Ina Garten narrates with the same precision, charm, poise, and irreverence exhibited on her "Barefoot Contessa" television productions. That same independent woman people know from her food preparation shows on Food Network spins quite the tale. Her philosophy has been to make quick decisions and "dive in"--figuring it all out later. Raised by exceptionally strict parents, she... Read More

A full cast performs this heartfelt audio set in Jim Crow Virginia. Charley Cuffey loves two things best of all: playing baseball and her Nana Kofi's stories of Africa. When Charley and her friends move a meaningful game to the whites-only field across town, the resulting backlash brings the widespread impacts of racism and violence to her door. All the narrators' voices mix... Read More

An amazing group of narrators enlivens this collection of 13 stories. They range in subject matter from ancient Greece and Rome to modern times and beyond and share a common theme: finding and seizing destiny. Genres vary from fantasy to fairy tale, mystery, and science fiction, and they include dragon riders and pirates. There are plenty of surprises, but one thing is... Read More

Narrator Kristen Ariza lends her expert skills to this intimate character study. The story follows Jane, a biracial author who is struggling with finishing her novel, which she believes to be revolutionary. She moves her family near Hollywood, where she meets a producer who wants to make her book into a television show. Jane is a complex character who is often skeptical, and... Read More

It's hard to imagine anyone other than Rachel Kushner narrating her gripping and highly original novel about an unconventional spy. Sadie is hired by governments and unnamed private entities to infiltrate radical eco and industrial terrorist groups. She is now in France, where she is blending into a group of potentially violent animal rights activists with a brewing plot... Read More

This pleasant fantasy is given an appropriately lighthearted narration by Nikki Massoud. The magical Quigley sisters--Anne, Violet and Beatrix--run the Crescent Moon Tearoom, serving enchanted cups of tea and hopeful readings to their satisfied clients. All is serene until the Council of Witches appear, demanding that the Quigleys coach three other witches who haven't properly... Read More

Jason Isaacs is clearly having a rollicking good time narrating Kate Atkinson's latest Jackson Brodie novel. It's jammed full of Agatha Christie tropes--butlers, vicars, nobles, retired veterans, and detectives all trapped in a great house in a snowstorm--but they're all turned on their heads. The butler is Australian, the vicar has lost faith, the nobles are broke, and the... Read More

This novel tells the story of a mega-rich octogenarian and a 33-year-old Black woman. Audie Award winner Nicole Lewis is an excellent narrator who does subtle gradations of tone and tempo. She makes an excellent guide to the gilded world in this story of wealth and aspiration, race and power. The plot involves Vassar-educated Brooke Orr; Lewis gets her sound and style. Orr goes... Read More

An ensemble of six narrators narrates this twisty British thriller, which follows six art students who are enrolled in a nontraditional graduate program. Eager to impress the university, their instructor secures a year-long collaboration with a local tech company as part of the curriculum, but when a student disappears after an off-site excursion, the group struggles to work... Read More

Jean Brassard, Louise Penny's choice to narrate her 19th Armand Gamache/Three Pines novel, proves an inspired selection. From his portrayals of familiar Three Pines residents to his introduction of new characters, Brassard, a native Quebecois and award-winning actor, gets it right. Domestic terrorism takes Gamache, Jean-Guy, and Isabelle from Montreal to the Vatican and to an... Read More

Eanna Hardwicke's narration highlights the rich emotionality of Rooney's newest novel. Hardwicke's smooth voice shifts to capture every mood--becoming desperately angry, bitter, and frantic yet also achingly tender, patient, and loving--as he performs a story of two grieving brothers. Peter and Ivan's father has died, leaving them unmoored and their relationship strained. Peter... Read More

John Lewis has been described as a quiet revolutionary and the conscience of Congress. This sums up the two halves of this biography, which covers his early years as a frontline civil rights campaigner and his later years as a driving force on Capitol Hill. Narrator David Sadzin offers a solid and engaging narration. He carries listeners along through detailed descriptions of... Read More

Narrator Peter Romano's soft voice is at an appropriate volume for Syrian American Kareem, a middle child who feels unseen at home and at school. Kareem's deep feelings are revealed through the verses delivered by Romano. He narrates attentively with careful attention to the football idioms and metaphors that depict Kareem's passion. Romano's ability to shift between Syrian... Read More

While listening to this audiobook, one must believe the impossible is possible--maybe even probable. The otherworldly story begins with an email from a despondent college student, Morris, to his former math teacher, Grace. Jordan Stephens narrates the gloomy email, and listeners feel his pain. Grace responds by telling her amazing story of how she, at age 72, found new energy... Read More

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates narrates this must-listen, a powerful and thought-provoking collection of essays. In recounting his travels to Senegal and South Carolina, Coates incisively reflects on slavery and white supremacy. From his travels to Israel and Palestine, Coates meditates on the trauma of the Holocaust, segregated society, dehumanization, and voices that are missing... Read More

Most very good novels, like this one, cover a broad range of subjects, but they also often focus on some specific questions about human existence--in this case, what we do for love and how we recover from that. Narrator Marin Ireland manages to keep everything in this novel tied together without creating voices for all the numerous characters. She trusts the text to tell us who... Read More

Narrator Lauren Ambrose is back for the latest Molly the Maid installment, and her crisp diction and emphatic tones are perfect for the neurodivergent title character. Molly and her boyfriend, Juan, are intent on making Christmas festive in this heartwarming story. Instead of solving a murder this time, Molly is trying her best to decipher the secretive behaviors of everyone... Read More

Leigh Ann Henion's fascinating exploration of the natural world after dark is indeed magical. With genuine enthusiasm and a warm hint of a Southern accent, Henion invites listeners along on her adventures to seek out salamanders, fireflies, moths, glowing fungus, screech owls, night-blooming flowers, and other nighttime denizens. She spends time getting to know the nightlife in... Read More

Narrator Julia Whelan portrays Nora Noone with an earnest tone in this gripping family drama. Nora's father, Liam, a thrice-married hotel magnate, has become distant from his grown children. After recently changing his will, he falls from a slippery cliff at a California seaside cottage. Did he slip, or was he pushed? Whelan voices Nora's estranged stepbrother, Sam, with a... Read More

In this engrossing and challenging examination of freedom and what it means to be free, Yale historian Timothy Snyder employs a heady mix of history, biology, civics, memoir, philosophy, and personal observation. Sounding like a favorite professor, Snyder demands the listener's undivided attention as he draws a distinct line between our freedom from such phenomena as government... Read More

Petey Gibson gives an exuberant and emotional performance of this charming queer love story about ghosts, grieving, and big family messes. Ezra has been able to see ghosts since his grandfather died when he was a kid, and he wants nothing to do with his family's Jewish funeral home. But when his mom announces she's leaving his dad for the rabbi's wife, he reluctantly agrees to... Read More

Fans of THE PLOT, and they were legion, will rejoice at this sequel, performed with mesmerizing skill by the wonderful Julia Whelan. It's no small feat to make a lethally dislikable character irresistible on the page, let alone in the ear, but Korelitz and Whelan have done it. Anna is a monster of ego, incapable of sympathy for anyone but herself. She is also brilliant,... Read More

As narrator, former First Lady, Secretary of State, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sometimes sounds like a friend dropping by to chat. She discusses her grandchildren, cozy moments at home, and gatherings with longtime friends. But her memoir is also part political commentary and part Washington insider gossip, as well as an in-depth analysis of the current status of... Read More

There's a teasing, mischievous lilt to Omari Douglas's performance that perfectly suits this delightful romance set in a fantasy world. Dutiful son Mattinesh Jay is entering into an arranged marriage to save his family's failing textile business. An encounter with con-man and duelist Luca Pierre leads Matti to hire him as his ceremonial best man at the wedding; Luca also... Read More

Narrator Kimberly Farr pretty much owns Elizabeth Strout's Maine characters at this point, and what a good thing that is. This quietly compelling novel brings together Strout's beloved, sometimes maddening, always vivid characters from multiple novels past, many of them also performed by Farr. Life and time have landed Bob Burgess and his wife, Margaret; Lucy Barton and her... Read More

Guy Lockard narrates this fresh and funny novel from Jason Reynolds. Told from the perspective of 17-year-old Neon, the novel moves backward over Neon's past 24 months. As he prepares to celebrate his anniversary with his girlfriend, Aria, he reflects on everything that has happened since they first met. From work to school to family, Neon's life is average but warm and loving.... Read More

Narrator Cindy Piller is an ideal match for voicing Sherry Pinkwhistle, a Miss Marple-esque amateur sleuth who always solves the case--much to the chagrin of the local sheriff. This cozy mystery has everything listeners expect: a charming small-town setting, a cast of quirky characters, an endearing pet, and, of course, a murder or two . . . or sixteen. About three hours in,... Read More

British actress Nicola Walker's subdued tone, unhurried cadence, and restrained use of accents perfectly suits the characters and situations in Richard Osman's newest mystery. The story revolves around jet-setting bodyguard Amy Wheeler and her widowed father-in-law, Steve, a former London cop she's close with. Also featured is Amy's current client, the fabulously wealthy... Read More

Edwidge Danticat has a fine sense of language. This audiobook of essays testifies to a close reader and observer of human affairs. The famed Haitian American novelist, memoirist, and children's author is clearly a practiced narrator, and her delivery of the various French passages is musical. The essay topics range from the horrors of racism, the toll of hurricanes, and the... Read More

Soon Stanley Tucci may be as famous as a food writer as he is as an actor. A nuanced narrator who plays with tone and tempo like a jazz musician, he knows how to be ironic, self-effacing, witty, and charming, yet his performance is most satisfying because of his restraint. Often he describes a dish as simply "delicious" rather than extolling its virtues. Happily, this candid... Read More

This performance by a five-narrator cast is truly special. The Fall children harness unique powers. Wynton can warm a room, Miles can hear dogs, and Dizzy sees spirits. When a magical rainbow-haired girl they have all seen once in their lives returns, she reveals her connection with the family, thus beginning a whirlwind of secrets that will either break the family apart or... Read More