New Reviews by Title: A-D

Nekia Renee Martin guides listeners through a surprisingly comprehensive account of 19th-century African American resistance. Despite the title, the chronological territory covered ranges well beyond abolition and the Civil War to Reconstruction and the beginnings of Jim Crow. Martin's strong yet musical narration introduces youngsters to such touch points as the slave trade,... Read More

Sunil Malhotra has his work cut out for him narrating this debut audiobook, which is a science-fiction story told through a comedic lens. A postnuclear world doesn't suggest comedy, but that is the case here, with a mad scientist simulating universes and playing God, an Indian detective and his bumbling assistant trying to sort things out, and a Danish policeman reaching... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini shines as he performs a new translation of one of literature's most famous stories, the tale of Aeneas, son of Venus, hero of Troy, and legendary progenitor of the Roman people. Emily Wilson reads her introduction with an academic's sense of grandeur and dry humor. Ballerini's narration demonstrates his range; as he delivers the translator's note, he uses... Read More

Los Angeles has its share of local legends and myths. This fact is the basis of a college course taught by a woman known only as the Professor. Tony Award winner Sutton Foster capably portrays grad student Holland St. James, an everywoman who wants to believe in magic--although she has yet to experience it personally. Foster showcases Holland's naïveté despite the fact that she... Read More

Narrators Jason Culp, Greta Jung, and Erin Ruth Walker present three distinct portraits in this literary story set on a cruise ship in the week after 9/11. Culp channels regret and loneliness through Doug Clayton, an aging actor who has spent a lifetime behind a mask. Jung infuses resentment and tension into Korean American Franny as she navigates a celebration for her mother's... Read More

Listeners will be struck by author Bell's polished British accent as he narrates this history of America's Revolution. Bell looks at non-patriots, British loyalists, Hessians who fought for the British, and French who fought for the Americans, as well as how the Revolution impacted the outside world--in Jamaica and Gibraltar, and in Britain itself. George Washington is a... Read More

David de Vries provides an excellent narration of this comprehensive explanation of the issues surrounding transgender people and healthcare in the United States today. De Vries' clear diction and compassionate tone represent the book well. Author Butler has a transgender daughter, and his audiobook provides background, scientific research, and current political and legal... Read More

Narrator Kristin Atherton leads a full cast of performers in this vivid and irreverent retelling of the story of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Despite having been born in utter darkness, Aphrodite has become one of the most connected goddesses on Mount Olympus. Now she finds herself perpetually having to reassert her power while... Read More

This audiobook takes the listener to Provence, Alsace, and Corsica. Narrator Adam Barr portrays the characters convincingly and is quite facile with French accents, but maddeningly, he continually mispronounces Barolo. Lynch, the famed wine importer, shares his knowledge and tastes. The novel's protagonist, Kendrick Thomas, a wine merchant like the author, resides in Provence.... Read More

This intellectual, original audiobook utilizes the literary technique introduced by Gertrude Stein whereby one's partner writes a supposed autobiography of the person they love. Here, gay writer and critic Lin tells the story of her Vietnamese American spouse and the key moments of her life. In a steady, self-possessed voice, Rebecca Lam relates the stories of Lan Thao's early... Read More

Golden Voice January LaVoy demonstrates her many talents as a narrator as she brings to life Rose DuBois and her rapidly diminishing group of friends at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home. When one resident dies, Rose is unsurprised; however, as deaths mount in ever more horrific and improbable ways, Rose becomes convinced that they aren't natural and there's a killer on the... Read More

Narrator Jesse Vilinsky creates a passionate voice for 12-year-old Margaret--called Bag--who is trying to fit in at her new school in Rhode Island even though she longs for her old life in New York City before her dad left them. When her mom, an aspiring actor, gets a role at a local theater and can't pick her up immediately after school, she ends up getting stuck at her sister... Read More

Author and narrator Zackman does her novel justice as she brings to life a high-energy New York City romance. Zackman's protagonist--quintessential millennial Mimi--is a food columnist living in Queens, on the hunt for a great love story and a delicious shmear. Mimi finds herself wrestling with a budding attraction to her new department head, Jake. Zackman's range is not to be... Read More

Golden Voice narrator Cassandra Campbell explores Mattel's dark side in this unauthorized history that exposes spying, copyright infringement, and the true origins of Barbie. Hitt's investigative reporting asserts that Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler, was often ruthless. Handler claimed that the inspiration for Barbie came from her daughter, but Barbie was a near-identical copy... Read More

An engaging performance by Cary Hite enlivens this accessible history of basketball for young listeners, with a focus on the men's game and an "overtime" section devoted to the women's. Hite narrates with relish and an audible appreciation for the sport's evolution from a glorified game of hot potato to today's fast-paced competitions. Hite gives listeners a courtside view of... Read More

This full-cast audiobook imagines Margaret Dashwood--the younger half sister of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY'S protagonists--as an adult. Longing for more than marriage and motherhood, Margaret visits London at the invitation of Mrs. Jennings. After finding herself lost and tipsy in a less-than-desirable area, Margaret joins a group of independent women, including the beautiful... Read More

Barrie Kreinik narrates the story of Cricket Campbell, a woman in her mid-20s who abandons her job to care for her elderly father in their family's rustic Adirondack home. Initially, Kreinik portrays Cricket's vague dissatisfaction with her life choices and reluctance to re-experience family discord. But as Cricket immerses herself in caring for her father, who has dementia,... Read More

The stellar vocal talents of Eunice Wong, Rebecca Stern, Cary Hite, Liz Femi, and Zach Villa create an absorbing overall listening experience for this rich assortment of science-fiction and fantasy stories, curated by editors Okorafor and Adams. Notable performances abound in stories of creeping horror, fraught relationships, sentience, and moral quagmires. In "We Will Teach... Read More

Cia Court captures all the profound and devastating flaws in an engaging yet reprehensible protagonist. Margo and Ian have been stymied in their efforts to find a forever home outside Washington, D.C. Intense and simmering with rage issues, Margo takes matters into her own morally questionable hands when her dream home is listed for sale. Court shines in her delivery of Margo's... Read More

Gail Shalan gives an energetic and appealing narration of Mitchard's latest novel. Fashion writer Reenie's old friend, Felicity, has been charged with the murder of two of her clients. Felicity, a birdwatcher and biologist, was also a professional escort. Reenie hasn't seen Felicity in years but knows in her heart that she's innocent of the charges. Reenie is determined to find... Read More

Kamali Minter's performance here is consistently stellar. Identifying both as Black and Native American, Ophelia Blue Rivers grows up learning how her mixed heritage uniquely informs her life experience. When pollution in her local river makes life unlivable, Ophelia is sent to live with her aunt. This new life includes a fraught relationship with the son of a politically... Read More

The second title in the Must Love Hockey series, narrated by Ryan West and CJ Bloom, features a professional hockey player and an author who is a romance cynic. Scarlett has made a living writing books that bash romance and champion female independence. Chase is determined to prove her wrong. When they're forced to spend time together as a joint publicity stunt, Scarlett... Read More

Piper Goodeve narrates this dark academia audiobook set in New Mexico. After five years away, Cella Gibbons returns to her alma mater to help solve a magical mystery involving students and staff. Coming back to campus after dropping out of her master's program dredges up a myriad of feelings for Cella, and Goodeve balances the guilt, shame, and nostalgia she feels. Cella also... Read More

Katie Leung's Scottish accent immediately immerses listeners in the Scottish Highlands in this sapphic vampire audiobook. Rebecca, a vampire hunter, goes undercover at a vampire university to find the Book of Blood and Roses, a compilation of ways to kill vampires. After being attacked, her gorgeous vampire roommate rescues her but accidentally makes Rebecca her familiar in the... Read More

This moody, bookish fantasy centers on Cassandra Fairfax, a disgraced bookseller who is pulled back into a dangerous magical world when she unexpectedly inherits a sentient bookshop after her mentor's mysterious death. As rival booksellers, secret societies, and lethal ink magic close in, Cassandra must confront her past while protecting the fragile magic that binds the... Read More

Tim Lounibos narrates this thoughtful exploration of immigration policy. Drawing on the author's decades of experience in immigration law, this audiobook's topics range broadly across the many historical and current causes of both voluntary and forced migration. The work also examines how physical and metaphorical borders create groups of insiders and outsiders who are striving... Read More

This audiobook uses a familiar formula in the vein of Friday the 13th and Scream: A group of friends seeks to come to terms with their issues at a secluded wellness camp. The story focuses on Hannah, whose fiancé died on a wilderness trip the previous year. Parker fits the skin of each character perfectly and captures each blood-soaked detail of what ensues without missing a... Read More

Poet Courtney Kampa's career was cut short--she died at the age of 35--but her second book shows considerable talent. Not all the poems are easily accessible, but Rebecca Lowman's readings are clear and evocative. They trace the author's growth from girlhood through an awakening consciousness of adult feelings and responsibilities. Kampa explores the transitions as well as the... Read More

Narrators Simon Bubb and Mikhail Sen flawlessly re-create 1920s Calcutta as they portray Imperial Police Force Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Suren Banerjee. Their animated and strongly differing viewpoints enliven this procedural. Bubb's English expat, Sam, joins Sen's Calcuttan, Suran, to discover who murdered a beloved philanthropist and movie mogul whose body was... Read More

Narrators Rose Robinson and Steph de Whalley masterfully juggle a large cast of male and female characters in this academic thriller set in England, Scotland, and Italy. It begins with the murder of Eleanor Bruton, a woman who had in her possession a scrap of fraying embroidery that might be the key to finding the elusive--and valuable--Book of Wonders. Two opposing, secretive... Read More

British actress Lucy Rayner chose an artful, breathy delivery for this debut historical novel set in 13th-century Bruges. The dreamy tone isn't for an impatient listener, but it suits the telling of this carefully-researched and affecting story. Aleys, an unusual young woman in that era's strict patriarchal society, is drawn to pursue academic knowledge and a personal... Read More

Jeremy Clyde captures each nuance of this sublime glimpse of London's 1901 Inner Temple, where King's Counsel barristers live and work. Clyde's standout character is kind, ingenious, neurodivergent Gabriel Ward, who's called upon when desiccated body parts appear at the lawyers' doors. Gabriel's unenviable task--well rendered on both sides--is questioning his peers, which... Read More

Saskia Maarleveld's new performance of Mahy's Carnegie Medal-winning novel, originally published in 1984, will enthrall listeners. Laura Chant is desperate to save her younger brother from the hands of a horrifying vampiric villain. Fourteen-year-old Laura doesn't act on the warning she feels before Carmody Braque fixates on her younger brother, Jacko. Only she realizes what is... Read More

Emma Fenney performs this character-driven Swedish novel about a small group of people who are living apart from society. Burned-out Emelie leaves her big-city job to explore the countryside. In the hills she meets a colony of seven people living on their own, rarely interacting with anyone in the town nearby. As Emilie learns more about each member of the group, the... Read More

Narrator Emily O'Mahony brings to life Dimpna Wilde, a veterinarian in the southwest of Ireland, and her team as they find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. It's soon apparent that this case shares similar traits with a murder from the previous year. O'Mahony's warm narration creates a wonderful backdrop to the story, with a cast of highly believable... Read More

Anna Runkle, creator of the "Crappy Childhood Fairy" healing method, narrates her research-backed guidance in a conversational tone, making this audiobook approachable. After introducing self-evaluations to establish a starting point, she provides exercises for releasing troubling thoughts and journaling practices for reflection. A PDF of the exercises is included. Runkle... Read More

Dennis Boutsikaris portrays Clay Edison, a former Alameda County coroner who is currently working as a private investigator. A colleague asks him to manage a murder investigation prompted by the victim's heartbroken yet difficult parents. Boutsikaris presents Edison as a pragmatic and no-nonsense, if sometimes sarcastic, investigator, with his experienced intuition driving his... Read More

Epidemiologist Rivers offers a compelling reminder of how important it is to study epidemics and other threats to public health. Though government funding is minimal and rises and falls with politics, the work of public health scientists, practitioners, and policymakers has repeatedly saved millions of people from diseases and other threats to health. The author's... Read More

Listeners will be pulled into this layered story with its interwoven timelines and well-developed characters. Narrator Carrie Coello creates believable distinctions between generations of Cole women and palpable emotions as the story of their curse unfolds. In the 1600s, Goody Cole was accused of witchcraft and thrown into the sea off the coast of New Hampshire. Thus began the... Read More

Natalie Naudus brings this biography to life with her outstanding pacing, spot-on voices, and smooth relaying of information. Queer publishing icon Margaret C. Anderson faced an obscenity trial in 1921 after serializing James Joyce's ULYSSES in her cutting-edge literary magazine, "The Little Review." Though this audiobook focuses on Anderson's career in publishing, it also... Read More

In this Christmas romance, narrators Monique Makena and Max Rauch portray a couple who are on the brink of divorce. Rauch voices Connor, a workaholic CEO who is desperate to win back the heart of his wife, Laney. Makena portrays Laney, who has returned to her hometown and is seeking a divorce. Rauch's voice reflects Connor's determination to show Laney a new side of himself.... Read More

Mack Sanderson capably narrates this story of two unlikely partners--a discredited former Secret Service agent and a Jesuit professor--as they embark on a modern-day quest to learn the truth about JFK's assassination. Sanderson portrays the reluctant former agent, who is drawn into the mission only because of his promise to a recently murdered lover. The quietly intense... Read More

Narrator Greg Hernandez amps up suspense and fear in this captivating story. As people are leaving Cape Cod after July 4th, a group of terrorists blows up all the bridges, airports, and ferries, effectively stranding everyone on the island to face both a Category 4 hurricane and their announced dispersal of anthrax. A private investigator and an ex-homicide detective must work... Read More

Famed street photographer Brandon Stanton, creator of the photoblog and book "Humans of New York," narrates the beginning of this audiobook. The prologue starts and ends with the story of an infant left on a New York City street who is rescued by an EMT. Stanton also covers his 15 years in the "most diverse place" on earth. Then the voices of the other narrators take over. The... Read More

With a lilting voice and clear diction, Danice Cabanela brings the sixth installment of this cozy mystery series to life. When the women-owned businesses of Shady Palms are being robbed and the owners attacked, Lila Macapagal and the rest of the Brew-ha Cafe crew, along with Lila's boyfriend and his brother, rally to try to find the perpetrator. Although Cabanela's narration... Read More

Jesse Vilinsky gives a vibrant performance of this delightful cozy mystery featuring a fun romance. Emersyn, who is caring for her young niece after her brother's death, is struggling to keep afloat financially after being swindled by her ex-boyfriend, Hoffman. Emersyn's natural warmth and intelligence come through in Vilinsky's narration as she creates a fictitious detective... Read More

C.J. McAllister brings to life the ongoing adventures of a hunter who is navigating a desolate Wasteland. Rod, still healing from his past ordeals, withdraws deeper into the harsh landscape to prepare for a journey into the enigmatic Dark City. McAllister's narration strikes a careful balance, allowing quieter emotional moments to resonate fully. His steady baritone provides a... Read More

With his vocal control and emotional awareness, Shane Ghostkeeper brilliantly performs this meta, often surrealist novel. Milton Muleborn and Matthew Echota met while locked up in a juvenile detention center. Milton burns with jealousy over Matthew's artistic talent, and he tells the reader an unreliable account of his childhood and early adulthood. The story is framed as a... Read More

Kuin's study of the ancient Greek cynic who made philosophy a performance art is comfortably supported by Cassandra Campbell's easygoing performance, which carries the listener through the text's occasional repetition and lack of focus. While Campbell's pleasant voice and manner don't always match up with Diogenes' persona as a transgressive maverick, that doesn't undermine her... Read More

Experienced narrator Daniel Henning, who has a real feel for the subject matter, delivers a stylized yet pleasing narration of this candid life history, based on conversations and interviews. Bachardy, an artist, was the life partner of the late novelist and playwright Christopher Isherwood. Unique in its approach to discussing gay life in the 1950s, this audiobook is frank... Read More

Carpenters and landlords stand alongside playwrights and actors in this lively audiobook history of London's first commercial theaters. The very first, The Theater, opened in 1576, and its history chronicles the birth of British theater. Renaissance scholar Swift works from scraps--leases, lawsuits, lumber prices, apprenticeship figures, plague deaths, and the names of actor... Read More