New Reviews by Title: U-Z

The third installment of the Hart and Mercy series, narrated by Kacie Rogers, begins with Rosie and her partner, Duckers, inspecting a faulty portal to the mythical Tanria. After they touch a strange smudge in the machine, it further malfunctions. Soon the elusive genius Adam Lee arrives to assess his invention's problems, ultimately leading to Rosie, Adam, Duckers, and his ex... Read More

Podcast host and life coach Mary Marantz narrates her exceptional guide in a tone that fits the diligent research and personal introspection that make it so helpful. Sounding at once humble and confident, her vocal character inspires openness to her thinking about how creative people can become productive and fulfilled. She surveys fascinating research on how achievement is... Read More

Narrator Aoife McMahon returns to masterfully draw listeners into this multilayered police procedural featuring DI Cormac Reilly. In Ireland, it's not unusual for ancient bodies to surface in bogs--but this one is the victim of a recent murder. Reilly and his colleagues peel back layers of lies to uncover what happened, a task that is further complicated by a string of copycat... Read More

Narrator Maria Marquis demonstrates her impressive range of accents and emotional nuance in this complex mystery taking listeners from Philadelphia to Tuscany. Julia Pritzker suffers devastating losses; as a child she loses her adoptive mother, and as the story opens, listeners encounter her witnessing the brutal murder of her husband. The plot pivots internationally when... Read More

When a rich Washingtonian known for his parties is murdered, John Mahoney, former Speaker of the House, discovers that the president of the United States could be involved. Joe DeMarco, a Washington fixer, is brought in to get to the bottom of the scandal while an aide works to stop him. Joe Barrett portrays the characters well, providing an engaged tone as the narrator, a... Read More

The year is 1756; the French and English are at war. Esther Wane narrates this fantasy, which combines elements of "The Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella" with some pirate lore. Luce is the youngest daughter of a rich Frenchman who is discovering many things about herself, including her origins and her ability to do magic. Luce begins this tale as a naïve girl, and Wane guides... Read More

It's possible that another performer could make this delicious audiobook more fun than Harriet Walter has, but hard to see how. "The usual desire to kill" is the emotion felt by two English sisters who are trying to cope with their aging and blithely infuriating parents who have moved themselves to a ramshackle stone house in rural France. Walter's astringent delivery is... Read More

Listeners join Alex Carter, wildlife biologist and conservationist, as she accepts an assignment to research the endangered jaguar on a protected reserve in New Mexico, where she discovers that a white supremacist group is threatening locals. When the group learns of the potential impact of Alex's studies, her life is soon in danger. Eva Kaminsky's stylish narration is... Read More

Nancy Wu narrates a story of an alternate reality in Japan in which children are created artificially, not by intercourse. Wu brings a measured clarity to Amane's perspective as she and her ex-husband search for love in this unique society. Wu captures both Amane's deep discomfort with her world and the intensity of her private longings. Wu's understated delivery is... Read More

Narrator Caroline Hewitt's approach to this audiobook is gentle but skilled. She provides a warm yet ultimately moving performance about a woman's journey, both geographical and emotional. Veronica is traveling in Europe, searching for insights into her ancestors. Her first stop, an Irish castle, includes an encounter with Niall, a fellow foodie and kindred spirit. Actual... Read More

Isuri Wijesundara's smooth delivery and pleasant voice provide an interesting counterpoint for the scandalous lives of Andy Warhol's "superstars." The 10 women portrayed before, during, and after their relationships with Warhol and his legendary Factory are the stuff of tabloids. These women from privileged backgrounds shared a desire to be "bad" and gave themselves willingly... Read More

Golden Voice Rupert Degas returns to transport listeners to New Zealand and Indonesia in the fourth Yoga Mat mystery. Fans will recognize returning characters, while listeners new to the series will find enough backstory to follow along. Australian secret agent Ric Peters wrestles with the dangers of his job and his need to protect his fiancée, Elaina, a lawyer and yoga... Read More

This engrossing audiobook describing the post-WWII trash trade will transform every listeners' attitude toward waste. Narrator Greg Lockett's fast and focused delivery matches the author's vivid descriptions of the communities that serve as dumping grounds for wealthier nations' radioactive waste, toxic and banned chemicals, trash, and "recycled" plastic. The author, who... Read More

Despite its off-putting title, this audiobook is worth listening to. Golden Voice Kevin R. Free delivers the urgent tone, informative style, and crisp pacing of this eye-opening work. Free gets Grunwald's sometimes snarky tone--for example, when the author shares his tasting notes on fake meat and other engineered foods. Free also embraces the factual reporting. The text is at... Read More

Narrator Krysta Gonzales adds emotional depth to this moving story about finding the courage to speak up. Fifth grader Daisy Jackson, dubbed "weird, sad, and silent" by two classmates, spends her time alone. After lashing out at her mother's abusive boyfriend, Daisy becomes withdrawn; she "invisiblizes" herself, befriends a stray cat, eats lunch with the school librarian, and... Read More

This series of essays by Tess Sanchez, actor Max Greenfield's wife, is intended to be humorous, but her nasal-tinged, if well-enunciated, narration doesn't mask the privileged tone of its not very relatable personal stories. Greenfield, who wrote and narrates the foreword, offers a more professional audio performance. Sanchez's writing about her life as a casting director who... Read More

Elizabeth Lamont's lively performance transports listeners to the Netherlands in this second-chance romance, which also includes a marriage of convenience. When a workplace relationship goes south, American Dani loses both her job and her boyfriend, and impulsively takes a new position in Amsterdam. There she runs into Wouter, her first love, who lived with Dani's family as an... Read More

Ell Potter narrates this YA novel, inspired by the legend of the Zikmund bell in Prague. The Strauss family has been tasked for generations with caring for their sentient city's bell towers in order to contain a great evil that lies sleeping within. When teenager Mina's bell rings 13 times on her patrol, it's up to her to prevent the ensuing destruction. Potter's sophisticated... Read More

Retired basketball coach George Raveling's audiobook is a road map to living a productive life. He says that can be achieved by reading, giving, listening, and doing everything you can to leave the world a better place. Golden Voice JD Jackson handles the reflective audiobook with the right amount of emotion. It's not a memoir, but Raveling describes his upbringing and lays out... Read More

This audiobook, narrated by Gisela Chípe and André Santana, features best friends Javi and Mari, who find themselves in a complicated situation. Years ago, they made a pact to approve each other's partner, but now Mari is engaged to a man Javi hasn't vetted. What's more, he secretly loves her. As Javi scrambles to stop the wedding, the tension between the pair builds in this... Read More

A trio of narrators embody three celebrity friends who are trying to deal with the pitfalls of fame and fortune while growing up in the public eye. Dominique Salvacion is Miranda, a child movie star who goes from fun-loving party girl to rehab failure. Caroline Hewitt is Germaine, whose celebrity is based on being an heiress to a real estate magnate and who questions her fame... Read More

Narrating his audiobook, author Graydon Carter devotes several chapters to his early years, beginning in Toronto and ending with college in Ottawa. Though his accent is subtle, there's no doubt that those formative years in Canada had a profound impact on him and his career. He credits his parents with teaching him values, his Canadian education with honing his editorial... Read More

Joan Baez fans of a certain age will cherish this sweeping collection of poems about her life, her friends, and her sensitive reactions to the world around her. Because this is a personal diary, only the author could have delivered this writing with such arresting impact. Baez's timbre may reveal her stage of life, but it expresses the gravitas you'd expect from one of the... Read More

Octogenarian Eliza Pickney is the matriarch of her vast homestead in the lush South Carolina Low Country, and her plan to preserve the family land in a conservancy disrupts her descendants' expectation of inheritance. The story unfolds in two timelines: Jenna Lamia charmingly narrates Eliza's stories from her early life, while Cassandra Campbell superbly portrays Eliza in her... Read More

Narrator Esther Wane provides an outsider perspective in this unconventional historical romance featuring a lady's maid who is posing as her mistress, the fiancée of an unconscious duke. Wane perpetuates Adelaide's deception in an elegant, textured voice with an ironic undertone, reflecting her many experiences traveling the world. Rhett, the duke's wastrel younger brother, has... Read More

Luke Arnold delivers a gritty, charismatic narration of this fourth installment of the Fetch Phillips series. Now retired, Fetch has traded private investigation for running a friend's café in the magical ruins of Sunder City. When Detective Simms, voiced with a memorable reptilian lisp, seeks his assistance in investigating a fellow officer's murder, Fetch declines. However,... Read More

Think the federal civil service is filled with pencil-pushing drones? This collection of essays--curated by Michael Lewis and narrated by their authors--will quickly disabuse you of that notion. Casey Cep uses a journalistic tone that, nonetheless, conveys her genuine admiration for a remarkable Veterans Affairs employee who has devoted his life to honoring fallen soldiers. For... Read More

Media powerhouse Barry Diller, at 83, offers an articulate, humble, and utterly honest account of his varied life. Dillard's narration is workmanlike, moving the narrative forward in a somewhat monotonous manner. That unvaried tone sharply contrasts with the fascinating story of a young, not very aggressive personality who nonetheless became highly influential in the... Read More

Savannah Peachwood and Connor Crais deliver swoon-worthy performances in this small-town contemporary romance. Camille had always planned to marry and cement her daughter's future--until her groom failed to show up for their wedding. Now, Dusty is done traveling and is finally home and ready for a second chance with Camille. Both narrators add passion and nuance to their... Read More

Kathleen McInerney's narration is gentle and sweet in this adaptation of the novel THE WILD ROBOT into a picture book. Music ranges from bright to apprehensive in this story of Roz, a robot who washes up on an island, learns to live like the animals, and raises a gosling named Brightbill. Tension occurs when Brightbill must migrate and Roz cannot, but McInerney never conveys a... Read More

Sophie McKnight, portrayed by Karenna Foley and Lachlan Campbell, portrayed by Nathaniel Priestley, alternate narrating this knightly tale set in Loren Brae in the Scottish Highlands. Having inherited Loren Brae, its castle, and a knighthood in the Magickal Order of Caledonia, Sophie travels to the Highlands. Lachlan, a prickly Scot who is the castle's manager, is surprised,... Read More

Elizabeth Wiley narrates this extensive biography based on new research on the French artist Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) as if it were a wondrous adventure tale. Gauguin began as a Post-Impressionist and Symbolist but is best known for his unique paintings of Tahitian women and his tumultuous friendship with Van Gogh. Discovering art in his early 30s, he freed himself from his... Read More

Duet narrators Zara Hampton-Brown and Shane East pair well together in this romantasy set in an alternative Scotland. Princess Aurora rejects a loveless betrothal in England, instead making a pact with a Scottish clan leader who is a wolf changeling. Hampton-Brown uses an arch tone and a British accent for Aurora, a jaded campaigner who must quickly absorb the intricacies of... Read More

Melanie Crawley and David Thorpe narrate this increasingly disturbing mystery rife with red herrings. Listeners meet Susanna and Matt, who are grieving over the loss of their infant when they hire Reka, a young Hungarian nanny, to care for their 4-year-old. From the audiobook's opening, an ongoing unease prevails. Crawley's Susanna sounds vulnerable, especially when she begins... Read More

Imogen Church demonstrates her talent for superb characterization and spot-on timing as she delivers this twisty mystery. Reporter Lo Blacklock has left the UK and is now living in New York with her husband and two young sons. When she travels to Switzerland to attend the opening of a luxury hotel, her trip turns out to be the beginning of sinister events that build on... Read More

Saskia Maarleveld skillfully narrates this well-researched historical account. Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943, and Nazi Germany quickly invaded. Many brave Italian women, hiding in plain sight, secretly delivered messages, weapons, and food to Resistance fighters. The biography focuses on four brave Italian women whose subversive activities included hiding bombs in... Read More

This moving audiobook is a tribute to the women of Ireland who championed reproductive rights and changed the laws of a country where all forms of birth control were prohibited in the 1970s. It's not merely a polemical piece; it's a poignant, heartwarming novel about Irish women from different backgrounds who formed deep attachments to one another and to the cause of... Read More

In fascinating detail, this audiobook reveals the life of Woodrow Wilson, including his opposition to racial equality and women's right to vote. Narrated by Jonathan Davis, the biography highlights the many traits that made Wilson a leader, while also exposing the contradictions that have made him such an interesting and ultimately controversial figure. Davis is an excellent... Read More

Nancy Kwan, the trailblazing Eurasian actress, dancer, and singer, narrates her life story in an appealing manner. The preface, narrated by her cousin Kevin Kwan sets the tone and provides an overview of the woman who was a 1960s sex symbol in movies and in Broadway productions such as FLOWER DRUM SONG. Kwan tells stories of living internationally and her marriages, the final... Read More

Narrators Amanda Ronconi and Teddy Hamilton combine their talents to tell the story of Linney Seaworth, a witch, and Gray Brockhurst, who owns a ghost tour business. On the island Starfall Point in the Great Lakes, Linney and her two sisters are tasked with protecting the island's residents from ghosts. Ronconi narrates the chapters from Linney's point of view, while Hamilton... Read More

Greg Hernandez's talents as a narrator shine in this twisty time-travel thriller. When journalist Ray Burton discovers a collection of items in a trunk that include a note dated 1870, he's thrust into an adventure that spans multiple time periods and countries. Along the way, he encounters other time travelers from vastly different backgrounds. Tension builds as the U.S.... Read More

Max Meyers's performance of Yoko Ono's biography works because it's done with a reporter's professionalism--minus the invisible eye rolls. The audiobook offers an insightful examination of the controversial woman John Lennon not only loved, but also respected as an artist. Born to a wealthy but loveless Japanese family, she found her life shattered when Japan was devastated by... Read More

A cast of narrators bring their talents to this psychological thriller about three neighbors--wealthy women with deep, dark secrets. Their friendship is tenuous and fraught with jealousies, and alliances shift based on actions and reactions. The bulk of the narration is done by Elizabeth Knowelden as Margot, Moira Quick as Anna, and Clare Corbett as Liv, the newest neighbor.... Read More

Micaela Blei's narration of her 2006 experience with a Divine Feminine course is expressive, touching, and humorous. Through "Moth"-style storytelling, she shares how the self-help class transformed her confidence and approach to life, especially in finding love. At the time, Blei loved her work as a third-grade teacher, but her lack of a love life kept her from feeling truly... Read More

In this outstanding guide to all aspects of managing people, an international executive coach and former Microsoft insider explains her approach to becoming all you can be as a developer of people. She narrates her ideas and suggestions with authenticity and confidence. Combined with her accessible thinking and vivid examples, the clarity and compassion in her performance will... Read More

To understand the life of the Zbigniew Brzezinski, one must understand the history of Poland--and not just 20th-century Poland. This idea is a major thesis of this extensive and authoritative biography of the Carter Administration's national security advisor, whose worldview and approach to communism ultimately led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Michael David Axtell... Read More