The Riddle of the Frozen Flame


Read by Ruth Golding

(4.5 stars; 188 reviews)

Another full-length mystery story featuring Hamilton Cleek, whom we met first in Cleek: The Man of the Forty Faces. This time, Cleek investigates the sinister disappearance of people and the mysterious appearance of flames at night in the desolate Fens, and his friend Superintendent Narkom of Scotland Yard tries to solve some tricky cases of bank robberies in London.

While not quite up to the standard we have come to expect from previous Cleek adventures, it is still quite a jolly romp, and Cleek's cockney sidekick Dollops is always good fun. (Introduction by Ruth Golding) (8 hr 6 min)

Chapters

01 - The Law 16:24 Read by Ruth Golding
02 - The Frozen Flames 17:40 Read by Ruth Golding
03 - Sunshine and Shadow 13:21 Read by Ruth Golding
04 - An Evil Genius 14:16 Read by Ruth Golding
05 - The Spectre at the Feast 21:57 Read by Ruth Golding
06 - A Shot in the Dark 13:17 Read by Ruth Golding
07 - The Watcher in the Shadow 14:47 Read by Ruth Golding
08 - The Victim 13:19 Read by Ruth Golding
09 - The Second Victim 13:08 Read by Ruth Golding
10 - -- And the Lady 11:19 Read by Ruth Golding
11 - The Secret of the Flames 20:25 Read by Ruth Golding
12 - 'As a Thief in the Night --' 12:49 Read by Ruth Golding
13 - A Gruesome Discovery 22:05 Read by Ruth Golding
14 - The Spin of the Wheel 14:26 Read by Ruth Golding
15 - A Startling Disclosure 14:14 Read by Ruth Golding
16 - Trapped! 18:00 Read by Ruth Golding
17 - In the Cell 15:51 Read by Ruth Golding
18 - Possible Excitement 18:43 Read by Ruth Golding
19 - What Took Place at 'The Pig and Whistle' 21:20 Read by Ruth Golding
20 - At the Inquest 27:28 Read by Ruth Golding
21 - Questions -- and Answers 18:06 Read by Ruth Golding
22 - A New Departure 18:49 Read by Ruth Golding
23 - Prisoners 16:35 Read by Ruth Golding
24 - In the Dark 25:02 Read by Ruth Golding
25 - The Web of Circumstance 15:42 Read by Ruth Golding
26 - Justice and Justification 27:09 Read by Ruth Golding
27 - The Solving of the Riddle 26:01 Read by Ruth Golding
28 - 'Toward Morning...' 4:36 Read by Ruth Golding

Reviews

Highly melodramatic . . .


(3 stars)

Ruth Golding delivers another excellent reading but unfortunately, the book itself is ho hum. I liked Cleek: The Man of the Forty Faces. It's an original premise and Cleek makes an engaging hero/detective, but the writing on this sequel is well below that standard. Cleek is working through a complex web of mystery and deception to save an innocent man charged with capital murder - but there are many loose ends that I felt more frustration with the story telling than I felt sympathy or fear for the innocent man. (Did Mary and Thomas forget that they had the doctor give the young Lord a sleeping draught the night of the supposed murder?) Unfortunately, with no believable tension in the plot, Cleek's unveiling of the web of crime was ho hum. Still - I listed to the whole thing just to hear what Ruth did with the story. She is an excellent dramatic reader and kept me coming back for more.

I really liked this story


(5 stars)

True, it's not as good as the first Cleek, but I thought it was good still. Flames appear over the swampy moore, but if anyone dares to investigate, they disappear. This has been going on for years. When the arch rival of Nigel goes missing, he hires Cleek to find out what happened. Cleek investigates, but finds evidence pointing to Nigel as the killer. Nigel is arrested and charged with murder. But Cleek is still on the job because he doesn't believe that Nigel is the killer, despite what the evidence says. Ruth is another excellent reader, she is very expressive and easy to understand. Thanks Ruth!

I Love These Cleek Books!


(5 stars)

I cannot get enough of these characters! Hamilton Cleek, Superintendent Narkom, Elsa Lawn and Dollops (who is my favorite) are fantastic characters! Additionally, the Reader, Ruth Golding, is absolutely one of the best Readers on Librivox! The various voices she so masterfully employed for each and every character are wonderful; enabled me to visualize each character in every story in every book! Thanks again to Librivox for providing these tales for the world to enjoy! And an ever grateful curtsy and Thank You to the wonderful Reader, Ruth Golding! Please enjoy this book! It is so rare to make such a new discovery.

Another Disappointment


(2 stars)

Sorry Folks, this is just my opinion, so, here it is; Writing with Mary, was bad for this Author. Not sure if it was his wife, however, both books authored by these two, are not nearly as readable as the books where Thomas writes alone.

love this mystery! !


(4 stars)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Definitely recommend it to all you MYSTERY ADDICTS! We need more from these two authors. Thank you to the narrator. What a wonderful job she does to add reality to this story.

Good old-fashioned story


(5 stars)

I like these Cleek stories. They carry on at a rattling pace. The baddies get their just desserts while the goodies triumph after enough ups and downs as a game of Snakes and Ladders! Wish more were available.

CLEEK AT WORK


(5 stars)

It was nice to see Cleek as he solved the case. The short stories do not give enough of his methods, just his success. It is a shame that we do not have more of these stories.

Excellent reading. Mediocre story.


(3 stars)

An excellent reading, by Ruth, as always. Unfortunately, the mediocre (actually, rather less than) story does not do justice to the superb characters created in previous books.