New Reviews by Title: K-O

Gwendoline Christie is positively spellbinding as the first-person narrator of this dreamlike story of love and grief, which is experienced like a vision through a kaleidoscope--in randomly assembled bits and pieces tinged with color. Original music for each loosely connected story sets a distinct mood and includes string music, piano, discordant orchestral arrangements,... Read More

When narrator Matt Godfrey portrays a hit man saying, "I am going to kill you," there's gravelly menace in his voice. He's also convincing as Mace Reid, a handler of cadaver dogs, a guy who feels "a shiv in the guts " when a song reminds him of the wife that got away. Godfrey has extraordinary range, but more essential is his agility as he leads us through a maze of plots,... Read More

Narrator Zenia Starr's Indian accent adds authenticity to this middle-grade fantasy-adventure. Eleven-year-old Kiki Kallira struggles with anxiety, a feeling she does not understand--so she conceals it. To calm her overactive mind, Kiki finds refuge in drawing. She fills a sketchbook with favorite characters from Indian myths and reimagines the legendary kingdom of Mysore. But... Read More

Biting insects and intrepid parasites populate this memoir of a misunderstood illness and a family. Narrator Frankie Corzo's deft voice brings Daisy Hernandez's story full circle from childhood to adulthood and then to a poignant blend of both. Hernandez was 5 when her Aunt Dora moved from Colombia to New Jersey to seek care for a parasitic illness called Chagas, transmitted by... Read More

Narrator Frankie Corzo's lovely smooth voice eloquently depicts the mostly female characters in this novel. She handles the high drama, emotional undertow, and cultural complexity of this story, set from January to December in 2016. Her Spanish readings--foods, names, places--are sensual. She shifts her voice ever so slightly as she expresses the inner lives of the Alvarados, a... Read More

Narrator Suzie Yeung brings to life both the popular culture of today and the magical world of Korean mythology in this fantasy adventure. Twelve-year-old Riley was adopted into a clan of gifted witches, but as a "saram"--one without magic--she is constantly aware of her outsider status. She will never be initiated as a witch herself. So when her 13-year-old sister's plan to... Read More

Narrator Will Damron shows his vocal range in this work of historical fiction, set in Ukraine during WWII. The cast is large, giving Damron ample opportunity to use his expertise in differentiating characters. They range from small boys to old women, and Damron keeps them all straight. He smoothly slips from the third-person narrator to a variety of voices and accents, making... Read More

Narrator Angela Dawe draws the listener back into the world of the Psy-Changelings, which is made up of humans, changelings, and psychics. Payal Rao and Canto Mercant are two Psys who survived a brutal childhood event together and find each other again as adults. Dawe's smooth, even pacing reflects the tight control most of the Psys have on their emotions. As Payal starts to... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini's fast-paced narration amplifies the suspense in this fictionalized mystery about the very real controversy surrounding the authenticity of Leonardo da Vinci's MONA LISA. American Luke Perrone, art history professor and descendant of Vincent Peruggia, who famously stole the painting from the Louvre in 1911, travels to Florence, Italy, to unravel what happened... Read More

Narrator Mark Meadows's commanding baritone maintains the listener's attention from Andre Aciman's detailed introduction to the final lines of Gianfranco Calligarich's novel. This "forgotten classic of Italian literature" explores 1970s Italian ennui. Leo and his friend, Graziano, know something's wrong with the way they're living. They realize it's time to change their la... Read More

Narrator Ramon de Ocampo gives Curtis--fifth-grade student and avid chef--a passionate voice. When he is offered the opportunity to compete in a special kids' edition of his favorite TV show, "Super Chef," his cooking skills will be put to the test. His life could change dramatically if he wins the prize money. The story ups the ante even more with Curtis's belief that the... Read More

By the time Breezy was 14, she had two baby girls and had just discovered crack cocaine. Karen Chilton's superb narration enhances Brenda Myers-Powell's memoir. Her parents died, her neighborhood was tough, and her grandmother loved her but couldn't always protect her. It wasn't a sad life, and Chilton orchestrates the laugh-out-loud moments like a seasoned conductor. For... Read More

Narrator Lindsey Dorcus fills her voice with the smoothness of smoky whisky and the softness of flickering candles in this twisty sapphic thriller. At the beginning of her senior year at Dalloway, a prep school for girls haunted by its legacy of witchcraft, Felicity is still mourning the death of her girlfriend the previous spring. But she's soon drawn into the orbit of new... Read More

Narrator Rosalyn Coleman Williams delivers this oral history of New York City's ACT UP movement without theatricality. Author Sarah Schulman helped to collect transcripts from the original members, which were recorded in various formats as they recounted how they performed in-your-face protests that revealed gross inequities in law, medicine, and politics in the late '80s and... Read More

Narrator Kirsten Potter portrays vibrant, funny, fierce Shirley Jackson in this collection of letters from her college years until the week before she died of a heart attack at age 48. Written with scant punctuation and no capital letters, the letters are a pell-mell experience, which Potter channels without seeming to rush. She times Jackson's protean wit with skill and subtly... Read More

Former NBA star Chris Bosh has created an honest, helpful guide for high school and college athletes. He offers tons of advice, including positive habits to develop and pitfalls to avoid. Bosh doesn't look down on his young audience, and neither does narrator Pete Larkin. Reflecting the serious topics being discussed, he clearly communicates Bosh's suggestions for athletic... Read More

Nia Long narrates the long-awaited follow-up to THE COLDEST WINTER EVER. Fifteen years ago, Winter Santiaga was sentenced to a mandatory minimum for drug trafficking, and now her time is finally up. But instead of the glorious comeback she planned, she is shot dead upon her release. Long fully embodies Winter's brash and bold personality--a small thing like death isn't going to... Read More

Stacy Gonzalez narrates an inventive paranormal story about a teenage foster child. Frankie's past is a mystery. When she begins having dreams about a 1920s carnival and its performers, she is shocked to find that their lives are intertwined with hers and that most of them are still alive. Gonzalez deftly portrays the characters, seamlessly moving between a variety of accents... Read More

Narrator Soneela Nankani captures the tension felt by workaholic web designer Nicole Palmieri as she overschedules her way through a huge work project and maid-of-honor duties for her best friend, Parisa. Nankani's tone is plaintive as Nicole struggles to find a way to simultaneously please her demanding bosses and Parisa's equally demanding family. In soothing contrast is... Read More

Dr. Leana Wen digs deeply into the topic of public health and argues for its importance from a vantage point that is not often presented to the public. Delivering vital information, she discloses her own insider's accounts of various health crises in the U.S. and throughout the world. She is determined to convince listeners how crucial it is to make healthcare and all it... Read More

Three distinguished narrators tell this cross-country adventure tale by the celebrated author Amor Towles. Billy Watson, a precocious 8-year-old, portrayed by Edoardo Ballerini, dreams of traveling to California on America's first transcontinental roadway, the Lincoln Highway. After his brother is released from reform school, they hit the road, but life takes more turns than... Read More

The line on the map that separates the U.S. and Canada wasn't always the "world's longest undefended border." Rather, it was imposed across Indigenous lands with a pattern of violence. The sonorous voice of Malcom Hillgartner guides listeners on this examination of the border's evolution from the American Revolution through the Civil War and the Canadian Confederation, before... Read More

North Brother Island was not a place where anyone in New York City wanted to go in 1910. But that is where listeners find themselves in this haunting middle-grade historical mystery, narrated by Angel Pean. Essie O'Neill, the daughter of impoverished Irish immigrants, is forced to move to this formidable island when her widowed mother marries the director of its quarantine... Read More

Audiobook listeners join Gwynne Dacres, who loses her job during the Depression. She moves into a boarding house run by bad-tempered Mrs Garr, who is convinced her tenants are going through her things. When a dead body appears outside of the boarding house, it appears there's more to Mrs.Garr's suspicions than paranoia. Robin Miles narrates this mystery with style, helping to... Read More

No wonder Hanif Abdurraqib's collection of lyrical essays--thoughtful, beautifully written, and intelligently performed by JD Jackson--is a finalist for the National Book Award. In five related movements, "Performing Miracles," "Suspending Disbelief," "Matters of Country/Provenance," "Anatomy of Closeness/Chasing Blood," and "Callings to Remember," Abdurraqib focuses on Black... Read More

Was there a conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy, or did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? What, if anything, was Cuba's involvement? This audiobook, first published in print in 1998, examines those issues, using interviews and documents declassified at that time. Narrator Paul Silbermann takes the tsunami of information and helps listeners understand what was... Read More

Wes and DeLanna Studi narrate this collection of modern and traditional stories from a variety of American Indian tribes. Only mildly frightening, most of these stories are intended to teach traditions of caution, bravery, obedience, loyalty, compassion, and more. DeLanna Studi reads with a tone of nervous apprehension intended to instill fear and anxiety. Wes Studi has greater... Read More

García Márquez intended to write three memoirs but never got past this one, which ends before his marriage with his first departure from Colombia. The audiobook does leave us hanging, with most of his literary career yet to come, but one part of the author's life has come to a close. Possibly the most interesting part to the author's fans will be the portrait of Aracataca, the... Read More

Narrator Erin Mallon transports the listener to Wildstone, California, as two former frenemies, Emma and Allison, are forced to open a doggy day care business together. The tension in their relationship is palpable. Emma is struggling to recover from being hit by a car with the help of physical therapist Simon. As she rallies, the listener experiences her mood lightening.... Read More

As she's done previously, author Stacey Lee finds a fascinating bit of unexplored history and writes fiction that enlightens audiobook listeners, this time about mistreatment aboard the TITANIC after the Chinese Exclusion Act. Narrator Rebecca Yeo's crisp British accents convince listeners that British-Chinese heroine Valora Luck has the daring to stowaway among the wealthy in... Read More

Narrator Marcus Lamb's sterling delivery enhances this historical fiction based on fact. Listeners are riveted after Queen Victoria's death in 1901 and the nine days leading up to her state funeral. Irish Detective Chief Superintendent William Melville learns there are plans by anarchists and terrorists to strike and kill world leaders during the ceremony. The story is told in... Read More

Narrator Charles Huddleston powerfully presents the seven-week manhunt for accused thief Albert Johnson carried out by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Northern Territories in the 1930s. The raw wilderness, extreme weather (45 degrees below zero), scarcity of radios and airplanes, and dedicated police and civilians are realistic and riveting. Huddleston excels at... Read More

The hardships of the author's early life in China continued when she was sent to New York City as a teen to work in her family's sweatshop. Catherine Ho's narration captures the author's relentless conflict--with her Chinese family's authoritarian and misogynist ways, with her status as an unwanted child, and within herself regarding whether she could separate herself from this... Read More

Narrator Robert Bathurst returns listeners to the fictional Canadian village of Three Pines in the 17th addition to Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. Bathurst masterfully voices Gamache, his two assistants, and the many characters who inhabit this story. Bathurst's flawless pronunciation of French phrases contributes to creating the atmosphere of this tiny... Read More

This extensively researched audio biography of the iconic star who made sex fun and funny casts Mae West as a subversive trickster who pushed the boundaries of race and gender. Listeners follow West's evolution from exploited child actor to Broadway siren and movie star. Lesser known is how West created and controlled all her dramatic content--as a playwright, novelist,... Read More

This audiobook is a companion to an exhibit on Reconstruction at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. A variety of authors take a historical perspective on the period. The most poignant work is Kimberlé Crenshaw's essay, which looks at the era through the lens of the 2015 attack on the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Karen Chilton's... Read More

Damian Lynch masterfully narrates this memoir by Jay Blades. From his impoverished, often turbulent youth in East London, Blades grew up to help the homeless and then became the host of the television program "The Repair Shop." Listeners hear how the trusting Blades first encountered racism at age 10, and became a street fighter and defender of others. Lynch dramatically... Read More

Narrator Fay Annette portrays Jamie Quinn, a Florida lawyer, and the spirited family members, friends, and associates who are once again featured in this series. When she is accused of art theft, Quinn closes her law practice and begins to learn the finer points of art, including forgery. It's enjoyable to spend more time with Quinn's fiancé, Kip Simons, who is back from... Read More

Wil Wheaton skillfully narrates this unrelenting and data-dense audiobook. His first-person portrayal of Mark Watney, an astronaut who is stranded alone on Mars for a year and a half, is nothing short of stellar. Wheaton elevates the listener's experience with a light-handed yet convincing delivery of an immense amount of technical material. Perfectly paced, this audiobook is... Read More

Roger Federer's elegant tennis appears effortless; Christopher Clarey digs deeper to expose the work, grit, training, and supporting cast at the heart of Federer's beautiful game. Clarey has interviewed Federer many times, along with many of his rivals, coaches, and family members. Narrator Kiff VandenHeuval does a fine job of keeping the listener engaged in the rallies through... Read More

With skill and aplomb, Piper Goodeve narrates this feel-good romance centered on Lily, a struggling Chicago artist who has reached a crisis point in both her personal and professional lives. Goodeve portrays Lily as naïve and feckless but nevertheless endearing. After discovering an old legal notice, Lily learns she is still married to a man she wed in a Las Vegas chapel 10... Read More

Adjoa Andoh's masterful narration channels the power running throughout Groff's much anticipated novel. Distressingly tall and awkward, Marie de France, half sister of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, is exiled to a decrepit, far-flung abbey. First, as prioress and, then, as abbess, Marie begins her life's work, audaciously transforming the abbey into an empowering and wholly unique... Read More

Narrator Dara Rosenberg whirls listeners through Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt's desperate plan to save her writing career. Rachel is Jewish, but she secretly writes Christmas romances. Rosenberg expresses Rachel's panic when her editor demands a Hanukkah romance. When Rachel begs her archnemesis, Jacob, for a ticket to his exclusive New York City Matzah Ball, their childhood... Read More

Narrator Bahni Turpin embraces every emotional moment in this inspiring story for middle-grade science and IT enthusiasts. Maya's excitement to start fifth grade in a "science fair year" quickly fades when her two best friends move to a different teacher's class. Struggling with loneliness and self-doubt, she finds everything discouraging--until she discovers a homemade robot... Read More

This coming-of-age story is set in the tiny Thomas Edison Museum in New Jersey. Tegan, who has a disfigured hand, and Mac, a popular athlete, gradually scratch beneath the surface of their public personas to find a connection as they sit out a snowstorm overnight in the museum. Stacy Gonzalez brings both teens to life with a heartrending performance. Tegan is defensive, using... Read More

Narrator Emmanuelle Mattana zestfully introduces a bandit family aptly named Robberson as they kidnap 10-year-old Maisie on her way to her grandmother's house. Listeners experience a rollicking time as the family and their trainee, Maisie, cross Finland, stealing what they need--particularly sweets. Maisie comes to enjoy the family, which is quite unlike her own. Mattana's best... Read More

Richard Ferrone deftly narrates a story that blends science fiction and a world-weary detective novel. In the 22nd century, an asteroid nearly strikes Earth but is destroyed by a powerful ray. The scientist who created the ray fears for her life and calls upon an investigator to help. Ferrone imbues the story with the levity that complements the dark, complex narrative. The... Read More

Emily Spurr's debut novel grabs your heart and doesn't let go. Narrator Zenia Starr is the believable voice of 10-year-old Rae as, over 55 days, she carries on a one-sided conversation with her missing mom. She is matter-of-fact as she recounts the events of her days; compassionate as she comes to the rescue of her elderly neighbor, Lettie; and understanding, yet sometimes... Read More

Nyambi Nyambi takes listeners on a rollicking outsized adventure as he narrates Killens's posthumously published novel. Hoping to connect to "the Motherland," Jimmy Jay Leander Johnson travels to the People's Democratic Republic of Guanaya, a tiny African country whose natural resources have attracted international interest. When a plot to assassinate the prime minister is... Read More

This audiobook abounds with magical realism. Latina Ciela makes the perfect pan dulce. One could even say it's magical. But when she and a boy discover that both of them were sexually assaulted at a party, Ciela's magical talents dim. Bit by bit, narrator Jennifer Jill Araya reveals what happened. And in the wake of feelings of rawness and vulnerability comes the discovery of... Read More

Michaela Coel recently burst onto the pop culture scene for creating and starring in the British TV drama "I May Destroy You." This memoir expands on her recent speeches given at industry events. She narrates her own story, which personalizes the experiences for the listener. Coel is unflinching as she tells of a childhood spent in government housing and recalls a long recovery... Read More

Thirty-nine women served as British undercover agents in France during WWII. They came from a variety of backgrounds, and their stories are equally varied. A few have been chronicled in depth, but most lingered in near anonymity until now. This audiobook tells their stories. Their lives and exploits translate well to audio, and Esther Wane offers a solid narration. Her tone is... Read More

Zibby Owens offers a peppy, honest reading of her edited collection of essays about contemporary moms and their attempts to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. She is earnest in her delivery of these essays, which are divided into five key areas that often fall by the wayside for a busy mother. These include: eating, reading, working out, breathing, and having sex. Owens... Read More

Narrator Aida Reluzco brings biracial millennial Mona Mireles to life in this funny and honest coming-of-age novel set in the aftermath of the 21st century's Great Recession. Reluzco gives Mona an appropriately snarky voice as she tells her own story. Her dream job ended before it began, and eight months later, she's stuck in her childhood bedroom, staring at walls covered with... Read More

Brace yourself for this horrific Southern gothic narrated by Jason Culp in a rich Texas twang. Daniel Russell was 13 when his father drove them off a bridge into Moon Lake. Nearly 10 years later, Daniel returns when the car is pulled from the lake and a grisly discovery changes everything he knew about his hometown. Culp's accent and characterization bring Daniel to life with... Read More

After 50 years in her tarot-reading booth by the sea in Brighton, Madame Burova is ready to retire--but first, she must keep a promise she made decades ago. Nina Wadia superbly narrates this tale of colorful characters from a holiday camp in the 1970s and a contemporary Londoner who is facing the simultaneous loss of her marriage, her job, and her father. Wadia portrays the... Read More

Listeners will be captivated by this intriguing historical novel about the late-nineteenth-century Cuban quest for independence from Spanish rule. The story centers on the real-life "most beautiful girl in Cuba," Evangelina Cisneros, who was wrongfully imprisoned when she rebuffed the advances of a Spanish commander. Frankie Corzo's impressive narration animates Evangelina's... Read More

Narrator Tavia Gilbert is far and away the best thing about this audiobook in which a lonely sad sack American woman who joins the Communist party to make new friends is suddenly then appealing enough to be irresistible to the top Soviet spymaster in the U.S. and shrewd and talented enough to succeed him as spymaster herself. This provides lots of scope for Gilbert's long... Read More

Robin Miles skillfully narrates the conclusion to this fantasy trilogy. This intense novel is about women stepping into roles that have been dominated by men for far too long. Now all that may be undone by an evil force. There are many characters in this novel, and Miles plays each empowered female with precision. Their accents, the lilts in their voices, the distinct nuances... Read More

Born in Gibraltar, the sometimes-Shakespearean actor Nicholas Boulton is the perfect narrator for the third book in the cherished Alexandria Quartet. And no, you needn't have listened to the others; this novel is a universe unto itself. Boulton fully inhabits the often drunk, always stuffy, plainly ridiculous characters who ran the empire on which a British sun refused to set.... Read More

Masterfully narrated by Australian actress Deidre Rubenstein, this is a saga about a woman trying to raise 12 children in Australia during the mid-to-late-1800s. Mrs. Kelly, the mother of the famous Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, has a hard life. When Ned becomes the leader of the violent Kelly Gang, Mrs. Kelly's life becomes even more difficult. When voicing Mrs. Kelly,... Read More

This audiobook, one of Woolf's most famous novels, takes place over the course of one day, following Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares to host a party. The past and present overlap in Clarissa's memory as she interacts with a broad range of characters. Woolf's stream-of-consciousness style has a halting, labored air as narrator Helen Lloyd makes her way through repetitive... Read More

When a local shopkeeper suggests that the main character in the bestselling novel of Mrs. March's husband may be based on Mrs. March herself, a series of doubts creep into Mrs. March's mind--which fester into severe paranoia. Elisabeth Rodgers's calm narration is the perfect match for this audiobook. Her well-honed timing helps build the tension as Mrs. March loses touch with... Read More

Carly Robins and Eva Kaminsky faithfully narrate this updated retelling of JANE EYRE. Jane's friend, Otis, is a chef at Thorn Bluffs, an estate owned by Evan Rochester, a man rumored to have murdered his unstable wife, Beatrice. After Jane undergoes several personal misfortunes, Otis invites her to spend the summer at Thorn Bluffs, tutoring Sophia, a teenager who lives on the... Read More

This adaptation of a classic Christie whodunit to vintage radio drama format is absolutely delicious. Evocative music and portentous sound effects greatly enhance the fun, and the cast is superb. Many great actors have taken on the fussy little Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, but none better than Alfred Molina here. His Poirot is still punctilious and obsessive, but also warm... Read More

Gorky's memoir of his childhood is unsparing in its stark and unromantic depiction of the heights of human kindness and the depths of human cruelty. Nicholas Boulton's expressive performance of this classic of Russian literature and history is a perfect match of voice and text. Gorky, born Alexei Maximovich Peshkov in 1868, was orphaned at an early age and lived with his... Read More

It is a joy to spend time with famed English horticulturalist Monty Don as he watches wildlife, tends to his garden, and generally appreciates the natural world. Don, who received an O.B.E. for service to Great Britain, has been the lead presenter of the BBC series "Gardeners' World" since 2003. He's a gracious host who shares his educational and often amusing observations in... Read More

Airships are little more than novelties today, but they were the TITANICS of the skies in the early twentieth century, sharing that mighty ship's grandeur and often its tragic fate. Narrator Matt Jamie's British accent is confident and authoritative but never dry as he delivers Mark Piesing's story of the airship ITALIA, which attempted to land at the North Pole in 1928. When... Read More

Male authors and male voices dominate the many audiobooks devoted to Napoleon, which are usually shaped by his military and political history. Here, Ruth Scurr, one of our most original and engaging historians, reconstructs Napoleon's life from the perspective of the gardens he kept, first, as a military cadet and, later, when he was in exile on Elba and St. Helena. In... Read More

If you saw the classic baseball movie of the same name and have not heard the audiobook, you are in for a surprise. Roy Hobbs breaks into the Majors in his 30s and is immediately confronted by challenges on and off the diamond. Narrator Fred Berman is great--he uses varied tones and accents that fit the range of personalities Roy meets. The Judge, the team owner, is a pompous... Read More

Zara Hampton-Brown and Alex Moorcock narrate an erotic romance inspired by Greek mythology. When Persephone Dimitriou is unexpectedly engaged to Zeus, the de facto ruler of Olympus, she flees across the River Styx into the arms of Hades. Will their tentative alliance last once spring arrives? Persephone could easily be portrayed simply as a naïve socialite, but Hampton-Brown... Read More

This audio guidebook to harnessing your nervous energy is both prescient and timely. With straightforward language and practical exercises, the author teaches listeners the highly effective techniques she uses in her private psychology practice. Carmichael addresses anxiety in high-functioning individuals, and her client vignettes provide examples of anxious people struggling... Read More

This account of how women shaped the American West from 1840 to 1910 is given a sweeping overview by Gallagher. Blair Seibert narrates this look at how women from all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds shaped the westward migration. This reviewer had a grandmother who was born in a sod dugout at the turn of the last century and can testify to the perseverance,... Read More

When a group of metal detectorists discover a body and possible artifacts on the coast of Norfolk, England, DCI Nelson enlists forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway. Series narrator Jane McDowell's familiar voice transports listeners into the thirteenth installment, establishing the veteran characters and supporting cast with deft portrayals. Newly single, Ruth resumes her... Read More

Narrator Kirsten Potter transports listeners to the small Swedish island where Police Detective Hannah Duncker grew up. Having left as a teenager, Duncker has returned to get to the bottom of her father's murder of a local woman. Her first official assignment is to investigate the tragic death of Joel, the teenage son of her former friend, Rebekka. Potter comfortably pronounces... Read More

This well-researched audiobook focuses on nine women resistance fighters who, despite starvation and torture, remained steadfast in their loyalty to each other. Narrator Juliet Stevenson pours her considerable talent into her performance to make the Dutch, French, and German accents of these women sound authentic to her listeners. As the Allies closed in, the Nazis forced... Read More

Dramatic and compelling, this medieval novel recounting bloody feuds and complex legal battles in Iceland, along with adventures and battles abroad, is often flat in the writing. Much of Gunnar Cauthery's narration is similarly--and fittingly--flat in tone, but still expressive. When emotion in speeches is required, or appropriate, he provides it. His pronunciation of Norse... Read More

Canadian professor and author Kate Bowler narrates her own story of the fear, hope, and confusion of an unexpected cancer diagnosis. For her, it meant sitting down with her own painful mortality after decades of studying life through the lens of Christian history. After being diagnosed with colon cancer and metastasis to the liver, Bowler found herself trying to figure out what... Read More

Narrator Dion Graham lends his rich and resonant voice to this complex supernatural story of converging destinies. A scattered array of wounded and weary people find themselves drawn together in sympathy and conflict as a new truth--that monsters are real, and they walk among us--dawns on the world. Graham picks up on Turnbull's subtle character notes, with accents ranging from... Read More

Kim Hooper's ripped-from-the-headlines story is brought to life by a stellar team of narrators. Hillary Huber displays a wide range of emotions as a mother whose son has committed a horrific violent act. She searches for a way to deal with her grief, suffers blame by the community, and works to support her son's victims. Devon Sorvari, as Angie, expresses anger, confusion, and... Read More

Julian Rhind-Tutt performs this ghost story in a style that suits this audio-only production. Set in 1905 on the desolate island of Dorn, off the Cornwall coast, the novel features mostly British characters. The sole exception is American professor William James. The choice to portray James in a flat tone seems inaccurate for the upper-crust man he was. That said, Rhind-Tutt... Read More

Robert Reffkin has an inspirational story to tell, and he has chosen to narrate it himself. While his audiobook is layered with lessons that often sound like platitudes, what differentiates it are its compelling personal stories. Reffkin recounts how he was raised by a single mother, an Israeli immigrant, after being abandoned by his Black father and how he achieved... Read More

Piper Goodeve returns as narrator of the latest installment of the Little Bridge Island series, which can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone romantic comedy. Jo, a children's book author, has been struggling with writer's block, and the offer of an all-expense paid trip to Little Bridge to participate in a book festival is appealing. Her agent promises that her literary nemesis,... Read More

Greg Watanabe, Kurt Kanazawa, and Joy Osmanski give riveting, emotional performances in this L.A. Theatre Works adaptation of the 1957 novel by Japanese-American author John Okada. After spending years in internment camps and prison, a Japanese-American who had said no to both a loyalty oath and serving in the U.S. military during WWII (hence, the term "no-no boy") finally... Read More

Narrator Renee Ertl helps chronicle the decline of Millennial and Gen Z involvement in the Christian church and what positive churches-- known as "Brightspot" churches--are doing to retain and encourage belief among younger generations. With a positive tone, a thoughtful delivery, and infectious enthusiasm, Ertl makes sure to keep this audiobook light. While the text of the... Read More

Narrator Elena Valentine introduces Alice Carter, who is in training to become a detective in Book 2 of this series. (Beginning with Book 1 is a must.) Listeners relish meeting the "ploids" division of London's Metropolitan Police. The "ploids" possess unusual traits that set them apart, including Carter's overabundance of static, which can act as a weapon. Valentine excels... Read More

Narrator Peter Kenney brings another complex sci-fi/fantasy novel to life. Kenney skillfully voices characters with theatrical flair, convincingly depicting personalities that range from youthful innocence to chilling malevolence. In this multifaceted novel, Kenney portrays Vin, an interpreter of holy texts who must demonstrate the courage to maintain his convictions against... Read More

In this sequel to AN UNORTHODOX MATCH, Gabra Zackman returns to narrate the story of secular-born Jewish Leah and her Orthodox Jewish husband, Yaakov, a widower. Zackman expertly creates the watchful atmosphere of their insular Brooklyn neighborhood. The devotion this unlikely couple share with each other, and with their five children from Yaakov's first marriage, as well as... Read More

When it comes to performing a wide variety of audiobooks, Juliet Stevenson is an expert. Her lovely clipped accent and fervent delivery typically bring all types of complex stories to life. This title is no exception, for Stevenson's rich voice and compassionate tones animate the text nicely. Somewhat less appealing is the story itself; this 1893 novel explores timeless themes... Read More

In this third installment of the Bridgerton series, Rosalyn Landor's whimsical performance offers copious entertainment for loyal fans and newcomers alike. Sophie, the illegitimate daughter of an earl, is treated like a housemaid by her mother and sisters. One night she sneaks into a masquerade ball, where she meets and charms Benedict Bridgerton, the epitome of a bachelor.... Read More

Nikki James's narration enriches this unforgettable real-life story of patience and determination. Mary Walker always believed that she would learn to read, but when? Born into slavery in 1848 Alabama, emancipated at 15, married twice, raised three children, always, always working--she didn't have time to learn how to decipher those "squiggles" in her Bible. Ultimately, with no... Read More

Seneca's discourses on topics such as anger and happiness fall between self-help and philosophy, specifically stoicism. Narrator Ric Jerrom employs his admirable English accent and sonorous voice almost musically to render the sense and tone of the text with care and comprehension. He injects emotion, such as anger, where appropriate and, in places, gives opinions in a tone... Read More

Narrator Felicity Jurd's delightful Australian accent enriches this poignant memoir about an Aussie family's year in Italy. As WWOOFERS--travelers who work on organic farms in exchange for room and board--Pip and her young family experienced living quarters ranging from a leaky toolshed to a newly remodeled apartment. Jurd describes the dissatisfaction with high-pressure city... Read More

On their own, Emma Galvin, Rebecca Soler, and Jesse Vilinsky are accomplished narrators; as an ensemble, they are outstanding at capturing the emotional dynamics of the Mitchell triplets. Sixteen-year-old Mab, Monday, and Mirabel are on a mission to save their town. Before their birth, Belsum Chemicals, owned by the Templeton family, knowingly polluted the town's drinking... Read More

Nancy Wu narrates with a quiet intensity that suits this climate disaster novel centered around two teen sisters who are desperate to be reunited. Kasey is a science prodigy who lives in an eco-city in the sky. She longs to find her sister, who left and was lost at sea. But Cee has survived for years on a remote island with only a bot for company. Slowly, Cee's memories of... Read More

With a title referencing Hamlet's doomed love interest, this audiobook promises--and delivers--a close examination of innocence, beauty, and emotion. The novel spans parallel girlhoods, setting Ruth's youth in the 1970s English countryside alongside her own daughter Maeve's teen years in the present day. Alex Dunmore is a superb narrator; her lovely British accent and... Read More

This audiobook about an institution for intellectually disabled girls and women in Davenport, Iowa, engages, shocks, and informs. Narrator Susie Berneis empathetically shares this true story about our evolving understanding of childhood development and the question of nature versus nurture. The story may surprise listeners with how little was once understood about childhood... Read More

Narrator Rosie Jones gives an elegant performance of this Arthurian retelling, full of laugh-out-loud humor. When Emry Merlin's twin brother is summoned to become the next wizard despite the fact that he lacks magical talent, Emry disguises her gender and takes his place. Studying magic at Arthur's side gives her front-row access to all the courtly drama, but falling in love... Read More

Nothing is exactly what it seems in Louise Candlish's expertly plotted mystery. Narrator Steven Mackintosh offers up a chilling performance as Jamie Buckby. Jamie and Claire live well on Claire's income. Due to extreme claustrophobia, Jamie commutes to work by boat. He begins a friendship of a sort with fellow commuter Kit. Kit and his gorgeous wife, Melia, both actors, are... Read More

A princess and a pauper cross paths and work together in this middle-grade fantasy novel, narrated by Eddie Lopez and Soneela Nankani. Since her mother's death, Princess Una has been virtually ignored by her father, the king. His contest to find a rare bloom has Una herself searching for the flower to win his attention. When pauper Julian's father is taken away for being a... Read More

In a serious tone that captures the significance of breaking the color barrier and with a flair for portraying quirky characters, narrator Leon Nixon guides listeners through the lives of four men who transformed the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series in 1948. Larry Doby was signed a few months after Jackie Robinson; then aging Negro Leagues legend Satchel Paige finally... Read More

Narrators Kirt Graves and Joel Froomkin deliver a heartwarming friends-to-lovers college romance. After Milo Lionetti, voiced by Kirt Graves, loses his brother's valuable game cards in an ill-advised bet, he turns to his former friend, Jasper Quigley, voiced by Joel Froomkin, to find replacements. Graves gives Milo a deep, muscular voice with a New Jersey accent. Listeners will... Read More

Nick Hunt travels to four "outlandish" European landscapes--places that are out of place--Arctic tundra in Scotland, desert in Spain, primeval forest in Poland, and the steppe in Hungary. The author's gentle but compelling narration evokes an otherworldly and mystical atmosphere perfect for these unique locations visited mostly on foot. Hunt's wry humor and genuine interest in... Read More