Murders, and plenty of attempts, are hazards of the road for a caravan heading across India shortly before WWI. With his gentle British accent, Michael Healey captures the witty dialogue and observations of the author. He also deftly switches between the voices of an American reporter's memoir and an omniscient narrator. While Healey underplays the danger of an assassination... Read More

Narrator Charlie Thurston's slight sibilance and heavy consonants are a pleasure to listen to. Thurston's relaxed pacing allows time to digest the information given in this nonfiction work and imagine the people and places described. However, the transitions from one topic to the next aren't always clear. Thurston does move smoothly from a straightforward delivery to a more... Read More

Narrator Simon Vance is the Henry Higgins of British accents, and this audiobook provides him with a new challenge--a Manx accent. Yes, the Isle of Man has its own distinctive inflection--described by some as similar to a Manchester/Merseyside accent. There's also plenty of fact and folklore about the Isle mixed into the plot. Vance keeps the story moving with just the right... Read More

David Downie and his wife, Alison, embark on a 72-day walking trip through the French countryside on the way to El Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Narrator P.J. Oakland describes the churches, pilgrim monuments, and inns encountered along the way as the Downies' fascinating travelogue follows the ancient Roman roads and pilgrim paths between Paris and the Pyrenees. In a... Read More

Even before listeners know there's a burglary in progress, William Dufris's gravelly voice and sarcastic attitude toward Beacon Hill announce that something's going down. The irony of a burglar using a mountaineering course for crime, not for heading up the side of a peak, gets a little added emphasis. Soon, a woman's in a coma, and her granddaughter is seeking the culprits.... Read More

Nicola Barber narrates as teenager Wren struggles to survive in her dystopian world. Though Barber sounds a little young for the 16-year-old protagonist, her high pitch and use of pauses convey fear, confusion, and wonder as Wren and her friends navigate the world outside the dome, learning vital skills from their new American friends. High sound quality highlights Barber's... Read More

Theseus Cassio Lowood's extracurricular activities include ghost hunting and tracking down his father's demonic killer. Narrator August Ross's voice reflects Cas's youthful inexperience as he travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario, to exorcise "Anna Dressed in Blood," a ghost who is out for vengeance. Ross uses a spectral-sounding bass for Anna that matches her ghostly presence. But... Read More

Sherman Allen's appealing conversational tone is a fitting way to perform this updated plea for leadership that is less authoritarian and more participative. It's an argument Block has been making for 35 years--that organizations are most effective when collaborative work relationships allow responsibility to be shared, rewards to be fairly distributed, and individuals to be... Read More

Richard Waterhouse’s interpretive skills and playful approach make this thoughtful book on writing shine in the audio format. With youthful and reasoned enthusiasm, he reads long sentences, lists, and quotations with razor clarity and sounds authentically engaged with the author’s ideas and sensibilities. He’s especially effective when reading the examples offered on oral... Read More

Joe Barrett’s folksy voice is a great choice for this unusual audiobook. The novel takes its strange turn early on when a Vermont couple, desolate in their unanswered longing for a child, adopts a chimpanzee to complete their family. This unique choice sets the tone for this animal-rights-manifesto-meets-cautionary-tale. Barrett moves confidently between the family's... Read More

Listening to John Telfer narrate this superbly detailed history and travelogue, one hears two conflicting emotions, abject sadness and sheer awe, sometimes in the same sentence. The awe comes with the author’s retracing of the steps of conquering Spanish “adventurers” such as Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who crossed unimagined rain forests, deserts, and mountains,... Read More

Lew and Edie Wasserman built the MCA Talent Agency into the global conglomerate Universal/MCA. Their story is the history of modern Hollywood from the late 1940s on. Sadly, while the facts of their lives are here, this sensationalized book does not reflect the graceful and genteel essence of the Wassermans. Tavia Gilbert has little to work with, and her overly dramatic... Read More

Deanna Hurst has her hands full interpreting the awkward flow of this workplace guide. With her consistently articulate speaking voice, she handles the many complex sentences well but is less effective when inflection changes or pauses are needed to signify thematic changes from one paragraph to the next. The book explains how simple shifts in the way we approach communication... Read More

Alternating between modern-day siblings who are locked in rivalry well into adulthood and the hunt for sacred texts a century ago, this novel offers many rich layers of history. Dara Horn has created a remarkably interwoven tale, which shifts between the past and present, as well between continents and religious points of view. Narrator Carrington MacDuffie capably handles the... Read More

Fantastical and nightmarish, Matt Bell's novel unravels the many births, deaths, and transformations that estrange a couple living in "the house built upon the dirt," isolated in an expansive nowhere. Matching the repetition of words and phrases, narrator Charlie Thurston uses rhythm and its momentum as his guide. This is the husband's version of events, and Thurston's... Read More

Kirby Heyborne's powerful performance conveys the sense of foreboding and spine-tingling electricity in award-winning Japanese novelist Nakamura's second novel. When he is 11 years old, Fumihiro Kuki's father tells him he created him to be "a cancer on the world." His father warns that on his fourteenth birthday he will do something so terrible to Fumihiro's adopted sister,... Read More

Fifth-grader Miata Ramirez and her running mate, Ana, decide to challenge class clown Rudy and his friend, Alex, for the office of student body president. Barrie Kreinik's capable narration of this school tale pleases as she smoothly transitions from unobtrusive narrative to original portrayals of determined Miata, shy Ana, brash Rudy, and his cutup sidekick, Alex. This... Read More

Saturnalia is the one day of the year when masters and servants switch places. On the day of the ritual Narragansett Indian William and his adoptive family, the Curries, find themselves in the middle of much bigger events. Charlie Thurston narrates in a dignified tone that fits the historical period of the story. He gives the tithingman, a strict Puritan, a commanding voice,... Read More

This delightful story is timely and gives kids a peek at a family whose lives drastically change when the father dies, leaving behind many debts. Narrator Kate Harbour exuberantly captures strong-willed Binny, her soothing mother, and her hilarious little brother, who continually commands, "Don't kiss me." The family inherits Auntie Violet's house after Binny lashes out at her... Read More

On the surface, The Bradley School is everything a parent would want for a child--prestigious and demanding--but when a series of questionable events unfolds within its walls, one parent has to look beyond the institution's façade. In this solid audio performance, Mauro Hantman's relatable voice is distinctive without sounding forced or conspicuous, and the pacing is brisk and... Read More

Narrator Kathleen Early incisively paces Slaughter’s eighth Will Trent novel, which pulls in characters and events from her earlier work titled BEYOND REACH. Backstory is sharply delivered through the antagonism between Trent’s lover, Dr. Sara Linton, and Macon cop Lena Adams. As Agent Trent, of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, seeks to identify hospital-linked drug... Read More

Prouty's novel follows a plot similar to that of Stoker's DRACULA while also using the material that inspired the original novel. Though not necessarily scary, the combination makes for a mesmerizing listening experience, especially when narrated by Stephen Thorne. As with the original classic, this story is told through the written journal of the protagonist, here Joseph... Read More

In a droll tone, Sean Barrett delivers the fictional autobiography of Robert Merivel, physician to kings, as he reflects on his life from the mid- to the late 1600s. This second installment in the story of a man who doesn't really do anything except mooch off aristocrats in England and France takes listeners from the court of Charles II of England to that of Louis XIV in... Read More

Bird McGill loves nothing more than flying with her dad, an airplane mechanic who is the only one who believes in her dream of becoming a P-40 Warhawk fighter pilot. Narrator Rachel Delude adopts just the right amount of spunkiness for this 11-year-old tomboy. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, her dad is drafted. Then Bird befriends the new Japanese-American student, Kenji, and... Read More

Narrator Susan Boyce assumes the voice of the author in this concise, enlightening memoir about the author's return to her childhood home in China. Though her pronunciation of some of the Chinese phrases is imprecise, her narration is otherwise fluid, and she transitions deftly between the story's two settings. Her clear reading and modulated tones capture the author's diverse... Read More

Benedict's novel focuses on two women--one from each side of the War in Iraq. Narrator Cassandra Campbell's has a large range of characterizations, which the novel demands since the chapters alternate between American and Iraqi points of view. Her portrayal of American Kate Brady is fierce and believable. However, Campbell stumbles when it comes to the Iraqi characters,... Read More

The story of the sadly electrocuted elephant Topsy is actually two stories: one of circuses and one of the fight over electricity standards. Mark Peckham narrates the exploits of the two men who figure most in those stories with dramatic emphasis. He brings to life the boasting and trickery of P.T. Barnum and the strident statements of Thomas Edison with equal skill. Peckham... Read More

Narrator Emily Woo Zeller inhabits her character wholly in this enlightening story of Ailin, a girl growing up in 1920s China. Zeller’s subdued, controlled voice conveys the societal rules, both spoken and unspoken, for women during this period. In high contrast is 9-year-old Ailin’s bold determination and defiance as she refuses to have her feet bound. Zeller’s varied tones... Read More

Fred Sullivan’s rich voice strikes the perfect balance of intimacy and authority as the mass migration to California during the Dust Bowl era gets renewed attention in this short audio. Stanley contrasts the poverty and despair of the migrants, many from Oklahoma, with the progress migrant children made at the innovative Weedpatch School, near Bakersfield. The story describes... Read More

A full-cast performs the frustrating play Badgers in My Vest, based on Thomas's real struggle with writer's block and alcoholism during WWII. The other five stories, by Thomas himself, grasp the quaint and brave intensity of Welsh folk in harrowing times. These extraordinary short stories are startling with their dark humor. "Patricia Edith and Arnold" is read Sian Phillips; "A... Read More

Based on the BBC series "Being Human," this story introduces vampire Mitchell and werewolf George's latest problem: a new ghost in the house. Gemma's return from the ghostly beyond seems prompted by her son's suicide, but as Mitchell investigates, the situation becomes more complex. Mitchell and George also face layoffs when an efficiency expert arrives at work. Narrator Lenora... Read More

Cassandra Campbell's narration masterfully plumbs layers of local culture in Williams's story of injustice on the French island of Guadeloupe. Soft-spoken yet determined Juge d'Instruction Anne Marie Laveaud, who is from Algeria, confronts matrimonial and judicial barriers in her investigation of a murder and an improbable suicide while juggling childcare and a wandering... Read More

After a family tragedy, Thompson Grey, whose fate was to live, abandons his home in Indiana on a westward sojourn haunted by grief and regret. Captain Upperdine, a guide for settlers, disrupts Thompson's solitude with an invitation to join his wagon company on the Santa Fe trail. The offer provides purpose and, ultimately, a destination where Thompson's emotional recovery can... Read More

Professional volleyball player Gabrielle Reece showcases her wisdom and humor in this delightful book, which serves as both memoir and self-help book. She candidly shares stories about her life and divulges her insights on topics she encounters everyday such as marriage and parenting. Reece offers personal stories and insightful tidbits as if her listeners are her close... Read More

Like the comedy of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the wordplay, puns, and improvisational games in this collection of four WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? programs are perfect for audio. As a matter of fact, WHOSE LINE began as a BBC radio program and moved to television in 1988. This collection features the early 2000s British cast of the popular television series, hosted by Clive... Read More

Sure, it sounded easy. Find a stolen coin and return it to its rightful owner. But soon the case gets complicated, dead bodies start stacking up, and the life of a good girl wronged long ago hangs in the balance. In this full-cast dramatization of Chandler's third novel, BBC Radio 4 harkens back to the acting styles, orchestration, and gritty feel of 1940s radio to take on one... Read More

The inimitable Davina Porter nails it once again in her performance of THE OTHER CHILD. Amid an atmosphere of dark secrets and fatal consequences, she gives precise personalities to each of the key players in Link's psychological thriller. In Scarborough, on the British coast, a brutal murder connects a range of disparate characters, and a copycat crime leads to a mystery... Read More

Narrator Alex Kingston re-creates the character she played on the BBC's "Dr. Who." She speaks with a learned British intonation, an approach that doesn't work because the story involves a female detective in 1938 New York. Still, she deliciously utters the narrative, much of it suggestive, so the listener can envision her sashaying around the city and entrancing the locals.... Read More

Twelve-year-old Jesse heads for the mountains after a fight with his Pa. He plans to become the mountain man he's always dreamed of being, but his hasty departure from home leaves him poorly prepared for the reality of wilderness life. Kirby Heyborne handles this story's frontier dialect in a slow, deliberate voice, making it easy for the listener to understand language that... Read More

Salt Lake City librarian Josh Hanagarne's severe tics first appeared on stage in a school play when he was 6. Stephen R. Thorne's reading of that moment sounds much as it might have sounded to the young Josh. Portraying the adult Hanagarne, Thorne's voice ranges from elegant as he discusses the author's everyday clashes with library patrons to concerned as Hanagarne wonders if... Read More

Rachel Delude's voice is gloomy and full of suspense, just like the summer in store for 16-year-old Ali. Ali goes to the lake with her aunt to babysit for her 4-year-old cousin. There, long-buried family secrets emerge, which threaten to drown them all. While the tone of the story is deliciously menacing, Delude's narration, with her soft voice and slow pace, is inviting. She... Read More

Neil Hamil is an articulate divorce lawyer who uses her wits to solve mysteries. Narrator Meredith Mitchell makes her a memorable character. Written in 1995 but just released on audio, this story features the search for an eccentric millionaire's wife, who has disappeared along with one of his valuable birds. One wonders which is more important to wealthy Terrence Lewellen--his... Read More

Narrator Susan Boyce gives weight and expression to what might easily have been a standard author biography, elevated, and burdened, by the proposition that Nabokov's writings reflect the conflicts and social upheavals of his time. Pitzer's review of historical events--revolution, war, concentration camps--may seem overfamiliar to those who know much about them, but Boyce... Read More

The unusual but still humdrum plot of this mystery is not uplifted by narrator Corey Snow’s steady but monotonous voice. The only thing outstanding about "the white angel" is the ingenious and horrifying methods she comes up with to kill her enemies—like casting one victim off in a rubber boat in a river filled with piranhas, then putting a bullet hole in the rubber. Sam Borne,... Read More

In this deeply felt interior novel, narrator Dan Butler captures the brooding nature of the main character, David, who is trapped in a coming-of-age crisis that lasts the length of the story. An ex-pat living in Paris, David finds himself in the midst of two sexual relationships--one with a woman and one with a man. Butler's rich baritone carries the lilt and rhythmic pacing of... Read More

Against a backdrop of catastrophic events relating to global warming, Helsinki poet Tapani Lehtinen sets out to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of his wife, a journalist. British narrator Simon Shepard conveys a mixture of desperation and hope amid a society trying to survive the ultimate threat. The story is told in the first person, and subtle characterizations... Read More

This is much more than a war story. From the opening lines, Peter Berkrot's gritty, staccato narration captures the listener and doesn't let go. Benn's fans will find all the graphic war action they've enjoyed in his popular Billy Budd series, along with deeper, more nuanced developments as the story follows hero Clay Brock's life after the military. With his gravelly voice and... Read More

Sean Crisden delivers an eerily effective performance, giving a Poe-ish atmosphere to this dark children's story. With a low, throaty voice he captures the entity that seeks revenge for past wrongs by possessing various residents of Magnolia. Crisden's vocal versatility conveys the personalities of the bold yet simple-minded Sonny and spunky tomboy Sammy as they help their... Read More

Fred Sullivan is an enthusiastic and conversational-sounding narrator. Delivering the author’s many anecdotes of his personal experiences, friends, and people he knows or has worked with, Sullivan energizes the message on how to age gracefully. He is equally at home with the discourse on Buddhist teachings about the nature of life as change, the review of scientific and other... Read More

Melvin Miller’s heartfelt candor and earnest desire to help are the key ingredients in this perfectly balanced lesson. Along with briefer segments narrated by his coauthor, what you mostly hear is a resonant Miller explaining the basics of the seven practices and, in live recordings, interacting with engaged seminar attendees. In the seminar recordings, his voice is kind, and... Read More

Listeners will delight in this return to Anna Banks's imaginative ocean world and relish the enthusiasm and dramatic flair that Rebecca Gibel brings to her narration. Learning that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess was difficult enough for Emma, a half-human, half-mermaid teenager. Now, as treason and scandal threaten the Syrena realm below the waves, Emma must choose... Read More

In Massachusetts in 1786, 14-year-old Justin longs to be a hero like his brother-in-law, Peter, who recently returned from fighting in the Revolution. Narrator Charlie Thurston's delivery is methodical and precise, with distinct voices for each character. Postwar economic depression results in higher taxes, causing farmers to become so debt ridden that they either foreclose on... Read More

Despite an uneven delivery, listeners will no doubt find something to enjoy in this intriguing romantic story set during the American Revolution. When Quaker and rebel sympathizer Kate Grey's home is commandeered by Royalist troops, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to cavalry officer Major Lord Peter Tremayne. But before they have any time to explore their growing... Read More

On an uncharted, storm-swept island, the magician Prospero uses his powers and those of the flighty spirit Ariel to wreck the ship of his wicked brother, Antonio, stranding its crew and passengers. Meanwhile, through more magic, Prospero's daughter, Miranda, has fallen in love with Ferdinand, son of the of king of Naples. This 2001 BBC Radio 3 production starring the late... Read More

Narrator Nickolas Grace tackles the second Diamond Brothers mystery with intensity. Scotland Yard needs 14-year-old Nick Diamond's help to bring down the Fence by cozying up to one of his clients, 15-year-old Johnny Powers, who's serving time at a juvenile hall. Nick refuses, so the Inspector frames him for robbery and sends him to detention anyway. The Irish accents of the... Read More

Tim Warren took a leave of absence from his work as a chiropractor in order to pursue his dream of climbing Mount Everest. Warren narrates the story of how he achieved his goal, describing in detail the trials and tribulations he faced in his attempts to reach the summit. Two of the challenges were Everest's extreme conditions and a debilitating stomach bug. With occasional... Read More

Laura Hicks narrates this glimpse into a little-known detail of American history: the "orphan trains" that carried orphaned or abandoned children from their homes in the East to new families in the West between 1854 and 1930. Hicks's narration is clear and well paced, characteristics that are appropriate for a historical work. She provides down-home Western accents for some of... Read More

Simon Vance is the perfect voice for Charlie Howard, crime writer and thief. Vance's delivery is dry with just a hint of ennui, which echoes Ewan's writing to a tee. While in Vegas with his literary agent, Charlie picks the pocket of celebrity illusionist Josh Masters. But Masters was scamming the casino, and when he disappears, the casino owners think Charlie is in on it, and... Read More

Movie critic Violet Epps must learn to stand up for herself and to speak as forcefully in real life as she does in her reviews. During an evening at the Algonquin Hotel, Violet unleashes the ghost of the renowned wit Dorothy Parker, Violet's role model and the one "person" who just might be able to help Violet find her dormant self-confidence. Narrator Angela Brazil is... Read More

Baseball fans have all heard stories of the game’s greatest moments. But this collection of radio calls—classic broadcasting from different eras—is a must-listen. Sportscaster Bob Costas is his usual steady self as he introduces these timeless broadcasting snippets. Some are famous—such as Don Larsen’s perfect World Series game in 1956 and Bobby Thomson’s shot heard ‘round the... Read More

The first book in The Arabus Family Trilogy by the Collier brothers introduces a Connecticut family of free blacks during the Revolutionary War. Willy Freeman sees her freedom jeopardized when her father dies in battle and her mother disappears. Sean Crisden tells the story in Willy's own words, but since the listener knows she's a girl passing as a boy, his male voice seems... Read More

Madeleine Lambert brings a clear voice and authentic French accent to investigator Aimée Leduc and her compatriots. Her business partner recently took a lucrative job offer in Silicon Valley. Now, Aimée’s detective agency has more work than she can do, and she's hoping that her friend, part-time computer hacker Saj de Rosnay, will be able to help her out. The plot, which is... Read More

This full-cast production enhances Hale’s engrossing story as the fantasy world of Bayern continues. Rin loves her forest home, but she follows her brother, Razo, to the city when her magical powers swirl out of control. Along with the queen and her magical friends, Rin confronts a vicious traitor. Especially noteworthy performances come from narrators Camille Cady-McCrea as... Read More

Complex, immersive science fiction needs narrators who can keep the stories clear for listeners. Here, Charles Carroll's level tone and steady, thoughtful pacing will definitely help listeners stay on top of the book's events and characters. "The Change" has come over the world, killing everyone over the age of 14. Those who are left are captured by alien overlords for deadly... Read More

The Peter Diamond procedurals are very well made, and this one would be particularly entertaining but for the extremely disappointing production and performance. Clive Anderson can act, and he's excellent with accents, but almost all his women have distractingly breathy, oddly pitched voices not found in nature. Worse, he makes a disastrous choice for a key character, the... Read More

Liam and Carter are 11-year-old neighbors and cousins who play Little League ball as an inseparable pitcher-catcher duo. In this first of a series of baseball-packed adventures, the boys reach the highs of playing in a championship game and the lows of enduring a family move--and they handle each situation together. Narrator Nick Sullivan sounds like a baseball announcer with... Read More

This final book in the Arabus Family saga continues the authors' close attention to historical accuracy while telling an engrossing adventure story. Carrie, a slave in Sam Fraunce's tavern, has a front-row seat to the birth of a new idea of freedom and to the inauguration of George Washington. Lisa Marie Pitts gives a believable voice to this feisty young lady who is bound and... Read More

With flawless speaking voices and nuanced phrasing, both of these narrators convey relaxed confidence for those listening to this collection of magazine articles about Warren Buffett. The book is mainly about Buffett's methods, microeconomics, and the evolution of modern investing practice--topics that are a perfect match for Susan Boyce's understated personality and dry... Read More

These BBC Charles Paris mysteries, based on Simon Brett's original character, get progressively better due, in part, to excellent supporting characters. Here we have Charles's mum to thank for a most spirited production. Charles tries to free his old friend, Hugo, from a murder charge by finding the real culprit. Bill Nighy, sounding a bit dopey and hesitant at times, is the... Read More

Steve Brill delivers a humorous and engaging narration as he offers tips on foraging in New York City's parks and densely populated areas. Brill's unscripted narrative, dry humor, frequent puns, and tongue-in-cheek comments are enhanced by his monotone delivery as he interweaves history and personal stories with information about wild, edible, and medicinal plants that are... Read More

Based on the popular blog of the same name, this audiobook features Jennifer Worick's rants against everything from old guys with ponytails to people who don't believe in television. The premise is simple: "Crap that chaps my hide." Narrator Rebecca Gibel injects a bit of venom into each of the selections, which are given a ranking (number of punches) based on how annoying they... Read More

Tobias Sartorius returns to his hometown after serving a sentence for the murder of two girls. His return initiates a series of events that reopens old wounds, uncovers secrets, and eventually results in history repeating itself. As Inspector Pia Kirchhoff and D.S. Oliver von Bodenstein investigate events, the listener is introduced to a list of characters that is jam-packed... Read More

Eighteen-year-old Emma meets Galen Forza on a Florida beach and considers his handsome perfection out of her league. Their meeting is no coincidence. Prince Galen believes Emma is not a human but a Syrena (mer-person) like him. Fighting a forbidden attraction to Emma, Galen puzzles out her human origins while dealing with underwater politics that might pair Emma with his... Read More

"Today" show correspondent and former Travel Channel host Bob Dotson traveled around the U.S. interviewing regular people who have contributed to our nation's uniqueness. The result is a heartwarming collection of inspirational accounts and proposed solutions to our problems. Dotson narrates his book, and he does a terrific job, as befits someone whose job is to tell stories on... Read More

Gilbert's fast-moving and perhaps too admiring account of Churchill from his mid-40s on concentrates on his professional and political activities, skimming the off years, delving into detail during WWII. Narrator Christian Rodska moves the story along at an excellent pace, reading with understanding and precision, giving the text proper intonation and weight. He provides a... Read More

This is the 22nd outing for Leon's stolid Venetian detective, Commissario Brunetti. This time he's voiced by English narrator David Rintoul. Unlike so many detectives, Brunetti is neither depressed nor an alcoholic. Instead, his stable family life and the numerous home-cooked meals they eat together form a comforting backdrop to the darker story. A deaf man is found dead, and... Read More

Jingo Hawks is abandoned by his father at Boston's Beneficent Orphan House, run by the nasty Mrs. Daggatt. Soon Jingo is sold to a greedy man to work as a chimney sweep. Narrator Charles Carroll takes listeners on a spirited journey as feisty Jingo joins a band of gypsies, and listeners learn Romani words and lore. Carroll also beautifully renders the kindness of the gypsies... Read More

Four children from a newly blended family are sent on a boating excursion so they can bond with one another. When they find themselves stranded on an island somewhere in the South Pacific, they're put to the test. Charles Carroll's steady and articulate narration heightens the tension of the story and captures the children's fear as they bicker about how best to survive.... Read More

Brazil will soon host the World Cup soccer tournament and the summer Olympics, so this is the perfect time to become better acquainted with this vast and varied country. And there's no more charming and informative guide than the lively and imperturbable Michael Palin. Here he floats down the Amazon in a small boat visiting tiny villages, dances with the Yanomami, marches in a... Read More

Three men, all connected to each other and to one woman--Sanna Kaegler-Ceder--are executed in similar ways. Enter Detective Inspector Irene Huss. Huss and narrator Suzanne Toren both deliver in this Swedish mystery involving money, the dot-com bubble, and betrayal. As Huss unravels the complex case, Toren's delivery draws the listener in. One can only admire her ability to... Read More

Historian Barbara Corrado Pope writes mysteries set in nineteenth-century France. In this audiobook, we hear that the Belle poque was not so beautiful for the poor, exploited, hungry, or victims of violence. Narrator Meredith Mitchell gives a lively, folksy portrayal of Parisians ranging from the hunted daughter of a charwoman to idealistic Russian anarchists. The story's... Read More

Every year the time-traveling main character—who goes by the various nicknames of "Screwdriver,” "70," and "Yellow Sweater"—celebrates his birthday with past and future incarnations of himself in a derelict Manhattan hotel. It's 2071, the hundredth anniversary of his birth. Narrator Mauro Hantman recounts this offbeat, paradoxical saga with convincing, amusing, and disturbing... Read More

Self-made lawyer Jack MacTaggart has little in common with the horsey set of Pasadena. But when a wealthy client needs help collecting insurance money for her dead show horse, MacTaggart is only too happy to investigate. Of course, he finds more than he and his client ever bargained for, especially when people start dying as well. Narrator Dan Butler brings the wisecracking... Read More

Narrator Clive Mantle skillfully delivers the story of two brothers, Paul and Serge, and their wives, Claire and Babette, as they dine in a swanky Amsterdam restaurant. From the perspective of Paul, we learn that the couples are grappling with how to handle a horrific act committed by their 15-year-old sons. The situation is complicated by the fact that Serge is a politician.... Read More

This production of Estleman's 1991 book will bring back fond memories for many. Set in Detroit in 1966, the story includes an impeccable description of the city and its surroundings in that year. There are familiar references to Brylcreem, LBJ, Bobby Kennedy, Berry Gordy, and fanciful vehicles like Pontiac GTOs and '66 Mustangs. All are right on the money. Narrator Stephen... Read More

As the second book in Dunmore's Ingo trilogy opens, Sapphire and her family have moved from their seaside cottage into town. As much as she's a child of Earth, Sapphy's Mer blood pulls her back into the sea in quest of her missing father and her own place between Earth and Sea. Will she find him, and will she be able to stop the ever-rising tides? Kate Sachs is an unobtrusive... Read More

Baldwin’s first novel, published in 1953, centers around Harlem Pentecostal preacher Gabriel Grimes—his life, family, and congregation. Narrator Adam Lazarre-White does a commendable job portraying the large cast over a long span of time beginning in 1935 in the South and then moving North. Since point of view and time continually shift, his narration helps listeners remain... Read More

Carlene Bauer’s novel follows the correspondence and ensuing friendship of a young man and a young woman who meet at an artist’s colony. Bauer’s account of the ups and downs of Frances and Bernard’s relationship is by turns beautiful and heartbreaking. Her story in enhanced by the superb narration of Angela Brazil and Stephen Thorne, who narrate Frances and Bernard’s letters,... Read More

In the long awaited sequel to THE PRINCESS ACADEMY, Miri travels from Mt. Eskel to the royal palace for the upcoming wedding of Britta and Prince Steffan. Instead of joyous preparations, she finds herself in the middle of a simmering conflict between the nobles and the common folk. The full cast enlivens Hale's story of revolution. Particularly noteworthy is the voice for Miri... Read More

Connie Minor returns as protagonist in this installment of Estleman's Detroit Crime series. Twenty years past his notoriety as a Prohibition-era journalist, Minor is tapped to lead the advertising campaign that launches the infamous Ford Edsel. Attempts to sabotage the Edsel project and a murder plot keep Minor crisscrossing between the worlds of organized crime, business, and... Read More

John Quincannon and Sabina Carpenter, owners of a San Francisco detective agency at the turn of the twentieth century, take on two seemingly unconnected cases. As the plot progresses, the cases become inextricably linked. THE BUGHOUSE AFFAIR also features an appearance by Sherlock Holmes, which adds an interesting twist to the story. Nick Sullivan and Meredith Mitchell share... Read More

Maltman's most recent novel is a haunting, complex story that draws the listener into the small, troubled prairie town of Lone Mountain, Minnesota, where secrets are dark and lives are bleak. Hillary Huber's narration is as sparse as the desolate German farming community where the events take place. She builds the suspense, slowly pulling away layers of secrets with a... Read More

PI Sharon McCone visits her sister on Appleby Island to look into some odd occurrences that are hampering plans to develop an upmarket "boatel." It quickly becomes apparent that these are far from harmless pranks, and soon murder follows. Narrator Laura Hicks delivers this mystery with style, injecting the perfect pacing into the performance to engage listeners and make them... Read More

Near the end of WWII, Yuki and her family are released from the internment camps in Utah where they've been imprisoned. As they try to rebuild their lives, they also await the return of Yuki's brother, a U.S. soldier who was wounded in Europe. Emily Woo Zeller narrates with precise diction and a lilting tone. Her character voices are delightful, varying from that of the... Read More

What was it like to transform from a healthy 12-year-old to a young girl paralyzed by polio in just the space of a few days? In her fictionalized memoir, children's author Peg Kehret traces this journey and the following months of rehabilitation in 1949. Kehret's account is riveting in large part due to narrator Susan Boyce. Neither sentimental nor saccharine, Boyce moves... Read More

Teenage Alyssa has begun having the same delusions that landed her mother in a mental hospital: Bugs and flowers whisper secrets to her. It seems all the women in the family have suffered this fate—all the way back to Alice Liddell, the inspiration for ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. But Alyssa discovers that Wonderland is real; she and her mother are not insane; and she has... Read More

This is a somewhat uneven collection of both BBC radio and television interviews, conducted between 1955 to 1980. Among other things, Alfred Hitchcock, in his characteristic macabre "sotto voce," discusses the time he was locked in a police cell when he was a child at his father's request. Interview questions address his early films, the introduction of "talkies," and his... Read More

The director of the British Museum examines history through particular objects. His earlier work was A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 100 OBJECTS. Now in 20 segments, each under 15 minutes, he turns to Shakespeare's time, shedding light on the period and the plays and showing that Shakespeare's references were often cutting-edge. MacGregor is an enjoyable narrator His enunciation is... Read More

Author Ross King focuses not only on the composition and execution of da Vinci's famous painting but also on the cultural, political, religious, and technical environment in which its artist worked. The result is a well-rounded, fascinating story. Narrator Mark Meadows approaches this account with an emphatic intonation that sometimes sounds like a lecture. Although his... Read More

Who killed editor Herman Q. Mildew? More than 80 noted authors and illustrators present their alibis and excuses in this anthology whose proceeds benefit the charity 826NYC, which supports creative writing for kids. Narrator Rebecca Gibel provides a welcome consistency to this diverse collection as her clear presentation helps to link the varied stories. Gibel manages to give... Read More

Small-town residents Allie and her two best friends become enthusiasts of Parkour. Their version of the stunt sport involves scaling and leaping off tall buildings--at night. During these nights, Allie witnesses what could be the murders of young women. Rebecca Gibel is pitch-perfect voicing the entire cast, especially Allie and Juliet. Within the story's text, Mitchard... Read More

Gardner's well-researched classic is back in print after 40 years, and it's improved with age. Imagine both Sherlock Holmes and Professor John Moriarty surviving the plunge at Reichenbach Falls. Robin Sachs is masterful as he takes on two of the most famous characters in the world of crime. Each cosmopolitan character, and there are many, is uniquely drawn, with Scots detective... Read More

Though Richard Waterhouse’s performance sounds laid-back and friendly, he’s conscientious about making every word clear and capturing every nuance in this smoothly written, fascinating book. The author uses his experience with top-shelf corporations and a gift for storytelling to show how remarkable innovations appear when companies go beyond defining goals and following set... Read More

Time, it seems, is of the essence in most mysteries. That premise is taken a step farther in Nick Harkaway’s wonderful novel featuring clockmaker Joe Spork, who inadvertently sets off a doomsday machine while repairing an old clock. Daniel Weyman’s performance of this mystical story is terrific. The lilt in his voice engages the listener as he brings the book’s wide variety of... Read More

The Russians are at it again in this futuristic spy thriller, which opens in the year 2018. Joe Barrett leads listeners from Karelia, Russia, to the shores of Donegal, Ireland. Myriad characters speak with Irish, Russian, English, and American accents, and Barrett delivers each with resonance and power. With a flawless delivery he portrays the old-school president of Russia, a... Read More

In Salt Lake City in 1930, rookie deputy Art Oveson is convinced that a wealthy socialite's gruesome murder is not the open-and-shut case the sheriff believes it to be. Richard Waterhouse portrays Oveson's naïve fortitude with a gentle tone that reflects his Mormon ideals. Waterhouse's simple, moderately-paced reading allows the listener to accept the unsullied ideals of the... Read More

This audiobook combines the intensity of a film noir--specifically, Dashiell Hammett's MALTESE FALCON--and the humor of a screwball comedy. Nick Diamond is only 13, but he's miles away smarter than his big brother, Tim, a private investigator. After Tim is hired by a mysterious man to guard a box of maltesers (malted milk candies), every criminal in Britain starts hunting the... Read More

Orphaned and left in the care of his abusive half-brother, Ranofer desires nothing more than to become an expert goldsmith like his father, a dream that seems impossible until he discovers a golden goblet that may have the power to change his destiny. Charles Carroll's quick pace and clear, crisp tone add to the suspense of this ancient Egyptian mystery without sounding rushed... Read More

Priced at a reasonable $49.99, Boo was literally that puppy in the window. Though Lisa Edwards had a hunch about this particular pup, there was no way she could have foreseen the impact he would have on her life and the resulting ripple effects that continue to this day. Narrator Meredith Mitchell brings to life this story of human and canine transformation. While described as... Read More

The naval guns sent to coastal Rhode Island in 1942 may have been enormous, but the issues about to face cousins Elliot and Robert are equally monumental. With WWII approaching and Robert’s father already fighting the Nazis in the Royal Canadian Air Force, his family has relocated closer to his grandparents in the U.S. Charles Carroll takes on the role of the adult Robert... Read More

As Johnny's father lies dying from injuries he suffered at the hands of the North, he makes Johnny promise that he won’t join the war effort. Narrator Alston Brown becomes Johnny in this poignant first-person account of the Civil War from a Southern perspective. He also excels at creating Yankee and African-American accents as well as the speech patterns of the day. When Johnny... Read More

In 1969, the marriage between black Jim Hunter and his blonde wife, Millie, is met with unspoken ostracism, even in their circle of research scientists. An expert in lethal poisons, Millie announces that her groundbreaking blowfish toxin has disappeared from her closet-sized research lab, and then two murders rapidly occur in their small academic community. Narrator Lewis... Read More

Alston Brown’s easy pace is well suited to descriptions of boundless opportunities and the wide-open prairie. Brown is the personification of innocence and naivete as he describes this book’s romantic visions of Colorado gold. The story is told by 14-year-old Early Whitcomb. Brown subtly differentiates between characters, allowing Early’s earnestness and Uncle Jesse’s charisma... Read More

Shocked to hear a homeless man call his name, 13-year-old Gabe Mendoza realizes he’s looking into the face of his estranged father. As Soto’s novella unfolds in Fresno, California, Gabe grapples with understanding his past and present relationships with this man. On his journey to understanding, Gabe scuffles with a gang, adopts a dog, visits his Uncle Matthew, appreciates his... Read More

JD Jackson’s narration of this 1994 biography has the understated assuredness of a master and keeps the focus on Walter Dean Myers’s beautiful text. Occasionally, Jackson’s voice resonates with pain, as it does during the tragedies of Malcolm’s childhood. Overall, Jackson’s voice is like a steady wind steering the story on a perfectly charted course. The text doesn’t shy away... Read More

Sarah Burton is the newly appointed headmistress for the local girls' school in 1930s South Riding, Yorkshire. Sarah Lancashire delivers the narrative in soft, steady tones that draw the listener into the story. Philip Glenister and Carole Boyd read the dialogue with a variety of sharp accents, adding to the charm of rural England. Holtby's 1974 story provides an interesting... Read More

Banish your preconceptions regarding Scandinavian writing! This Swedish novel is neither a crime story, nor is it dark and gloomy. Allan Karlsson, the eponymous centenarian, cannot face his imminent birthday celebration at the old folks home, presided over by the mayor, so he impulsively clambers from his window and escapes in his slippers. Steven Crossley jubilantly recounts... Read More

A Moroccan river pilot escapes his occupied country in a monoxide-choked utility trailer while a rusty old Honduran banana boat pulls into a Norfolk drydock for repairs after a harrowing voyage through the storm-tossed North Atlantic. Brady tells both of these stories with the art of a master raconteur, and when their plots converge, this true-life WWII tale turns explosive.... Read More

After a series of break-ins in Vermont and Boston's Beacon Hill show striking similarities, Joe Gunther, the protagonist of this long-running mystery series, finds himself in Northampton, Massachusetts. He and his team are looking for an unusual fence who deals in antiques and jewelry. William Dufris, the latest voice of this New England detective, creates a multifaceted man... Read More

Too often we hear fairy tales told through the filter of satire or Saturday-morning cartoons, so it’s a distinct pleasure to hear a writer of Philip Pullman’s talent, humor, and intelligence ever so slightly and cleverly reimagine 50 of the original 200 Brothers Grimm’s tales, first published 200 years ago. English actor Samuel West provides a superbly wry and cultured... Read More

Caro Warrick, who was accused of murder and then exonerated, hires P.I. Sharon McCone to prove she's innocent. The next day Warrick is murdered. As McCone digs into Warrick's life, she soon finds herself a target for murder. In a gravelly voice, Laura Hicks narrates slowly and steadily through McCone's investigation, dodging bullets and sorting out clues. With clearly... Read More

Ghost hunter Cas Lowood finds himself haunted by the ghost girl Anna, who sacrificed herself to save his life. August Ross’s ponderous pacing drags down this story as Cas travels to Scotland to rendezvous with a cult. Not only does Cas find himself facing possible replacement by a newly trained warrior in the Order of the Biodag Dubh, but he must pass a horrific test in order... Read More

Those who love hearing about food will enjoy these candid conversations with some of the world's eminent chefs. Lydia Bastianich, Deb Perelman, Madhur Jaffrey, Judith Jones, and Betty Fussell speak about their culinary philosophies, first tastes, frugality, rituals, travel, flavors, family, adventurous concoctions, dreams, and memories. Ambient sounds abound, either from... Read More

Katherine Kellgren uses a British accent for most of Kaaberbøl and Friis’s second novel featuring Danish Red Cross nurse Nina Borg. Kellgren’s narration is outstanding, with bright energy, sharp intonation, and the ability to move easily between a variety of ethnic accents. The multiple subplots involve a group of ailing and impoverished Romani hiding in a Copenhagen garage,... Read More

Simon Brett's Charles Paris, an alcoholic actor who's often out of work and at odds with his wife, Frances, is always enjoyable to hear with Brett as narrator. However, this BBC Radio Crimes Full-Cast edition, dramatized by Jeremy Front, is equally delightful. Bill Nighy inhabits the older, maybe wiser and more cautious, Charles—his asides and sighs are perfect. When Charles is... Read More

Fred Sullivan instantly creates an emotionally engaging connection with the listener in this eye-opening and affectionate biography of Charlie Chaplin for children. Sullivan’s soft-spoken voice reveals the bittersweet sources of inspiration for Chaplin’s famous moves, such as the stumbling modeled by his drunkard father. Well-placed pauses emphasize the moments of heartache,... Read More

With a fast pace and a friendly drawl, Peter Berkrot tells the story of cowboy newsman Stringer as he is sent to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to cover a rodeo—and ends up uncovering a crime. Berkrot is perfect as Stringer, the ultimate hero, who can ride a bronco better than rodeo professionals and draw his gun faster than infamous outlaws while the ladies line up to have their way with... Read More

Listeners are sure to be familiar with Sherlock Holmes and could well know G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown. How many, though, know Anna Katharine Green's Miss Violet Strange? Angela Brazil brings a light touch to the woman who conducts her investigations with little notice until the final revelations. Elsewhere, Simon Vance brings a caper from Maurice LeBlanc's Arsene Lupin to... Read More

Arthur C. Clarke's disturbing novel focuses on mankind and its tenuous place in the universe. This BBC adaptation features a full cast in a rather noisy version of a story known for its subtlety. The cast is led by Steven Pacey as the human who comes to understand the mysterious Overlords, an alien race that brings peace, prosperity, and a golden age to humankind--for as long... Read More

The setting is 1860s Victorian Edinburgh in these lively mystery stories, which are based on the memoirs of a real-life detective. In BEHIND THE CURTAIN, Inspector James McLevy is called upon to solve a threat written in blood that is received by an actress. Brian Cox portrays McLevy, ably supported by Siobhan Redmond, Michael Perceval-Maxwell, and the author, who has a small... Read More

Here’s a delight you shouldn’t miss. True, not everyone has an abiding interest in linguistics, but David Crystal’s method of focusing on single and representative words produces fascinating results, and surprising breadth. Words like “able,” “and,” “ain’t,” “alphabet,” and “dude” have their individual history, illustrate some historic feature of language, and mark the... Read More

First published to coincide with the bicentennial of the adoption of the United States Constitution in 1787, this is a well-written thematic introduction to that document. Bronson Pinchot's tenor voice is expressive, confident, and steady throughout. As a popular history, the text is somewhat conversational in its tone, and Pinchot's voice adroitly matches the text, making for... Read More

Mr. Gum is dirty, lazy, and mean. The only good thing anyone could say about him is that he has the most beautiful garden in town, but that’s only true because a bullying fairy makes him keep it up. Kate Winslet brings energy and vivid expression to her performance as the intrusive narrator of this comically absurd story. Her many asides are as witty as Stanton’s words as she... Read More

Hector and Mando visit Hector's Uncle Julio for a change of pace and for the experience of seeing a little of the world beyond East LA. Narrator Anthony Perez is terrific as he captures the fun-loving but sometimes bickering boys, as well as Uncle Julio, who is going on his first date "in a long time." The guys accompany Julio on an old airplane as he takes aerial pictures of a... Read More

Even if you know nothing about fine art, Dan Butler's superb performance will bring this complex and sometimes shady world to life. His sensitive delivery of Ken Perenyi's poignant memoir of life as a liar and thief makes it hard not to like this consummate scam artist in spite of it all--unless, of course, you paid an exorbitant price for one of his fakes. Butler's easy... Read More

Another dystopian fantasy with the requisite strong female lead, love triangle, and cruel government has hit the headphones. Adelice tries to hide her weaving ability; if it’s noticed, she will be sequestered for life as a Spinster, responsible for maintaining the literal "web of life." Amanda Dolan gives Adelice a persistently aggressive tone. Even her struggles to figure out... Read More

Dan Butler brings the gunshots, cracking ice, broken bottles, and broken dreams of Prohibition Detroit to life as he narrates Estleman’s first book (1990) in his Detroit Crime Series. Listeners are transported to the city of blind pigs, police raids, scary border crossings, shootouts, frenetic newsrooms, and courtroom battles. Butler’s voice presents a likable pair of... Read More

Edith Wharton’s classic fiction offers a look inside America’s Gilded Age, capturing both its outer sparkle and the inner truths. In this audiobook, Fields offers a look at Wharton’s later years, a time marked by her professional successes and her personal passions. Meredith Mitchell is an adept narrator who moves precisely and compassionately among distinctive characters. Some... Read More

This classic oral biography of Jack Kerouac, the most well known of the Beat Poets, was originally published in 1978. This edition includes a new introductory essay by the surviving author Gifford, which provides additional insights into the subject and the authors’ methods of research. Through interviews with Kerouac’s famous and infamous friends and lovers, this patchwork... Read More

Fourteen-year-old Joey Jordan has dreamed of winning gold since she started gymnastics in the second grade. Her older sister won the gold at Nationals before surprising everyone and retiring from the sport. Joey’s dream is to surpass that record and go all the way to the Olympics. Narrator Jaselyn Blanchard sounds like an enthusiastic 14-year-old girl, right down to the raised... Read More

Cassandra Campbell has a melodic voice and fine, fluid Italian, both important attributes for the narrator of Donna Leon’s first stand-alone mystery. THE JEWELS OF PARADISE focuses on Caterina Pellegrini, a scholar of Baroque opera who returns to her native Venice to examine the contents of two eighteenth-century trunks belonging to a forgotten Baroque composer. Will the trunks... Read More

Elinor Brooke and her brother Toby have a close, if occasionally fractious, relationship. When Toby leaves to fight the Germans in the Great War, Elinor doesn’t know what to do with herself, particularly after she develops a premonition that he will not return home. In this novel, Pat Barker writes about love, loss, and survival, themes that are supported well by Nicola... Read More

Starting with the author's childhood, author Sid Fleischman looks at Samuel Clemens's life. He concentrates on the development of the writer, relating people and places—and the delivery style Mark Twain developed in lectures—to the elements in Twain's novels. Joe Barrett's narration isn't flashy—the anecdotes must have been funnier in Twain's lectures—but he gets the... Read More

This is the third in Wolfe’s (pen name of Russell Smith) Hazel Micallef series. Narrator Bernadette Dunne again delivers a sharp portrait of the Port Dundas, Ontario, police detective who, this time, is struggling with an aging mother, departmental transitions, and the suspicious death of an old friend. Hazel’s suspicions lead her into a situation of white slavery, and Dunne... Read More

Author and narrator Tim Green gives a compelling performance in this moving story about 13-year-old Harrison. Green effectively contrasts the terse, loud voices of Harrison’s abusive foster parents with the gentle tenderness of his new family. Harrison’s stint as a star football player for his junior high school team is cut short when a routine knee injury leads to shocking... Read More

More than doing good deeds or having smooth social skills, being a worthy leader demands that one stand back from conflicts and challenges and take full responsibility for one’s frustrations or disappointments. The parable delivering this lesson involves a likable attorney who, with help from his new boss/mentor, discovers his self-deception in these matters and reconnects with... Read More

Thanks to a mysterious journal Eleanor Burden received in 1897 fin-de-siècle Vienna, she is able to predict and benefit from most of the major events of the early twentieth century. Angela Brazil’s lovely cultured voice brings credibility to Eleanor, and to Selden Edwards’s flawless diction and precise descriptions. In this sequel (or prequel) to THE LITTLE BOOK, Eleanor, now... Read More

Determined to confront her husband’s mistress, Alberta Murray arrives at the woman’s apartment only to find her murdered. Alberta’s husband is accused of the crime and sentenced to die. Convinced of his innocence, Alberta must track down the real killer. Hillary Huber captures the author’s portrayal of Alberta as a weary, downtrodden yet determined woman. Huber’s narration... Read More

If you’re a sucker for subcontinent accents, and which of us is not, you will adore this goofy but artful detective story in which Delhi’s Most Private Investigator Vish Puri takes on overlapping cases, one involving a poisoning and the other the theft of prize-winning mustaches. It wouldn’t be so much fun if Tarquin Hall hadn’t folded in a good deal of fascinating sociology... Read More

Although Lionel Asbo (who changed his name to match his recurring “Anti-Social Behavior Orders”) is a dominant figure in this novel, it is really the story of his nephew, Desmond Pepperdine. Des has to deal with his uncle, a small-time criminal, two pit bulls, and even his uncle's sudden lottery winnings while trying not to follow the family traditions. Alex Jennings changes... Read More

As a narrator, Richard Waterhouse meets the challenge of narrating a book about a topic many consider to be utterly boring: grammar. He does admirably well with Plotnik’s writing, charts, and lists, trying to infuse them with personality and energy as much as possible. It’s not so much that Plotnik’s writing is not up to par but that but explaining grammar in any format is not... Read More

With summer vacation on the horizon, middle schoolers Hector and Mando plan a bicycling trip around greater Los Angeles to visit various relatives. Adventures abound during their trip, and the boys return home with expanded horizons. Just as Soto is a master at portraying the ordinary in Hispanic family and neighborhood, Anthony Perez is masterful at voicing these two best... Read More

In this stunning debut novel, high school freshman Jeremy Barker uses his vast knowledge of zombie films to deal with the usual minefields of adolescence: unattainable girls, demanding teachers, and mean-spirited jocks. Add in a pill-addicted mother and a father who disappears at night, returning each morning reeking of chemicals, and his life is anything but typical.... Read More

Stephen Fry delves into the history of the mobile phone—with all the appropriate sounds effects of phones interspersed throughout. (Be warned: The various ringing tones cause you to keep reaching for your phone.) A self-proclaimed early adopter of technology, Fry traces five major advancements in cell-phone technology in this audio version of his five-episode miniseries for the... Read More

Starting out in the 1948 velodrome grandstand, the BBC's Clare Balding dives into the archives for a look back at the first post-WWII Olympics in London. Bits of original radio coverage and interviews with the people involved—including athlete Roger Bannister—help portray the event. Among the more entertaining segments is the 1948 BBC commentators' guide to courtesy and... Read More

England’s straitlaced Victorian era rejected women’s rights on so many levels. Here, Effie Gray’s struggles with society, divorce, and independence are documented in a splendid performance by Sophie Ward. With a cultured British lilt Ward details Effie’s unhappy first marriage, never consummated, to art critic and patron John Ruskin as well as her second, gloriously happy but... Read More

Temple Grandin is one of the most well-known autistic people in the world. In a distinctive voice Meredith Mitchell tells children the story of Grandin’s difficult yet accomplished life. Mitchell depicts the struggle Grandin’s mother experienced when her husband wanted to send Temple to a mental institution after she was diagnosed. Instead, her mother enrolled her in public... Read More

This novel uses as its backdrop events in Great Britain in 1936—from the death of George V and the ascension of his son Edward VIII through Edward’s abdication in December of that year to marry the American widow Wallis Simpson. The author has created characters caught up in the royal drama, and the story includes palace intrigue, secret loves, and a dash of social commentary.... Read More

Post-9/11 America intrudes on Aisha and Nadira's Bangladeshi family when their visas expire. The family members, who have big plans for the intelligent older daughter, flee to Canada but are turned back. Narrator Abby Craden expertly depicts family, friends, and cold officials. Especially notable are her portrayals of the family’s daughters as the intellectual Aisha loses her... Read More

"Shada" is the notorious partially completed, never-aired “Doctor Who” television episode, originally scripted by Douglas Adams. This novelization by veteran “Doctor Who” writer Gareth Roberts fills the gaps left by Adams and crafts it into an entertaining sci-fi romp. Lalla Ward, Romana in the TV series, proves to be an agile voice artist, and her characterizations are... Read More

Author Lesley Kagen succeeds as narrator with a solid performance of this audiobook, a literary thriller set in 1969 in rural Virginia. It’s a first-person narrative, told from the point of view of Shenandoah, an enterprising, observant tween whose vocabulary is peppered with legal jargon. Her twin sister, Woody, lacks the same emotional fortitude and, triggered by their mom’s... Read More

Sherlock Holmes’s arch nemesis takes center stage in John Gardner’s re-visioning of the Holmes myth from the perspective of criminal mastermind James Moriarty. Robin Sachs’s steady narration deftly guides the listener through the underworld of Victorian London. Moriarty’s plotting, scheming, and grandiose crimes take center stage, where previously, in the Conan Doyle stories,... Read More

This treasure is a true whodunit that will keep the listener guessing who killed the closeted gay drug-dealing surfer. Was it his fiancée? His boyfriend? His drug contact? And, more to the point, is the victim really Alan Rawlins? Or is Alan the killer? With a delightful British accent, Kim Hicks leads the listener through the process of uncovering the truth of the bizarre... Read More

Any performance by Davina Porter is a treat, but she’s especially wonderful in her second outing as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison of Scotland Yard (played by Helen Mirren in the BBC TV series). A strong woman in a man’s world, Tennison must constantly fight sexism among her colleagues. What’s more, here she finds her private life on lurid display in London’s tabloids.... Read More

Clever, mischievous, and utterly charming. These words describe the dapper Vincent Price and the horror stories he presented for BBC Radio in the early 1970s. In many of the episodes (4 of the 22 are in this collection), Price effortlessly jumps from narrator to character actor to commentator to create a seamless aural atmosphere. For example, in "Cat’s Cradle," adapted from a... Read More

Following her own advice, former Clinton official and Obama campaign COO Betsy Myers sounds utterly authentic and helpful as she narrates her exceptional work. Not a voice pro, she speaks quickly, but that’s who she is, and it works well with this fast-moving yet personal material. Part of the book’s appeal is how the author’s insights and insider political experience inform... Read More

The corny aspects of this audiobook can be forgiven when one realizes that the full-cast recording was made for the BBC in 1954. Then the listener recognizes the strength of the writing. The rugged British cast, led by Andrew Faulds as the steely Captain “Jet” Morgan, builds a credible universe in which an intrepid crew of astronauts must thwart an invasion from Mars. Okay, the... Read More

Mega-selling author Bryce Proctorr is going through a drawn-out divorce and a year-long writer’s block when he runs into former colleague Wayne Prentice, a good but underpaid novelist. An inspired partnership forms: Prentice will ghostwrite Proctorr’s overdue novel for half of the million-dollar advance—along with killing Proctorr’s wife. William Dufris’s dramatic narration... Read More

PLANET OF THE APES is familiar to most from the popular movie, but the original novel has intriguing differences. In the novel, the protagonist, French journalist Ulysse Mérou, portrayed in Greg Wise’s narration with a slight French accent, discovers, on an earth-like planet near Betelgeuse, a topsy-turvy world in which primates are the dominant “intelligent” life-form and Homo... Read More

Historian and biographer Bradford, recognized as an authority on all things royal, provides a brief but thorough biography of Great Britain’s monarch, set within the context of world events during her reign. With special emphasis on world leaders, especially her prime ministers (Churchill was her favorite), the work is well researched but makes occasional chronological jumps,... Read More

Sexton Blake, detective and adventurer, a sort of down-market Sherlock Holmes (and James Bond), appeared in pulp stories from 1893 to 1978, in films, and on television and radio. The three radio episodes here, from 1967, are fairly standard mysteries. Their stories are at about the TV level, but the voice acting is highly competent, with William Franklyn making a rather waspish... Read More

Because of their brilliant mathematician father’s politics, sisters Janie and Hannah and their parents are forced to flee Korea for America. The sisters grow up close, with Janie obliged to protect the younger Hannah. The girls experience prejudice and racism, but the family unit remains close, until, inexplicably, Hannah disappears. When their father develops cancer and must... Read More

Retired Manhattan cop Jack “The Shooter” Stang gets a tip that his former girlfriend—given up for dead 20 years earlier—is alive. But she’s blind and has lost her memory. Stang slowly discovers that her lost memory holds the key to a past crime—a secret that could get her killed should she be discovered. DEAD STREET is Spillane’s last cop novel, posthumously completed by Max... Read More

Charlie Thurston narrates from the perspective of 16-year-old Robbie, who leaves his isolated home in the Alaska Panhandle to spend his summer fishing for salmon. Despite some apprehension, Robbie takes a job with the reclusive and temperamental Tor Torsen. It’s just Robbie and Torsen on the boat, and Thurston creates revealing voices for both as Robbie begins to learn that... Read More

The setup: Author Neil Forsyth created the fictitious Scotsman Bob Servant, a former window washer (and full-time ne’er-do-well) and gave him a real email account. Using Bob as his foil, Forsyth entered into lengthy exchanges with spammers in Africa and Russia. These opportunists single-mindedly seek Bob’s bank information or payments via Western Union, and Bob drags them... Read More

Step into the past—when all jobs on a farm are done by hand by members of the community. William Rees, a Revolutionary War veteran and itinerant weaver, returns home to find his son, David, has joined the local Shaker community. The night after Rees visits his son, Shaker member Sister Chastity is murdered, and Rees is engaged to find the culprit before more people die. Richard... Read More

Will Trent’s sordid family history and the birth of the career of Amanda Wagner, Trent’s boss at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, will engage Slaughter fans in a story that goes back to 1975. The horrific case Wagner cut her teeth on is also part of Trent’s backstory, so narrator Kathleen Early must transition clearly between the earlier police investigation and the... Read More

The author, best known for her stage piece FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF, explains how she became involved in the arts and how she’s grown as a performer and writer. Each essay is personal and contains a great deal of information for both the casual listener and anyone looking for a more analytical view of Shange’s career. Allyson... Read More

Near the end of this audiobook, Lieutenant Tromp Kramer interrogates the prime suspect in a series of hangings in South Africa. The dialogue between the two characters is perfect material for Steven Crossley, who guides the interrogation with changing tempos, periods of restraint, and then a catapulting conclusion. Crossley also enlivens the narrative with strong dialect work.... Read More

If you enjoy BBC Radio 4, you’ll enjoy this program (The more old Radio 4 programs you remember, the more you’ll enjoy it.) “The Knowledge” is the common term for the geographical information a London taxi driver must know to get a hackney license. But don’t imagine (as you might) that this program will teach you the quickest route from Elephant & Castle to Hampstead Heath.... Read More

After discovering her husband’s affair, Caroline Evans takes her 15-year old daughter and relocates to England, leaving behind their life in Singapore. Charlotte Dore evokes Caroline’s turmoil with a soft, restrained voice that becomes more powerful with the development of the husband's death and the mystery behind it. Dore’s rendition of Caroline’s headstrong teenage daughter... Read More

Writer-detective Paul Temple and his wife, Steve, characters in BBC Radio dramas from the 1930s to the 1960s, are the leads in this modern re-creation of a lost series originally broadcast in 1946. The period imitation is excellent, with much of the original music and vintage sound effects but modern sound quality. The acting is polished and adept, with just enough of an... Read More

John Russell, a journalist, and Effie, an actress, relocate to Berlin as WWII ends. As a double agent, Russell finds himself caught between American and Russian intelligence. In addition to carrying out directives for both sides, the pair attempt to locate the father of a Jewish girl. Narrator Simon Vance has the most challenging mission of all as he alternates between... Read More

When Josh arrives at Aunt Ethel’s house, he’s still stinging from having been forced to leave his spot on the baseball team to spend the summer with a distant relative he’s never met. Charles Carroll captures Josh’s kind heart in his narration as Josh’s irritation melts into fondness for Aunt Ethel, concern for a stray cat, and interest in the plight of a friendly ghost named... Read More

In this lengthy evaluation of manager training, Mintzberg shares his thoughts on MBA education, looking at the problems he sees in Part 1 of his book and using Part 2 to share his ideas for addressing those issues. Joe Barrett narrates with an even, slightly hypnotic, cadence. His deep voice becomes a little gravelly at the end of each sentence. This book covers a lot of... Read More

Olivia Frost moves back to her hometown in New England and sets about working on her historic home. When she writes to the owner of the run-down house next door, Dylan McCaffrey, an ex-hockey player turned multimillion-dollar executive, shows up, hoping to discover why his late father bought the house. Susan Boyce lends a clear and expressive voice as narrator. She deftly moves... Read More

The challenge of taking a play created for the stage and translating it to the audio format may seem daunting, but this production does just that—exceptionally well. The use of sound is outstanding—seagulls caw, swords clash, and crickets chirp to indicate sea, battle, and night scenes. The actors speak close to the microphone to convey the play's asides, and transitional music... Read More

This Raymond Chandler noir is classic Chandler. Although rarely performed, except in the 1947 MGM film, it still chills decades later as the quintessential shrewd private eye Philip Marlowe travels to Mexico and back and drives the hills of L.A. to a brisk mountain lake in search of a divorcée who just might be dead. Her philandering intended also poses a problem—having been... Read More

Lindsey Davis, known for her series about the Roman detective Falco, returns us to imperial Rome in this story of warfare, romance, and betrayal. We witness the reign of the Emperor Domitian through the eyes of a Praetorian guardsman and his love, Flavia Lucilla, hairdresser to the imperial court. Robin Sachs narrates this detailed story in a smooth, self-assured style that... Read More

Plying his pick-pocketing trade in the crowded streets of Tokyo, the Thief deftly separates strangers from their wallets. Pick-pocketing is now second nature to him, so much so that occasionally he finds wallets that he’s forgotten he lifted. Narrator Charlie Thurston is well matched to the first-person point of view of this story. Her matter-of-fact delivery is ideal for this... Read More

Three weeks before the start of the FIFA world cup, to be hosted by Brazil, the mother of the country’s most famous football player is kidnapped. Chief Inspector Mario Silva must track down the kidnappers and finding the star’s mother—hopefully, still alive. Peter Berkrot’s strong narration—which is well matched to the stylish writing of the author—allows the vivid... Read More

Steven Crossley uses a variety of accents and inflections to depict Bantu, Afrikaner, and ex-pat Brit characters. The Murder Squad’s Lt. Kramer and Bantu investigator Detective Sergeant Zondi seek the murderer of a South African antiques dealer. One of the clues is an unusual bullet. Within days of the first murder, there’s another. Mrs. Digby-Smith discovers her brother, an... Read More

Amid the rising economic disparities of mid-eighteenth-century England, a vagrant Irish fiddler wanders to a northern mining village, and a wealthy industrialist demands legal restitution for the ruined slave ship on which the fiddler once sailed. This sophisticated novel explores the conflicting values of a rapidly evolving industrial society, and David Rintoul delivers the... Read More

This classic study of the unsinkable TITANIC still packs an emotional wallop. Of course, we know what’s going to happen, but the pleasure here is in the telling and the anticipation created by the author’s minute-by-minute account of the doomed ship. What could make this story even better? How about a terrific narrator who has a classically trained English voice that not only... Read More

Sharon McCone, savvy San Francisco private eye, has her world turned upside down when her shady half-brother sends her a message asking for help—and then goes missing shortly thereafter. Laura Hicks delivers a crisp, dramatic performance as Sharon relentlessly combs the city, pursuing clues that lead to the body of an heiress who is associated with an earlier murder—still... Read More

George “Clay” Clayton is a self-described “nanny” for a New York City crime syndicate. His duties involve “putting the kiddies in line” and occasionally arranging an “accident.” And when some smart aleck commits a murder, bringing the organization too much attention from the law, it’s Clay’s job to track down that “cutie.” Stephen Thorne delivers the noir-style dialogue at a... Read More

Narrator David Colacci reprises his portrayal of Commissario Guido Brunetti, of Venice, in the twenty-first installment in Leon’s popular series. This time the mystery revolves around the murder of a veterinarian with an unusual disfiguring disease. Colacci gives Brunetti a deep, rhythmic voice that engages the listener. The Italian accent Colacci employs enhances the reading... Read More

Charlie Thurston beautifully narrates this story of 15-year-old Josh and his little brother, Joey, who leave a hungry home in the midst of the Great Depression, armed only with musical talent and pride. Thurston’s voice is plastic; it twists and stretches, shaping lively gangsters, caring carnies, and quiet friends with seeming effortlessness. His performance adds a great deal... Read More

Antihero Parker is called in to mastermind the dubious plan to steal the entire lot of valuable coins at a collectors’ convention in Indianapolis. Here Parker first meets Claire, who later becomes his partner in subsequent novels, making this a pivotal book in the Stark (aka Donald Westlake) series. Stark’s plot is tight and filled with tension. John Chancer does an excellent... Read More

The second installment in the Oscar Wilde mystery series couldn't be more intelligent or delightful. Wilde is surrounded by Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and Walter Sickert; his Dr. Watson is artist Robert Sherard. Bill Wallis’s narration—spirited and authentic to the time and place—adds to the fun. Wilde and his entourage play a game called “Murder,” in which they each name... Read More