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Borrower of the Night: The First Vicky Bliss Mystery Audiobook
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Publisher Description
It began as a game, a treasure hunt in an old German castle. For the beautiful and brilliant Vicky Bliss, it was also a challenge, a chance to bring an arrogant young man down a notch or two. And all things considered, it would have been no contest.
The prize was a centuries-old shrine carved by Tilman Riemenschneider, probably Germany's greatest master of the late Gothic period. The place was the forbidding Schloss Drachenstein, where the stones were stained with ancient blood and the air reeked of evil.
The problem was that someone was targeted, and the game was soon being played in deadly earnest.Vicky Bliss must face two equally perilous possibilities. Either a powerful supernatural evil inhabits this place—or someone frighteningly real is willing to kill for what Vicky is determined to find.
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"Drawn to a menacing citadel by the hopes of rediscovering a last masterpiece carved by a dying medieval wunderkind, vicky is faced with a predatory counterpart also seeking the missing masterpiece and then suddenly either a great evil embodied in the castle or born of someone determined to stop at nothing. I love the Vicky Bliss series almost more than the Amelia Peabody series, because in the former, E. Peters has her tongue even more firmly in her cheek and allow the outrageous to slip from her pen. She lets herself go more with Vicky and with Amelia. And as for that munchkin, Vicky's boss, well, who could not love him even or especially as he jinxes things and falls on his ego time after time? This is probably a woman's series, but if so, it's too bad, because the guys are missing a lot of fun!"
— Lynne-marie (4 out of 5 stars)
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“An ancient European castle…secret passages…a mystery several hundred years old…and danger make this Elizabeth Peters’ best book!”
— San Francisco Examiner -
“O’Malley nimbly conveys the determination, loquaciousness, and orotundities of the extraordinary heroine.”
— Booklist -
“Very highly recommended for any mystery buff…A superbly written ‘Vicky Bliss’ tale and splendidly performed in this unabridged audiobook edition by the narrative talents of Susan O’Malley.”
— Reviewer’s Bookwatch
Borrower of the Night Listener Reviews
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" I thought the first three pages and last three pages of this book were hilarious. The dialogue was great. The actual mystery was okay. It took a while to get into it, but the end when everything unravels was interesting and I wanted to know who was behind it and how they were going to get out of their predicament. I was interested enough to read the next Vicky Bliss book. "
— Catherine, 2/11/2014 -
" Elizabeth Peters is an icon in the world of cozy mystery novels, so every 5 years or so I try another of her books. Somehow I've never been quite able to appreciate them. I find them competent but not engaging. Oh well. "
— Diane, 12/31/2013 -
" I really like this author. The Vicky Bliss character is different than Amelia Peabody, but still has some of the same feistiness that I love. "
— Laurel, 12/30/2013 -
" Perhaps a bit dated, but the mystery and suspense is decent and I am a sucker for the art history aspect of this series. Unlikely and sometimes annoyingly self-deprecating heroine- how likely is a blonde bombshell medievalist? "
— Patty, 12/27/2013 -
" I loved the Vicky Bliss series and definately recommend them to anyone who likes action, mystery, and romance! "
— Caitlin, 12/17/2013 -
" I really like this author! "
— Angela, 12/16/2013 -
" excellent novel with vicki bliss "
— Cyril, 12/13/2013 -
" My favorite series by this author. "
— Sarah, 11/9/2013 -
" If you love Agatha Christie, you will probably love this too. I cannot but feel closeness to Vicky Bliss, with her saucy ideas and robust passion for life. No nonsense woman, like Peters love them to create, mixed in a haunted castle whodunit, where the mystery lies in present and past. "
— Mailis, 10/30/2013 -
" Think mystery theatre dinner, but not as much fun. The book was ok, but never gripped me into wanting to read more. It had an overall pretencious feel to it. I won't be seeking out the rest of the series to read unless it's the last thing available. "
— Rachel, 10/27/2013 -
" I love a good mystery, and this is a start to a great series with Vicki Bliss as the main character. "
— Rick, 10/27/2013 -
" The first of the Vicky Bliss series. Our hero, however, does not show up until later.... "
— Lucy, 10/19/2013 -
" Not romantic enough for me, compared to Peters' others. ;) "
— Lisa, 10/12/2013 -
" A really early work of Peters. Not my favorite character. I prefer Amelia Peabody to Vicky Bliss. "
— Michelle, 12/1/2012 -
" I am biased about this book. It wasn't the best book I have ever read, but it was a fun mystery about one of my favorite places. Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. The book was written in the 70's, so some of the terms are outdated. But it makes me feel like I am there and I love that! "
— Anne, 8/10/2012 -
" The first Vicky Bliss mystery written in 1973. Schmidt's character is not fully outline, but Vicky's pretty much is. She and another academic, Tony, are off to Germany to find the last creation of master wood carver. The story only kept my interest because I like Bliss from other novels. "
— Susan, 4/10/2012 -
" Peabody still my favorite but since I have read all of those at least twice, these are fun. "
— Shylee, 10/11/2011 -
" Can you say Scoobie-Doo- Zoinks! "
— Heidi, 9/18/2011 -
" I adore the Vicky Bliss books. I wish there were more. "
— Malle, 8/17/2011 -
" Just plain fun. And you'll actually learn a lot (as you always do with her novels) about history - this time it's German/medieval. :) "
— Trude, 4/11/2011 -
" Interesting premise, truly terrible characters. I was rooting for everyone to die at the end. "
— Lindsay, 2/11/2011 -
" If you love Agatha Christie, you will probably love this too. I cannot but feel closeness to Vicky Bliss, with her saucy ideas and robust passion for life. No nonsense woman, like Peters love them to create, mixed in a haunted castle whodunit, where the mystery lies in present and past. "
— Mailis, 1/27/2011 -
" As much as I enjoy the Amelia Peabody series, I thought this one was very slow and plodding. It does not inspire me to try the next one in the series. "
— Cynthiaj, 1/26/2011 -
" Read the book predicable <br/> <br/> "
— Gabe, 12/29/2010 -
" Solidly fun reads that are perfect for curl-up on the couch with tea fall reading. "
— Nicole, 10/25/2010 -
" It isn't that it was a bad book and the plot was good. I didn't find Vicky as likable as the Emersons. "
— Tamara, 8/17/2010 -
" I'm a big fan of the Amelia Peabody books, so I tried this one, but I just had a really hard time getting through most of it. "
— Jen, 7/18/2010 -
" Decent mystery, not as good as the Amelia Peabody series. I have heard this is the worst in the Vicky Bliss series, so I'll give another one a shot before abandoning. "
— Victoria, 6/14/2010 -
" Re-reading, not quite as interesting as I'd remembered. Still, an interesting and clever mystery. "
— Lee, 5/29/2010 -
" Not my favourite in the Bliss series but reread it so that I can start the John Smyth and Vicki Bliss ones. Those are great. "
— Rosa, 5/19/2010 -
" Pretty fun - on to the rest of the series! "
— Simba, 4/30/2010
About Elizabeth Peters
Elizabeth Peters (1927–2013) was a pen name of Barbara Mertz, who earned her PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago’s famed Oriental Institute. Over the course of her fifty-year career she wrote more than seventy mystery and suspense novels and three nonfiction books on Egypt, of which many were New York Times bestsellers. She was the recipient of numerous writing awards, including grandmaster and lifetime achievement awards from the Mystery Writers of America, Malice Domestic, and Bouchercon. In 2012 she was given the first Amelia Peabody Award, created in her honor and named after her major fictional character, at the Malice Domestic convention. She also wrote books under the names Barbara Mertz and Barbara Michaels.
About Susan O’Malley
Susan O’Malley (a.k.a. Bernadette Dunne) is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.