Narrated by William Kirby

Some of Mary Jo Putney’s books have been available in audio format for a number of years, but the author has recently begun self-publishing some of her back catalogue in audio format.

So far, she has released books one and two (or three, depending on which listing you read!) in her Fallen Angels series – Thunder and Roses and Dancing on the Wind, and the standalone book, The Bargain, which is a personal favourite in print. Each title has used a different, unknown narrator, and although I haven’t listened to Thunder and Roses, I have listened to the other two and find myself sadly unable to recommend either of them because the performances are very disappointing.

The story of Dancing on the Wind is an intriguing mix of espionage, romance and mystery, laced with a bit of the (IMO, rather silly) paranormal. The hero, Lucien Fairchild, Earl of Strathmore has, for a number of years, worked for British intelligence, and at the beginning of the story is attempting to infiltrate a group of men known as the “Hellions Club”, a society dedicated to the pursuit of debauchery of all kinds – because he believes that one member of their inner circle is a French spy.

While he is engaged in proving to the Hellions that he’s worthy of initiation into the group, Lucien comes into contact on several occasions with a mysterious young woman masquerading as, variously, a servant, a buxom barmaid, an actress and a courtesan. Not a man to be easily swayed by female charms, Lucien is nonetheless intrigued by the woman, and becomes more and more determined to find out who she is and what she’s up to. After several encounters, she realises that Lucien is nothing if not persistent, and eventually discloses something of the truth; that she is in fact the radical journalist L.J. Knight who has penned a number of reformist articles for London newspapers. She is also writing an exposé of the Hellions Club, following claims that they are far more depraved than the original Hellfire Club, and that they are involved in kidnap, torture and murder.

That, however, is not the whole story. Lady Katherine (Kit) Travers is an extremely determined young woman, who, for the last few months, been living a double life. Her identical twin sister, Kira (Kristine) – who is a celebrated comic actress – has disappeared, and Kit is desperate to find her. Reasoning that the best way to learn about Kira’s life is to actually live it, Kit spends her time either pretending to be Kira on stage, or in disguise, investigating her sister’s disappearance. She suspects that one of the members of the Hellion Club is responsible, and being unable to find anyone to take her concerns seriously, has taken the investigation into her own hands.

The story is quite complex, especially in the first half, when Lucien isn’t quite sure which of the two sisters he is pursuing or falling for; and there are some rather odd “interludes” which have a definite S&M bent – that seem at first to be dreams or memories of Kit’s – although as the story develops, it emerges that is not the case.

I wasn’t convinced by the slightly supernatural nature of the connection between the sisters. I know people often say that twins have more than a sixth sense when it comes to their sibling, but the psychic connection between Kat and Kira and their ability to experience each other’s dreams was a little too far-fetched for my taste.

I did, however, like both Kit and Lucien as characters. Kit is brave and clever, although her reluctance to become emotionally involved with Lucien does go on a little too long. Lucien is very much an alpha hero – strong, capable and protective, but not arrogant or controlling. He lost his family at a young age and seems to have been searching for a similarly close emotional connection for most of his life. Unlike so many heroes of historical romance, Lucien isn’t a man who cuts a swathe through the beds of the ladies of the ton – or of anywhere else – for precisely that reason; he is looking for a deeper connection and is (mostly) prepared to forego casual sex until he finds what he’s looking for.

Although a bit slow to start, the story is generally intriguing and while the identity of the villain isn’t hard to guess, the twists and turns come thick and fast, and the last part of the book is a bit of a rollercoaster of events!

Had I not already been familiar with the book I probably wouldn’t have made it to the end of the audiobook, because the narration conveys none of the excitement of the story and shows not the slightest smidgeon of emotional engagement with it.

William Kirby has an attractive speaking voice, and lends his rich bass-baritone to Lucien, but his performance overall lacks animation, and he makes almost no attempt to make this a performance rather than a reading. I noted several places where he completely fails to follow the textual directions, which makes complete nonsense of the text as a result. For example, the first time Lucien meets Kit, she is disguised as a servant and is described as having a “thick country accent”, which is nowhere to be heard. At another meeting, the text says she has a North Country accent. This is also absent. One of the secondary characters is American – I’d never have known it unless I’d heard it read out, because there is no accent whatsoever in that character’s speech. Or no – actually, that’s incorrect. Mr Kirby attempts one, but it’s terrible and not at all recognisable as an American accent. Other “stage directions” are similarly ignored. For instance, in an early scene, after Lucien has overcome two attackers in a London backstreet:

“In a way you did me a favor, Harry,” he panted. “I dislike coldblooded killing, but for self-defense, I feel no remorse at all.”

Lucien doesn’t pant or otherwise sound as though he’s exerted himself above ringing the bell for tea. Incidentally, Lucien on the page is dangerously sexy, but here he’s just dangerously dull. And Mr Kirby’s female voices are no better – Kit is sadly missing her spark, and most of her dialogue is performed in the same monotone, with no subtlety or nuance.

And as for the love scenes… In print, Lucien and Kit have great chemistry, but there is no suggestion of even the slightest iota of sexual tension between them in the audio. The love scenes are read mechanically, and I’m afraid Mr Kirby might as well have been reading the weather forecast.

I HATE having to write such a negative review of a story I like by an author who is, let’s face it, romance royalty. But this is twice now I’ve been let down by the audio version of a title by Ms Putney, and I’m going to be reluctant to try any more of them unless they’re performed by an established narrator.

Caz

Narration: D-

Book Content: B-

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: Minimal

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Mary Jo Putney

Dancing on the Wind was provided to AudioGals by the author for a review.