New Reviews by Title: K-O

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

Crews's novel, published in 1988, is finally on audio, and it's worth the wait. Matt Godfrey's masterful storytelling brings it to life. Part of "Southern grit lit," the story focuses on Eugene Talmadge Biggs, a prizefighter who discovers that his most lucrative skill is his ability to knock himself unconscious. Biggs capitalizes on the public's thirst to see this talent,... Read More

Expertly narrated by Imani Jade Powers, this speculative fiction enters the mind and motives of Lady Macbeth. While she's reminiscent of Shakespeare's character, many of the events depart from the play's, allowing us to see things through her eyes. Seventeen-year-old Roscille, allegedly cursed by witches, drives men mad after one look into her eyes. Against her will, she's... Read More

Narrator Marisa Calin transports the listener back to 1898 London and the Savoy Hotel, where Lady Delia Stratham works as an event planner. Lord Simon Hayden has been hired by the hotel's owners to find out why it's losing money despite being busy. Delia and Simon clash at first, and Calin captures the considerable tension between the two. Later, as they grow closer, Calin... Read More

Hanako Footman's delicate tones resonate with the otherworldly atmosphere of this short novel about revisiting cherished memories. Footman sustains the intrigue regarding Mr. Hirasaka, an affable guide of the afterlife who owns a fantastical photo studio somewhere between life and death. Although he assists each of the three characters--an old woman, a gangster, and a girl--to... Read More

It's rewarding to listen to a novel that depicts the effects of tumultuous times upon several generations of a family. Maggi-Meg Reed and Mark Bramhall portray various members of the Taylor family and their associates. Reed and Bramhall provide clear differentiation between characters, including young attorney Nick Taylor, who works for American Oil; Bet, his devoted wife and... Read More

This book, published in 1994, follows several members of a Coney Island high school basketball team. The author, who is essentially embedded in the school, spends multiple hours with the players as they go through the recruitment process and as they deal with girlfriends and life in a troubled area of New York. JD Jackson brings his usual stellar narration to the audiobook,... Read More

In this dual-perspective romance, Ellie Gossage ably performs both narrators with voices that fit their distinct personalities. Bubbly, optimistic Opal wins the lottery and uses most of her newfound wealth to outright purchase a beautiful flower farm in Appalachian North Carolina. But when she arrives at her new home, she discovers cynical Pepper, who has been living and... Read More

L.J. Ganser gives a superb performance of this true account of how five shipwrecked sailors, three British and two American, survived on the Falkland Islands for 18 months during the War of 1812. Dolin's work is amazingly detailed with all things Falkland--history, flora, fauna, oceanography, meteorology--and he makes all of it interesting and engaging. He gives spellbinding... Read More

Le Guin's thought-provoking classic can be a challenge for any narrator. Her ahead-of-its-time narrative is a crazy quilt of excerpts from anthropological reports, cultural myths, and even a personal journal. Yet that doesn't seem to faze Golden Voice Michael Crouch in this gripping audiobook. Using a variety of accents, he brings to life the difficult mission of a human envoy... Read More

An engaging narration by Shayna Small takes listeners into the little-seen world of entitled women artists. It's Paris, 1928, and Black lesbian Louise Lloyd, an amateur detective, is living her dream. Her work as a budding photographer gives her access to an elite group of artists, ambitious women who meet weekly at the exclusive Aquarius club. When member Iris Wright goes... 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

Bahni Turpin's performance takes listeners to that time in the early 1990s when the world was changing and the latest alternative rock bands were everything. Jane meets burgeoning rock star Elijah in an Internet chat room, a connection that leads to a deep professional and personal bond. They form The Lightning Bottles and amass a devoted fan base, with Jane providing the... Read More

Eunice Wong's narration of this debut novel captures the essence of its story with a perfect deadpan tone. Linh Ly is confronted with a multitude of challenges that disrupt her routine. First, she finds herself coping with her mother's new dating life and with an active shooter lockdown at work. She's also experiencing palpable anxiety as she grapples with her past, family... Read More

Adepero Oduye and Chukwudi Iwuji perform this whirlwind story told by a group of characters who are all connected by the events of a single night. In an unnamed city in Nigeria, Kalu attends a sex party to help him forget that his girlfriend, Aima, has just left him. But everything goes wrong, and Kalu finds himself sucked into the city's seedy underbelly with no way out. Oduye... Read More

Alison Larkin re-creates WWII London, where citizens are facing deadly attacks from the air and spies on the ground. Listeners meet safecracker Electra "Ellie" McDonnell and her manager, Major Gabriel Ramsey. Larkin's buoyant Ellie hesitantly approaches the intense Ramsey about mysterious murders that are taking place. Her criminal connections have no idea who's behind them. At... Read More

Sometimes metafiction--shape shifting, self-referential, time bending--can seem like a party favor. While it possesses many meta elements, this satisfying audiobook is at once a comic romp, a satire of fame in the Internet Age, and a look at race--set in rural Mississippi. This is the 2021 revision of the debut novel from Laymon, whose more recent memoir, HEAVY, was much... Read More

Even at more than 15 hours, with a story covering several decades, this audiobook never slows its pace as narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. The epic begins in 1980 with the kidnapping of a Long Island factory owner and follows the lives of his three underachieving adult children, all of whom are damaged in their own way by the ordeal. Ballerini expertly captures the Jewish... Read More

Moira Quirk is a virtuoso in narrating all manner of fantasies. Here she delights in turning to the dark side. When a lonely, bookish adolescent is offered a magical deal to hop from a cancer ward to the realms of her favorite fantasy novels, she jumps at the opportunity--with one caveat. She wants to be one of the villains. As this wonderfully campy send-up of bodice-ripping,... Read More

Narrator Jack de Golia wields impressive vocal skills to create vivid characters in this sci-fi audiobook. James is a typical high school student who is crushing on a cute girl and drawing comics with his friend. But after an accident, his dreams become full of alien wonders, he hears voices, and his drawings look more like schematics than comic characters. Fearing he could be... Read More

Vivienne Leheny will keep listeners guessing as she narrates this smart story about a thirty-year-old mystery involving the disappearance of three members of a wealthy Nevada family. The incident resulted in national headlines. Leheny's wonderfully breathy presentation adds to the drama. The story starts simply enough: Dr. Sloan Hastings sends her DNA to a genealogy website and... Read More

Narrator Michael Chance performs this timely audiobook with dignified enthusiasm that perfectly matches the spirit of the London economist's work on how to help people prepare for living longer. With a lovely accent reminiscent of the British actor Michael Caine, he adds color and sensitivity to this persuasive manifesto. The author's positive message is that instead of feeling... Read More

Three narrators, Susan Bennett, Christina Moore, and Xe Sands, combine their talents to tell the story of Dr. Lark Smith. Lark has been moved from oncology to the ER because she is deemed to be too emotional. Dr. Lorenzo Santini has offered to help her get back to oncology if she will pretend to be his girlfriend to please his grandmother. Sands gives Lark vulnerability as her... Read More

This historical mystery brings a strong, idealistic American woman to a small village in mountainous Calabria, Italy, in 1960. Francesca is running from marital turmoil in Rome when she comes to Santa Chionia to build a nursery school. Narrator Lisa Flanagan gives Francesca a passionate, authoritative voice as she tells her story of trying to raise up the people of a forgotten... Read More

Dennis Boutsikaris returns to narrate the fifth installment of the Clay Edison series by the father-and-son duo Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. Boutsikaris captures the personality of former deputy-coroner-turned-PI Clay Edison with a convincing guy-next-door voice. At the request of a client and driven by his own curiosity and sense of justice, Edison investigates the secrets... Read More

Jorjeana Marie's captivating narration brings this Narnia-inspired gateway fantasy to life. Grieving the recent loss of her mother, vet tech Emilie Wendell vows to find the half-sister she never knew, who disappeared in a West Virginia forest years ago. Desperate for a lead, she enlists the help of Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell--estranged friends who emerged from the same forest... Read More

Coauthor and narrator Lexi Underwood brings high schooler Jordyn to life in this young adult audiobook about the power of art. Jordyn wants a fresh start at her new school. But when an anonymous podcaster reveals intimate secrets about students, including a piece on Jordyn's past, she teams up with her new friends to take down the podcast for good. Underwood primarily narrates,... Read More

It's great fun to listen to Andi Arndt switching from one accent or vocal register to another. She is skillful and generous, calling no attention to herself, leaving all your focus on this first-person narrative, a tale told by an obsessive young woman named Hannah who pursues a man accused of murdering four women much like herself. First-person narratives are claustrophobic by... Read More

Frankie Corzo narrates a contemporary romance featuring childhood best friends. Laniah and Issac have always been close. Now Issac's career in L.A. has skyrocketed, putting him in the spotlight. At home in Rhode Island, Laniah and her mother struggle to keep their natural hair care business operating. Issac's plan to boost the store's sales by fake-dating Liniah for the summer... Read More

Tune in for a great experience with narrator Marni Penning as she returns listeners to the small town of Cemetery, Indiana. Berkley Carr, who hasn't had an easy life, has moved to town to run its new animal shelter. There, she encounters Lawson Salder, who comes from her hometown and is privy to her past. Berkley is from Kentucky, and Penning gives her a hint of an accent.... Read More

Kelli Tager narrates this holiday romance set partially in small-town Vermont and partially in big-city Manhattan. As the only Jew in town, grumpy café owner Abby Cohen gets "volun-told" to organize a Hanukkah Festival to save the locale's quaint shops. This is how she finds herself fake dating her least favorite customer in exchange for his vendor contacts and a visit to his... Read More

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson narrates her audiobook with the precision and thoughtfulness that characterize her legal decisions. She straightforwardly describes the struggles of her progenitors during segregation. Her delivery grows more personable as she depicts her childhood love of learning, as well as memories of high school debating, Harvard friendships,... Read More

Listeners should not expect risqué revelations about White House liaisons. The titular loves of Theodore Roosevelt are his mother, two wives, and two sisters. These five women were instrumental in creating the man who would become one of our most popular presidents. Author and narrator Edward F. O'Keefe tells listeners about these exceptional women who were reliable advisors,... Read More

Zara Chowdhary's writing and film background are evident in a cinematic memoir that recounts the disastrous 2002 train fire that killed 57 Hindus, ignited Muslim prejudice, and fueled riots in the state of Gujarat, India. Chowdhary describes her innocence at age 16 and her feelings of confusion, disbelief, and dawning horror as the events unfolded. Her accented English and... Read More

A fantastic ensemble cast narrates Lucy Westenra's story where her original story in DRACULA leaves off. Billie Fulford-Brown voices Lucy in two separate timelines: through her journals in 1890 and her therapy transcripts in 2024. Her transformation from a naïve girl to a capable vampire is perfectly realized through Fulford-Brown's powerfully emotional performance. In the... Read More

Golden Voice Narrator January LaVoy becomes the characters of Troy, Georgia, as they face off on the issue of banning books in libraries. Lula Dean, the prime book banner, fills her little free library with "wholesome books." Little does she know that her rival, Beverly Underwood's daughter, Lindsay, put banned books beneath the wholesome book jackets. Oh, my! LaVoy imbues... Read More

Mackenzie Cartwright and Teddy Hamilton join forces to portray the romance between Jackson Justice and April Hoffman. April is working for Jackson's lumber business in Maine when she's involved in an accident that leaves her with amnesia. Her memory lapses give insecure Jackson the opportunity to admit his feelings for her. Hamilton projects all of Jackson's masculinity, along... Read More

Sophie Dahl narrates her short adventure story featuring Mabel, a girl living in her parents' Mermaid Hotel, and Madame Badobedah (rhymes with "ooh-la-la"), the hotel's quirkiest resident. Madame Badobedah's indeterminate accent suits her mysterious background and eccentricity. Did she really steal a priceless emerald from a museum? Mabel speaks with Dahl's English accent and... Read More

Shiromi Arserio narrates a fantasy set more than 400 years in the future. After a gangster destroys her home, Adya must work with a despised rival to save her sister--and the world. Adya has led a difficult life, and her anger, resentment, and general mistrust are highlighted in Arserio's portrayal. Princess Imral has led a sheltered life, and Arserio's portrayal is a... Read More

Dara Rosenberg returns to narrate another Meltzer contemporary romance, this time featuring a Jewish shop owner in Woodstock, New York, and the man who might be a golem she accidentally summoned. After an anti-Semitic group papers the town with hateful flyers, Faye drowns her fears in wine and performs a ritual for protection. The unexpected appearance of a handsome man with... Read More

Karen Novack takes on the joint roles of narrator and 40-year-old recently divorced Jessie, whose fresh start begins when she's hired as caretaker of an old house in the Sierra Foothills. Little does Jessie know that the house comes with secrets and strange employees. But Jessie has self-appointed protectors: the aging, ultra-stiff gargoyle/butler, Mr. Tom, portrayed by RJ... Read More

Author and narrator CeCé Telfer shares her compelling and timely story in this candid memoir. Born in Jamaica, CeCé knew she was female from a very early age but faced cultural and family pressure to hide her authentic self. CeCé's delivery is passionate and raw; she doesn't shy away from heartbreaking details. However, her narration is disjointed in parts. As she travels from... Read More

Vikas Adam and Soneela Nankani narrate a story of a fake marriage of convenience loosely inspired by Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT. Veera Mathur and Deepak Datta never meant to end up married to each other, but they decide to make the best of the situation as it solves problems for both of them. However, all too soon their feelings become too real to ignore. Veera has quite a bit... Read More

A cast of narrators tells Audrey Carlan's second "Marriage Auction" story from each character's perspective. As the auction approaches, listeners hear each couple's backstory in differently voiced chapters. From the sizzling attraction that narrators Wesleigh Siobhan and Winston James create for their characters to the world-weary bachelor Rhodes, narrated by Aiden Snow, and... Read More

Marvel Comics fans will love this behind-the-scenes look at the creation of many of the company's lesser-known characters, such as Killraven, Man-Thing, Omega the Unknown, and others. Todd Menesses delivers a punchy, well-paced work with welcome enthusiasm about the subject matter. Clearly, he gets it. There is a slight problem with his pronunciation of some words like "genre,"... Read More

When private eyes Bill Smith and Lydia Chin are hired to discover the whereabouts of the son of New York's first female mayor, they soon discover that there is more to the investigation than finding a teenage runaway. Narrator L.J. Ganser is the perfect match to this mystery, which is told from the viewpoint of Bill. Especially strong are Ganser's strong portrayals of Bill and... Read More

Sunny Lu, Keong Sim, and Charlie Thurston narrate a mesmerizing thriller about a woman who must confront the unreliability of her own memory. Hope's memories of her life before her time at a facility designed to reconsolidate lost memories are spotty. Each treatment is slow to bring order to the chaotic remnants of her past. But as secrets come to light, she begins to doubt the... Read More

Narrator Sura Siu exudes an irrepressible spirit as she leads a full cast through this celebration of community for middle-grade listeners. When Kacie arrives home after a summer away to find her best friend, Nisha, absent and Nisha's dad's convenience store all boarded up, she is hurt and angry. It falls to the "bench grandpas" in the park to help her understand that change is... Read More

Anna Marie Tendler narrates her memoir of a short stay at a psychiatric hospital at the beginning of COVID as she attempts to deal with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and an eating disorder. Along with a brutally realistic take on her stay, she includes scenes of her relationship with her mother, as well as older men with whom she was sexually involved as a minor. There's also a... Read More

Kaleo Griffith's exceptional narration highlights the tension and emotions packed into Sarah Crouch's impressive debut. In Point Orchards, Oregon, the body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree deep in the woods on novelist Elijah Leith's property. The death appears to be suicide until details emerge from Elijah's unsuccessful novel in which a murder is made to look... Read More

The combined strengths of Joe Eyre, Sarah Slimani, Roly Botha, Laurence Dobiesz, and Tuppence Middleton create a stellar full-cast production. Listeners will be caught up in this well-executed story of a friendly get-together that turns into a murder mystery. We are taken into the opulent atmosphere of The Manor, a luxurious resort teeming with intrigue. Eyre and Slimani bring... Read More

Georgina Campbell performs this gothic tale set in 1840s England. Orabella Mumthrope finds herself marrying a mysterious, wealthy stranger to help settle her uncle's debt. At her husband's historic home, she meets his family, all of whom seem to have far too many secrets. Campbell's performance capture's Orabella's frustration as she's given a strict routine and told never to... Read More

Narrator Jennifer Jill Araya portrays a young physics professor who decides to live according to her daily horoscope after being denied tenure at her university. Miranda Reep takes a much-needed sabbatical and decides to adopt a different perspective on life. Her fortune begins to change when she meets Simon Archer, the boy next door. Araya's portrayal of Miranda's conflicted... Read More

Erin Bennett speaks earnestly about the life of comedian Elaine May, warning listeners that separating fact from fiction is difficult. But Bennett's ease with the microphone makes it a joy. Blessed with brains and beauty, May was easily bored. She told outrageous lies about almost every aspect of her life. Bennett delicately tells the story of her groundbreaking comedy with... 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

Gabra Zackman performs this ambitious novel, which attempts to turn the legend of King Arthur on its head. In an alternative future 11 thousand years from now, an orphan boy named Ariel chooses not to pull the sword from the stone. Instead, he finds a different sword, an ancient artifact that carries with it a sentient AI that tells him of times past. From there, Ariel starts... Read More

Narrators Angela Dawe and Gary Furlong delight listeners in this contemporary romance revolving around grieving and love. Callum Flannelly is a happy recluse who would love to own his family's undertaking business. To do that, he must marry before he turns 35. Lark Thompson escaped to Ireland for a new job opportunity and to move on with her life after her husband's death. Lark... Read More

Adam Nimoy recounts his struggles with his famous father, Leonard, and with his own addictions in this compelling story of family and recovery. Leonard is best known for his portrayal of the unflinchingly logical but lovable Spock from the Star Trek franchise. In life, his son experienced a different person: a distant workaholic with demons to spare. Throughout the audiobook,... Read More

You don't have to be familiar with the Beryl and Edwina Mystery series to enjoy Barbara Rosenblat's narrative gifts in this latest installment. Beryl and Edwina are hired to expose the Dinsdales, fraudulent new residents who are offering "seances." When the body of the former church organist appears where the medium's "spirit guide" is supposed to reside, things heat up.... Read More

Whitstable is a peaceful English village in which a few residents enjoy the benefits of having a garden allotment where they grow flowers and vegetables and tend bees and hens. Jennifer Kirby portrays Pearl Nolan, who enjoys a plot, along with a close-knit group of villagers. Kirby provides the wit and spark of this sharp restaurateur and independent woman. Soon, however, the... Read More

Quyen Ngo immerses listeners in this dual memoir whose chapters alternate between a father and daughter. Nghia M. Vo delves into the period when he fled Vietnam by boat to take refuge in the U.S. after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Decades later, his adult daughter, Christina, who was raised in the U.S. and longs to learn about their family's homeland, travels to Vietnam. Ngo... Read More

Dara Rosenberg employs bright, youthful tones to portray naïve 20-year-old Rose Harkness Beaufont, who suddenly learns she's half mortal and half magician--and the newly recovered heir to the House of Fourteen and Mortal Seven. On that very day, Rose must take up her mission as a warrior and witch hunter to destroy the magic of the Shadow Walker coven of Los Angeles. In this... Read More

Lee's well-researched portrait of Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon is a delightful and informative experience brought to life by narrator Jane Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer's slightly hoarse timbre and intimate tone suit the intelligent, reserved, and poised former First Lady of the United States. President Richard Nixon certainly gets his due in this audiobook, and, happily, the... Read More

To help keep her family's home from foreclosure, 12-year-old Sarah Greene and her escape room friends, Hannah and West, break into an abandoned 1950's fun house to find the legendary treasure hidden inside. Narrator Eleanor McCormick expressively channels her youthful side, as well as Sarah's levelheadedness, Hannah's spunky comebacks, and West's silliness as they go through... Read More

Sophia's current beau, the man of her dreams, surprises her with a cruise to the Galapagos Islands. Just as they are boarding, he gets an "emergency" call from his ex-wife and tells Sophia he can't go. At his insistence, she decides to go alone. Narrator Erin Bennett gives a great performance, delving into Sophia's ruminations with excellent pacing and varying tones that reveal... Read More

Marc Vietor narrates a dark fantasy epic about a family of merchant bankers and the prince who is poised to take over the kingdom. Davico di Regulai, armed with an ancient dragon eye and his own wits, steps up to control a vast banking empire. He soon learns that kindness is a weakness that will get him killed. A slow build follows Davico from childhood to adulthood. As Vietor... Read More

Ray Porter performs a Lovecraftian take on a military science-fiction thriller. When an entire space station orbiting around Jupiter vanishes, its inhabitants find themselves trapped in a realm of cosmic horror. The only way home involves a legendary weapon and spaceships that require dead pilots. Porter narrates in a gleefully theatrical tone. Monsters' and villains' voices... Read More

Paige McClanahan has an appealing voice and narrates persuasively at a good pace. She gives this audiobook a sense of her lived experience as a travel writer, reporter, and thoughtful interpreter of the world of travel. While she resides in France, she is a longtime contributor to the NEW YORK TIMES; her insights on tourism are based on thousands of hours of interviews. She... Read More

Ruby Corazon delights as the narrator of this debut contemporary romance featuring a librarian and an ex-NFL star. Each is attempting to get over their feelings for their ex--both of whom are newly engaged. Can they do so by hooking up with each other? Everyone thinks Marcela Ortiz and Theo Young are sleeping together anyway, so why not play along? When their ruse turns into... Read More

Euan Morton sounds like he's having a grand time narrating this strange and strangely endearing story set in the eleventh century. Tyun, a relic hunter, and Nicephorus, a monk who has had a (possibly) prophetic dream, set off with a motley crew on a sometimes madcap, often funny adventure to steal the bones of Saint Nicholas and bring them back to Bari. As the city's Norman... Read More

Natalie Naudus narrates the opening of a duology retelling the Mulan legend. Meilin escapes from her abusive father when he arranges to sell her to an equally abusive husband. She disguises herself as a boy and enlists in the army, where she augments her training with nightly sessions. A jade necklace she inherited from her mother is imbued with black magic, and she starts to... Read More

Jenny Funnell impeccably presents this mystery set in an English assisted-living facility. It becomes much more than a whodunit as it offers moving themes of love, friendship, and aging. Listeners meet invincible 87-year-old wheelchair-bound Florrie, who is investigating whether the fall of the home's manager was an attempted suicide or murder. As Florrie investigates, events... Read More

Narrator Ellis Evans's total commitment makes what could be a ridiculous premise a fun and compelling listen. College student Nicholas "Coal" Claus is the heir to Christmas. After his attempt at spreading joy goes wrong, Coal shares a drunken kiss with a man who then disappears. Fast-forward a couple of years, and Coal finds himself facing an unwanted arranged engagement to his... Read More

This stunning collection of short stories is narrated beautifully by a quartet of gifted narrators who bring to life the reimagined lives of the nine-tailed fox of Asian folklore. As each story unfolds, the narrator imbues it with passion, sensuality, and a healthy dose of feminist perspective. Nancy Wu, Annie Q, Jen Zhao, and Eunice Wong have engaging and charming voices, and... Read More

A trio of narrators brings to life this dark, brooding mystery. Shaun Taylor-Corbett narrates most of this story from the point of view of Toby Tucker, who suddenly marries into the wealthy Wright family, famous for their televangelist patriarch, Jerome. Severe weather strands the extended family at their Texas compound, and when Jerome is found dead, deep family secrets emerge... Read More

Christopher P. Brown performs this intimate memoir of a son's fraught relationship with his mother after she discovers he's gay. During the first year of the Covid pandemic, Corcoran's mother dies, leaving him and his two sisters to handle her affairs. From there, Corcoran takes listeners back through their complex relationship, sharing how his mother's homophobia has followed... Read More

Dion Graham's masterful narration clarifies this novel's shifts in point of view and vividly defines its main characters, 107-year-old Josey Kravitz and 12-year-old Alex. The richness of Graham's Polish accent for Josey augments the power of his storytelling and his tragic past, as well as his caring personality. Graham's delivery also reveals Alex's feelings of hopelessness... Read More

Christopher Walker performs the substantial role of legendary master thief Gideon Sable as he and his friends hunt for the ghost of an alien-possessed man in the Preserve in Bath (Britain's Area 51). Walker's clear, unaccented voice contrasts with that of his partner in crime, the lovely, magically gifted Cockney-accented Melody, aka Annie, portrayed by Jenna Sharpe. Sable and... Read More

Pastor, speaker, and podcaster Davey Blackburn shows his talent for storytelling, his knowledge of the Bible, and the strong religious belief that centered him after the murder of his wife. He calls this audiobook the book he "never wanted to write." Blackburn's transitions are clear as he weaves the multiple elements of his memoir. His narration varies from accounts of... Read More

Momo Hoshi beautifully delivers this thoughtful memoir, which explores the history of humans and wheat, along with the allure and challenges of sustainable farming. Hoshi's gentle, sometimes wistful, narration of food and family casts a delightful spell. The author explores her Indian heritage, along with a type of heirloom wheat that can be traced back to the Punjab. Whether... Read More

Lucy Strange gives a lucid yet dreamy performance of a dark fantasy with massive world-building. In a future full of sickness caused by emotions, Payton is focused on becoming a "methic" in order to cure her mother's illness. With her sister, Ani, she explores the darker secrets of the hospital they grew up in before they were separated and introduced to the wilds outside.... Read More

This thrilling performance by Katherine Littrell will captivate a wide audience. Junior high schooler Gigi is engrossed in her friend group and her crush on classmate Mari until she finds one of her teachers, Mr. Ford, murdered in a classroom. When Gigi and her friends team up to identify the murderer, she uncovers odd mysteries surrounding Mr. Ford. In addition, the romance... Read More

Narrator Samuel Roukin introduces listeners to this unique story of the German people before and after Hitler's maniacal rise to power. Roukin deftly creates both German and Jewish characters with identifiable voices and cadences. Sophia Alexander pays no mind to Hitler's actions until the hospital where her father works is burned to the ground because he refuses to perform... Read More

Kerry Hutchinson narrates this heartrending account of Pen Farthing's escape from Afghanistan and his refusal to leave the animals and staff of his charity's rescue program behind. Operation Ark documents the events that took place when the Taliban invaded Kabul in 2021. More interested in eye-catching headlines than accuracy and substance, the media vilified Farthing for... Read More

On the face of it, an audiobook about the publication of and critical reaction to Charles Darwin's ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES wouldn't appear to be engaging. But Mike Cooper's smooth narration and charming British accent make this audiobook more accessible than its print cousin. Nonetheless, a rudimentary knowledge of Darwin's life and theories is necessary to understand the... Read More

Elizabeth Knowelden will capture listeners' hearts with her charming performance. Rival ornithologists Beth Pickering, a recent graduate, and Professor Devon Lockley are on the hunt for the death whistler bird, one the rare jewels in birding. While Beth finds Devon to be brash and egotistical at first, it's only a matter of time until Devon's charm sucks her in. Knowelden's... Read More

An ardent fan of the musical play offers a richly detailed portrait of the complicated lyricist who wrote OKLAHOMA, SHOWBOAT, and other timeless Broadway hits, Oscar Hammerstein. In the rapidly changing social climate he worked in (pre- and post-WWII), he was flawed as a man but created uplifting, socially progressive storylines that made audiences envision a more just and... Read More

This audiobook reveals often untold stories of early trans athletes and their battles for equality during a time of severe prejudice. Narrator Jennifer Pickens brings the stories in this superbly researched audiobook to life. Pickens expertly conveys the emotions of figures like Zdenek Koubek, a European sprinter who ultimately lived as a man, and Mark Weston, a British field... Read More

In this audiobook thriller, women take action against violent men, cruel women, and a world that underestimates them and takes them for granted. Sisters Paula and Julie grow up with a vengeful mother, ultimately paying the price for her choices. Three narrators take turns voicing the lead as the story jumps around in time, making the shifts easy for listeners to manage. As... Read More

Rob Shapiro immerses listeners in this historical fiction. The novel is about the infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy, who planned to spend his post-outlaw days staying lying low. So here he is in Paris, where he meets talented singer Jane Touissant and introduces himself as Mr. Noble Salt. Touissant and Salt's (Cassidy's) connection and mutual goal of keeping their secrets... Read More

Elena Rey rises to the challenge of narrating this emotionally charged and hilarious story of love and trauma shared among three generations of women. Luciana, the youngest daughter in a Colombian American family, becomes exasperated when her eccentric grandmother, Abue, refuses to evacuate from Miami during a hurricane. A mass found on Abue's gallbladder throws everything into... Read More

Narrator Ann Richardson performs this beautifully crafted story about female bonding, personal growth, and the transformative power of friendship. The audiobook alternates between the viewpoints of an aging, reclusive bestselling author, Inez, and her cleaner, Meja. Meja lacks direction in her life and comes to help Inez declutter her cottage in coastal Sweden. The story is... Read More