The Exploits Of Elaine


Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)

(3.8 stars; 31 reviews)

The Exploits of Elaine It tells the story of a young woman named Elaine who, with the help of a detective, tries to find the man, known only as "The Clutching Hand", who murdered her father. (Wikipedia) (9 hr 26 min)

Chapters

The Clutching Hand 32:18 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Twilight Sleep 38:13 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Vanishing Jewels 39:23 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Frozen Safe 38:30 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Poisoned Room 42:47 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Vampire 39:01 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Double Trap 34:23 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Hidden Voice 42:09 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Death Ray 39:58 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Life Current 40:54 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Hour Of Three 44:12 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Blood Crystals 47:58 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Devil Worshippers 42:43 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
The Reckoning 43:50 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)

Reviews


(4.5 stars)

This has much more action than mystery. Normally, I don't like that but did here. There's a criminal mastermind killing people called the Clenched Fist. Elaine's father finds out where this person can be found & gets killed before telling anyone. Elaine is determined to find out who did it & gets Craig Kennedy (a professor) & Walter Jameson (a reporter) to help. As a result, someone tries to kill her in most chapters & tries to kill Craig in others. Elaine is consistently terrorized. You'd think that would make her stay inside & not trust anyone or anything except Craig! I loved hearing about new forensic machines & processes of this time period. When written in 1st person it's done by Walter. However, the story will suddenly change (with no warning) & start talking about other people & what they're currently doing. As a result, you need to always pay attention so you don't get confused.

Lots of action


(4 stars)

The story is almost nonstop action with a new attempt to harm or kill Kennedy or Elaine every chapter. Unfortunately, Elaine devolved into a gullible and impulsive girl despite starting out as a quick-witted woman who could hold her own. That is to be expected of a story written in a different historical period, but it tried my patience in the latter half of the book.

cannot recommend it


(1.5 stars)

the reader is ok for some books, but pronunciation is atrocious, as well as running thru all the chapter breaks. I guess it keeps you on your toes. the book is not vintage reeves to me. there is basically no plausibility anywhere. it's literary slapstick! I got through it but it was a chore.

Great Mystery!


(5 stars)

this was an exciting mystery! I have to admit, it was a tad bit too dramatic at times, almost like a TV show, but still very interesting nonetheless. I guessed the identity of the clutching hand fairly early on, although I wasn't sure until about halfway through.

interesting but too much drama


(3 stars)

Each chapter was like a little mystery in of itself. Too many times the bad guy got away and the woman got saved. They don't get him till the last chapter and it was a disappointing end.


(5 stars)

This serial mystery/adventure is great fun.

a bit long winded


(3 stars)

I realize that times have changed to some degree but the racist references sprinkled through some of these books by this author still cause some revulsion on my part. These chapters are probably each part of a series in a publication that kept the readers buying new editions. As a book, it got a bit tiresome that the master criminal kept getting away at the end of each chapter only to come back and focus his demonic efforts against the main characters again and again. I also understand the comments regarding the reader. However I have found that listening to readers that have a less than perfect grasp on American and English accent / pronunciations of the English language, while frustrating at first, helps me to better understand those that live in areas where English is a second language. Regarding this book, I often re-listen to these Librivox books. This one will not be one of those that gets a second listen.