Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou
- Narrated by: Daphne Alexander
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou
Buy Now for £17.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
They say she's a murderer. She says nothing.
London, 1954. Eva Georgiou has just returned from her shift at the glamorous Café de Paris, when she's summoned to her second job: Greek interpreter for the Metropolitan Police. There, she is tasked with representing Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot woman who has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law who has been bludgeoned, strangled and then set alight.
Eva gets to work as Zina's translator, but her concern grows that the case may be more complicated than it seems. Then Zina changes everything when she reveals she's been accused of murder once before, years ago in Cyprus.
While Eva's obsession with the case deepens, so does her bond with Zina. And soon she will discover that when you lend your voice to an accused murderer, it comes at a devastating cost.
A compelling historical crime audiobook set in the Greek diaspora of 1950s London—that's inspired by a true story—The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is perfect for fans of Sara Collins, Eve Chase and Jessie Burton.
'Tense. Moving. Morally complex. Zina Pavlou is wholly unforgettable.' Rachel Rhys
More from the same
What listeners say about The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-01-24
Wow wow wow
Where to start? Oh my goodness. This book is brilliant and will leave a lasting impression. Subject matter is obviously a thought provoking topic. The character in the title is in some ways not likeable but in other ways what she does is understandable. Beautiful relationship with Eva thought that wouldn’t be allowed in reality as unprofessional. Here it’s totally believable. The language, and character portrayals are superb and in this audio book this is all greatly enhanced by the wonderful narration. I was totally transported into each situation.
To me this is up there with A Man Called Ove and Lessons in Chemistry. Very memorable. Don’t know what the word is for” page turner” with audiobooks but this was it, for sure.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Leo Duff
- 30-12-23
page turning who dunnit, even though ending anticipated from early on
the frustration of each character plays into an intrigue circling each of the two main characters. each of these women carries a personal tradegy around in their minds. for one it leads to the end of life, for the other to a new start
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- lisa
- 02-02-24
Brilliant narrative excellent story very enjoyable unusual but interesting story
Enjoyed the book and would highly recommend… well read and shows great compassion. I really enjoyed it .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- jonathan parry
- 05-02-24
How sad it was
I liked all the characters and how they interacted and the fact it was based on a true story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew B.
- 06-01-24
The fact that the doctors report was left out!I love
I enjoyed listening to the narrator’s voice
which made the story easy to listen to and absorb the characters’ feelings and personalities.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 21-11-23
I was engrossed
Narration was wonderful. Very sensitive dramatisation of a true story. The character of Zina Pavlou was brilliantly created and not sentimentalised - you wanted to like her but she kept doing or saying abrasive or strange things and yet you increasingly felt sorry for her as her story unfolded and she experienced misogyny and racism by her Greek family and community and by the British legal system. It also highlights the unscrupulous nature of some journalists. The odds just kept on stacking against her - and the reader understands that if she was young, ‘attractive’ and not ‘foreign’ her treatment would have been different.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Debster
- 04-02-24
brilliant portrayal of characters
I found out about this book on the Sara Cox book club on TV. I have started listening to books and reading books that I would never pick up myself just to broaden my horizons. I would never have picked this book up but because they reviewed it and I was intrigued I decided to download it on audible. this was a brilliant book. So intriguing and interesting and full of things about that era that I had never appreciated. It also made me appreciate how knowledgeable we are capable of being these days. The use of Google allows us to find out so much. no one could just look up about the previous murder that was referred to regarding Xena. Just fabulous couldn't stop listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- anasta
- 18-03-24
Excellent
I had heard of this murder from a TV programme a few years ago and was interested to read this book, which is based on that.
I thought it was many things - thought-provoking, entertaining [in a weird sort of way], sad, mysterious etc. etc.
It was well-written and I liked the story of the interpreter Eva, as a backdrop to the horrific acts of Zina Pavlou.
What I liked best was the authentic portrait of the perpetrator and her family. Coming from a Greek Cypriot background, I was fascinated to hear the different characters portrayed by Eleni Kyriacou. Very well-researched ...especially on the trial and the facts on Holloway Prison.
The telling of the hardships of the Greek Cypriots in the London of 1950s was "spot-on". I know from my own Cypriot father's battles to be accepted by his English neighbours and workmates, just how difficult life was post-war in UK. The fact that many Cypriots had come to UK to make money to survive and to send back to their families in Cyprus, made it all the more poignant.
A big thank you to the narrator - Daphne Alexander. For once, all the pronunciation was true to life and authentic. Well done - and all the different characters were brilliantly differentiated. Excellent work.
This is the second book I have heard on Audible, I really enjoyed them both.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!