all-round mystery - a splendid creation.' M. J. CARTER, author of the Blake and Avery Mystery novels
'A creeper vine of intrigue and suspense, with a most unlikely and engaging star detective at its heart.' ESTHER FREUD, author of I Couldn't Love You More
'A thrilling story . . . Jill Johnson writes masterfully.' JJ BOLA, author of The Selfless Act of Breathing
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Jill Johnson (P)2023 Bonnier Books UKListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Devil's Breath
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-01-24
Very different subject (botany) than is normally found in this type of novel
I loved the protaganist and the way the writer made her thoughts and reasoning very understandable. The narrator was also excellent.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Catherine Gordon
- 16-12-23
Unusual story
Seeing the world through different eyes - eustasia rose - such an interesting character combined with a who donnit plot
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nicola
- 26-05-24
Great
Interesting theme and characters and a good plot. Looking forward to the next in series.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-04-24
Maybe should have read this book…
I was looking forward to this mystery crime story for it’s specialist botanical content as well the development of the neurodiverse main character. The story was interesting but my enjoyment and connection was hindered by the narration which came across monotonous and synthetic at times. So much so that I had to reassure myself that it wasn’t an AI I was listening to.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- C Frost
- 17-05-24
Promising start to a quirky series (No Spoilers)
I love plants, and I love mystery books, so the beautiful illustration on the cover piqued my interest immediately. The setting of the protagonist’s rooftop poisonous plant greenhouse is very atmospheric, and she is a very unique character. She probably has Asperger’s, not what I was expecting, she really grows on you even though she has strange mannerisms. The story was a bit clunky at times, particularly the police procedures seemed like they were lifted from an episode of Life On Mars or The Bill, they were quite outdated. But I didn’t guess the twists and turns, so I’m excited to see where this series goes next
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 11-03-24
fascinating story, kept its mystery
I loved this story, it's nerdy facts and it's quirky (neuro divergent maybe?) awkward main character. it's a gentle yet twisty listen and I grew quite attached to the Professor, which was surprising lol.
I found the performance really hard at first, almost emotionless and like an AI but as the story picked up this changed. I guess in some ways looking back that suits the story but I did almost give up as it was so hard to follow.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charlotte Aursand Weme
- 20-05-24
All the poisons!
I'm a sucker for anything plants, especially poisonous ones so I had to pick this up and I don't regret it for a second. It was amazing! Loved it!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- @sarah_pings_witherby
- 04-07-24
Robotic performance makes for sluggish progress
I read this first in book form, didn't really engage with the main character or plot, but thought I'd give it a second chance on Audible, as the description and reviews were really pointing to me loving it. I went from mild dislike of the reading book to strong hate for the listening book. The reader had such strange rhythm and cadence I spent the first hour convinced I was listening to an AI generated book.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-06-24
totally boring
I've been an avid Audible listener fir decades and I've never jumped out of a story mid way through.
The of tone of narrator was sleep inducing. I listened for 6 chapters and the story hadn't developed at all.
Waste of my credit used.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- lisettewilson
- 23-05-24
terrible narration
Terrible impersonations of accents that were unpleasant and uncomfortable to listen to. Story was ridiculous, one minute main character is an intelligent, well educated professional next minute she has never heard of social media like she is a 5 year old who lived under a rock. Flawed, inconsistent and unbelievable, disappointed!
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