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The Spies of Hartlake Hall

Cluedo meets Agatha Christie in this Immersive WW1 Espionage Thriller

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The Spies of Hartlake Hall

By: R. L. Graham
Narrated by: Carl Prekopp
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About this listen

She knelt beside the body and touched the man’s neck just in case there might still be a pulse. As she expected, there was none; the waxy face and blank eyes had already told their own story . . .

From the author of Death on the Lusitania, The Spies of Hartlake Hall by R. L. Graham is a gripping and evocative historical crime novel set in the closing stages of the First World War.


London, 1917. When a man’s body is found deep inside Room 40, a highly secretive organization within the Admiralty, intelligence agent Patrick Gallagher is brought in to investigate. The man has no identification and was discovered in a room locked from the inside with no other apparent exit. Moreover, found in his pocket is a highly confidential telegram which would be political dynamite if it were to fall into the wrong hands.

Few know about the death and, to avoid raising further suspicion, Gallagher invites those involved to his family’s home at Hartlake Hall for questioning. But they are not the only guests at the stately hall; members of a shooting party are also staying for the weekend. Over the course of three days, further bodies pile up as a ruthless killer continues to pull the strings from the shadows. As WWI rages on in Europe, many of the guests have secrets to hide, and Gallagher must move quickly in order to expose a deadly spy among them . . .

Praise for Death on the Lusitania:

‘An instant classic’ – Daily Mail

‘Immersive, gripping’ – Historical Novel Society

‘Perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers’ – Philip Gray, author of Two Storm Wood

20th Century Crime Thrillers Historical Historical Fiction Mystery Thriller & Suspense World War I Espionage

Critic reviews

This outstanding novel is an instant classic (Daily Mail on Death on the Lusitania)
What's not to love about a fast-paced, richly detailed crime thriller set on the doomed RMS Lusitania? The rich supporting cast, many of whom are suspects, means that this book is unputdownable. A real page-turner! (Ben Kane, Sunday Times bestselling author, on Death on the Lusitania)
An immersive, gripping book, a classic locked-room mystery (Historical Novel Society on Death on the Lusitania)
Set on a doomed ocean liner, this engaging and well-researched mystery is perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers (Philip Gray, author of Two Storm Wood, The Times Thriller of the Year on Death on the Lusitania)
Masterfully weaves historical detail with an enthralling locked-room mystery. Impeccably researched, the story is not just a great crime tale with a compelling central character in Patrick Gallagher, but a haunting imagining of the last hours of the Lusitania (Chris Lloyd, author of Paris Requiem, the Winner of the HWA Gold Crown for Best Historical Fiction on Death on the Lusitania)
All stars
Most relevant
Carl Prekopp is the narrator of this excellent book. The story itself is top class but the narrator makes it seem like a full cast presentation. So many books have been ruined by sub par narration this stands out

Narrator a genius

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Nice second instalment to
Patrick Gallagher’s story of wartime
espionage combined with a (more or less) closed house mystery.
This needed much more editing though. In the middle part there are many instances where characters repeat to each other the same thing over and over again, do a lot recapping and it generally does not move much. Some of the antagonists are too caricature to be taken seriously.

Good book in need of more editing

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I enjoyed Death on the Lusitania & looked forward to this 2nd book in the series. The story in itself is really interesting, I just feel it really needed further editing & character culling. It was a frustrating listen at times & felt it could have easily been at least an hour shorter, if not more. Plus, there were just far too many characters to keep track of (yes, there is a character list at the beginning of the book, but that is of little to no use in an audio book, when you can't just quickly flick back to the front couple of pages to get a quick reminder of who's who...) There are too many double bluffs, red herrings, double agents & just too many cooks stirring the pot at any given time to make this an enjoyable story & at one point, still with 3+ run time left, I described the plot to my husband a little like the cast of Allo Allo running around trying to discover the whereabouts of that incredibly valuable Van Clomp painting (if you know, you know!) *IF* the cast were playing it straight. Argh. Frustrating, because the story at the core of the book is really engaging!! And, when you add on the that the amount of callbacks there were to the sinking of the Lusitania in the first book, it just spoilt it for me. Call backs to previous stories are hugely common but the amount of time it was mentioned in The Spies of Hardlake Hall, it felt to me as if a number of boosts to the word cound were needed, maybe?! Sad that this book missed the mark for me but will hope for a stronger offering with book 3. The performance was really strong though

I think this book needed more work, prior to release.

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An excellent sequel to Death on the Lusitania and very well read, of course, by Carl Prekopp. Worth reading in order of publication.

Well Worth the Wait

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another fab book following on from the previous patrick gallagher novel. loved all the geographical nods, as am familiar with the area. historical reference is spot on and am always learning more. loved it and have recommended to all my friends

historical detail and fast pace

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