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Tom Sawyer, Detective Audiobook
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(3.33) - 21 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A return trip down the Mississippi River to Uncle Silas’ farm is just the beginning of a yarn that includes Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, a diamond heist, a confidence man, twins, a murder, and enough twists and turns to satisfy an avid mystery fan. A sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Tom Sawyer Abroad, this is Mark Twain’s satirical take on the immensely popular detective novels of the time. As Tom attempts to solve a mysterious murder, Mark Twain examines the social customs, legal system, and family expectations of the time as only he could. Once a staple of juvenile fiction, then banned as politically incorrect, Twain’s forgotten classic brings to life its time and place.
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"This was pure delight, Mark Twain style. It had been so long since I read Twain that I forgot how much plain fun his writing is. Well worth the short time it takes to read this delightful story. (It's not a novel, just a short story.)"
— Linore (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“[Twain’s] service as delightful entertainment to generation of American youngsters is equaled only by his influence on such twentieth-century admirers as Gertrude Stein, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway.”
— Masterpieces of World Literature on Mark Twain -
“A careful and conscious artist, Twain became a master of the technical devices of exaggeration, irreverence, and deadpan seriousness; sensitive to the sound of language, he introduced colloquial speech into American fiction.”
— Reader’s Encyclopedia on Mark Twain -
“[Mark Twain’s] best work is not only classic humorous writing but a graphic picture of the nineteenth-century American scene.”
— Chambers Biographical Dictionary on Mark Twain -
“Twain’s…novels are not politically correct. They do, however, reflect the time in which they were written, the nineteenth century, and give humorous asides about all manner of topics.”
— SoundCommentary.com on Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer, Detective Listener Reviews
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" Another one of the lost Tom Sawyer books. This one is better than the other, Tom Sawyer Abroad, though only slightly. This one takes place in familiar settings to the first two books which helps makes it feel more like a genuine Tom Sawyer tale. This book has some great moments showing off the cleverness of Tom, especially the ending. Huck Finn is basically just the narrator this time and doesn't add much to the story. I wish that Twain has fleshed out the story because the idea of Tom as a detective and then later a lawyer is a great one. As a fan of Twain's it was a fun (and short) read but it is easy to see why it isn't remembered as fondly as his other books. "
— Peter, 2/6/2014 -
" Kind of like the Ernest Scared Stupid of American lit. You know, if Ernest had ever been an icon of American boyhood, exemplar of imagination and hijinks, and my childhood hero when he went to camp. "
— Karsten, 1/22/2014 -
" Not one of Twain's most interesting books. Kind of dry reading. Only interesting during the climax and ending of the story. "
— Eric, 1/21/2014 -
" Not much depth or social commentary. Light, fun reading for a summer afternoon. Warning: as in other Twain books, several instances of the N-word. "
— Kathy, 12/17/2013 -
" As I enjoyed "Tom Sawyer," and really enjoyed "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," which I considered quite a subversive book (which is a big plus for me), I thought this would provide me double enjoyment -- detective fiction and revisiting with Tom and Huck. Well, it wasn't much of a mystery, and though it is narrated by Huck, Huck seems less authentic than in his own book, and is even somewhat citified -- and not dressed as shabbily as elsewhere. Even in "Tom Sawyer," he is characterized as something of a wild child, untamed by the civilizing effects of the town. Here, the town seems to have taken full hold of Huck here. "
— Bernard, 12/15/2013 -
" This is more of a courtroom drama than a detective book. Still it was fun and a mystery was solved. "
— Peter, 11/29/2013 -
" Gotta love Tom and Huck! "
— Kailey, 11/22/2013 -
" Eh, 3.5 stars. Prefer the other Tom and Huck books to this one. Definitely worth reading though. "
— Megan, 10/10/2013 -
" Funny. You can't tell when you're about to finish it. "
— Kar, 9/6/2013 -
" i am retreading Twain this summer. he is a great one in the early days of the detective novel. "
— Michaelwilliam, 9/4/2013 -
" At least it's short. I probably would have thought this was OK if it didn't purport to be in Huck Finn's voice. As an ordinary short story, without Huck and Tom, it would be at least mildly diverting. But as a mash-up, it didn't work for me at all. But like I said, it's short. "
— Duffy, 8/1/2013 -
" Again a fun extension of the adventures of Tom, Huck and Jim. It is fun to see the boys ramble on "
— Rob, 7/27/2013 -
" Not as nice as the original TS but a good book. "
— Vickie, 7/22/2013 -
" Please guys, if you want to understand boys naughtiness from another prespective just read the series... It's amazing... "
— Andy, 4/23/2013 -
" Sometimes it takes reading the classics - to get a perspective of the times and styles of writing. Still a good read. "
— Thomas, 2/21/2013 -
" Meh. My least fave of this series. But these boys are still pretty funny. Not a re-reader for me, but if there were another in the series, I'd read it. "
— Amanda, 1/6/2012 -
" This was my favorite of all the Tom Sawyer books. That's not to say that it is one of my favorite books, just that it was better than the other three. Tom's speech in the court-house was brilliant! "
— Laura, 1/4/2012 -
" a very slight book, but cute and kind of fun. "
— Charles, 12/14/2011 -
" Not as bad as Tom Sawyer Abroad, but no where near as great as the 1st two. It felt rushed and not thought out well. I did enjoy Tom's discovery of the murderers at the end though. "
— Shawn, 6/29/2011 -
" Bit of enjoyable fluff with a far-out plot, really, sort of like Twain set out to write a fanfic featuring his own characters. As a kid I found it reasonably entertaining, but I don't know if it would hold my interest as an adult. "
— Jim, 5/22/2011
About Mark Twain
Mark Twain, pseudonym of Samuel L. Clemens (1835–1910), was born in Florida, Missouri, and grew up in Hannibal on the west bank of the Mississippi River. He attended school briefly and then at age thirteen became a full-time apprentice to a local printer. When his older brother Orion established the Hannibal Journal, Samuel became a compositor for that paper and then, for a time, an itinerant printer. With a commission to write comic travel letters, he traveled down the Mississippi. Smitten with the riverboat life, he signed on as an apprentice to a steamboat pilot. After 1859, he became a licensed pilot, but two years later the Civil War put an end to the steam-boat traffic.
In 1861, he and his brother traveled to the Nevada Territory where Samuel became a writer for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, and there, on February 3, 1863, he signed a humorous account with the pseudonym Mark Twain. The name was a river man’s term for water “two fathoms deep” and thus just barely safe for navigation.
In 1870 Twain married and moved with his wife to Hartford, Connecticut. He became a highly successful lecturer in the United States and England, and he continued to write.
About Grover Gardner
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.