New Reviews by Title: K-O

Narrator Victoria Fox's heartfelt delivery and beautiful voice complement this story about finding hope and an identity after tragedy. Natalie's husband died more than two years ago, and she wanders around her creaky cottage struggling through each day. She used to perform for large audiences and have a full life. Now, she only plays for strangers on a public piano at a London... Read More

Akrosia Samson narrates this new novella by Scholastique Mukasonga with an array of accents, bringing its four interwoven stories to life. Samson's voice elicits the feeling of sitting round the campfire as the village storyteller shares the Rwandan mythos and its conflicts with the Catholicism of Belgian missionaries. Rife with the injustice and cultural erasure of... Read More

Want to live in Palm Springs, California? First, listen to Melanie Carey and Paul Bellantoni narrate this debut cozy mystery, set in the present day. Listeners are introduced to the charms of the city, as well as lots of Old Hollywood trivia, while being simultaneously entertained by a murder mystery. Carey and Bellantoni deftly alternate the voices of the two main characters,... Read More

Natalie Naudus brings the perfect mix of heart and hilarity to this chaotic but charming holiday rom-com. In need of money and without direction, struggling animator Ellie agrees to a fake marriage with a Portland, Oregon, real estate developer. But when they arrive at his family's cabin for the holidays, she discovers his sister, Jack, is the woman she fell in love with in a... Read More

Narrator Suzie Althens brings an upbeat sense of wonder to the story of unlikely scientist Jeanne Villepreux-Power. Born in a remote French village during the French Revolution, Villepreux-Power went to Paris with her dressmaking skills and natural curiosity, and eventually to Sicily, where she would become a groundbreaking marine biologist and pioneer of aquariums. Althens... Read More

Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at the online news magazine "Slate" and host of the podcast "Amicus," opens in her usual understated, approachable narrative style, quoting from the first stanza of Paulie Murray's poem, "Dark Testament": "Where men forever crush the dreamers/Never the dream." She proceeds with stories of women attorneys confronting male-dominated legal and... Read More

Carolina Hoyos expertly and lovingly narrates this astounding audiobook. A Mexihcah girl tells her little brother about the history of book making in Mesoamerica before the arrival of Europeans. Book-making techniques are explored in depth--from the plants used to make the pages to the animals, insects, and rocks used to complete and decorate the books. How these books were... Read More

Piper Goodeve's talents are showcased in this young adult fantasy. Charged with safeguarding a portal to the Otherworld, Jack has dutifully performed his job for hundreds of years. Things change when he crosses paths with the young witch Ember O'Dare. When Ember slips Jack's protection and finds her way into the Otherworld without his help, he leaves his post to save her.... Read More

Charlie Thurston narrates the troubling story of struggle and survival in this apocalyptic novel. The U.S. has been mostly destroyed by political extremism and fires. Hearing rumors that Ireland will accept American refugees, Lark and his family take an overloaded boat across the sea. Upon arrival, Lark, the only survivor on the ship, is not welcomed, as he expected, and soon... Read More

Bo Jackson remains an enigmatic, almost mythical, character in American sports history for playing both professional baseball and football in the 1980s. In this audiobook, author Jeff Pearlman covers Jackson's life from his small-town upbringing to his years at Auburn University, where he played baseball and won the Heisman Trophy for football, and to his professional career in... Read More

In straightforward style, narrator Mack Sanderson delivers biographies of six famous artists who have nothing in common except that they lived and worked well into old age. With his resonant voice and perfect diction, Sanderson takes the listener into the lives of Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Hopper, and Nevelson. He lightens his tone for direct quotes from the artists and... Read More

Narrator Chris Andrew Ciulla puts his Boston roots to good use as he gives an authentic "Bahstan" accent to the story of a man's descent into a life of crime on the city's infamous waterfront. Tony Costa is predestined for a life of crime, thanks to his uncle, a mobster. When Costa turns 18, his uncle lands him a coveted job as a well-paid longshoreman, loading and unloading... Read More

In a tone of romantic adventure, Alex Bescoby narrates his account of the 2019 road expedition he led from Singapore to London--16,000 miles. Retracing a famed 1950s expedition, which took place in an Oxford model Land Rover, Bescoby travels roughly the same course under the guidance of Tim Slessor, who was also part of the earlier journey. As they prepare for the current trip,... Read More

Vikas Adam shines in this character-driven mystery set in 1950s San Francisco. After he's caught in a raid on a gay bar and fired from the police force, Andy thinks his life is over. Instead, the matriarch of a wealthy queer family hires him to investigate her wife's murder--and introduces him to their house, where queer people love openly. From the flirty joking of the... Read More

Actor, producer, and now author Eriq La Salle narrates a mystery featuring a series of gruesome murders of priests. The murders have been taking place over a period of 30 years. La Salle's delivery is a mix of warmth and dark pensiveness. His tone provides an eerie tension that creates suspense. However, a love story also unfolds, and La Salle provides just the right amount of... Read More

This debut novel, written by two journalists and an editor, shines a satirical light on today's celebrity-obsessed culture. When John Doe, a renowned chef who is host of the traveling food show "Last Call," dies on location in Belfast, co-workers and strangers try to ride his coattails to their own fame. Fliakos illuminates Katie's manipulativeness as she tries to jump-start... Read More

Golden Voice narrator JD Jackson acts out Krueger's dramatic audio-original novella, which is about the potential breach of a levee, the only thing holding back torrents of water during the unprecedented flooding of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. Four men--three convicts temporarily released and a man named Quince Mobley--arrive by boat and work tirelessly to save the... Read More

Hannah Choi captivates listeners with this surreal debut thriller, which thoughtfully explores the issue of mental health. Estranged from her parents and working as a temp, Katrina Kim blurs the lines between reality and imagination. Driven by compulsive tendencies, she performs shape and number rituals, retreats into an imagined universe based on her favorite children's book,... Read More

George Saunders has won many awards for his writing. His skill as an author and as a narrator is on display here. He delivers the first and last stories in this audio collection, bookending an excellent cast. All nine of the stories focus on people with problematic identities, and each narrator embodies his or her protagonist's particular problem in an appropriate and evocative... Read More

Poet Nikki Giovanni narrates her ode to the power of a library in a child's life. Monday mornings after they hang out the laundry, "Grandmother takes her sit-down" while her grandchild heads off to the library. There, the child exults in the endless possibilities the institution affords: "a place to be free/to be in space," a place to imagine dream after dream. Giovanni's warm,... Read More

Lisa Appelo uses the power of God's scripture to tell listeners how they can overcome their darkest times. In a friendly manner, narrator Andrea Emmes describes the spiritual promises God has given to help people overcome loss and sorrow and regain strength and hope. Emotionally and tenderly, Emmes shares the author's personal stories of grief and urges listeners to see the... Read More

Profanity-laced yet well-written, this audiobook memoir by the creator of "Deadwood" and "NYPD Blue" is unique because the author, David Milch, is suffering from Alzheimer's. Milch narrates the prologue with appropriate sobriety and drama; his rough-and-tumble voice matches an equally rough-and-tumble life. It's remarkable and impressive that Michael Harney's bass voice so... Read More

A captivating performance by Rosemary Benson highlights this arresting dystopian story of a woman's struggle to survive in a dying world. Rising water levels; monster storms; and blistering, deadly heat have left Florida and its population devastated. Born during a massive storm, Wanda grew up watching her surroundings deteriorate and learning how to survive. In this post... Read More

Michelle Obama performs the follow-up to her bestselling memoir, BECOMING, giving listeners another peek at her life. This time, Obama aims to inspire listeners to become their best selves, giving practical advice and using illustrations from her own life. Her deeply personal stories show listeners how she has worked her way through obstacles. Listeners also learn more about... Read More

In this fictional account of a historic event, the story of the Lindbergh baby's 1932 kidnapping is told from the nanny's point of view. Narrator Penelope Rawlins employs a lovely Scottish accent for nanny Betty Gow, who has been careful to hide her checkered past from her celebrity employers. Rawlins portrays Betty's terrible guilt after the kidnapping--but is her remorse for... Read More

Mark Bramhall has the resonance of a nineteenth-century orator, and his fine articulation has flavored many period histories and biographies. Here he transports listeners to the 1860s and the docks of Liverpool, where Confederate and Union agents match wits over outfitting ships and munitions bound for Southern ports in the U.S. England was an uneasily neutral nation during the... Read More

Barnaby Edwards uses an upper-crust British accent to narrate this detailed account of the rise of Suleyman the Magnificent, the sixteenth-century Ottoman ruler. Fans of world history will sink into this rich imagining of palace life extracted from recorded facts about this period and place. Edwards capably keeps up with the long lists of taxes owed and properties owned by... Read More

Elsie Robinson, a journalist whose early years were filled with adventure and hard times, became one of the highest paid female writers in the early twentieth century. In this audiobook we learn that 20 million people read her syndicated column, "Listen, World!'' Her novels, poems, and memoir were also highly successful. While her personal life was tragic, she talked about it... Read More

Laurel Lefkow narrates this beloved classic featuring the March sisters as they grow from children to young women. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy remain home with their mother as their father serves during the Civil War. They grow and change from the bumps and bruises of childhood and young adulthood, making their way despite deaths, burned first drafts, and broken hearts. Lefkow's... Read More

In this live recording of a strikingly intimate performance at a London jazz club, John Legend alternates between solo performances of familiar pop songs and monologues about his background. The recordings of his speaking, singing, and piano playing are flawless, and his vocal tone is soft and beautiful. Surrounded by church-going relatives as a child, he was a precocious... Read More

Emerging in the 1990s and still relevant today, Pearl Jam's music resonates with hipsters and discerning fans of grunge, alternative, and message-oriented rock music. Their story, told here by an insightful music journalist, is given enormous appeal by narrator Ron Hippe. Pearl Jam's success has been full of dramatic fluctuations and contradictions. Hippe captures every nuance... Read More

Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy give seamless performances as FBI consultant Amos Decker and his new partner, Special Agent "Freddie" White. The pair are sent to South Florida to investigate a seemingly unsolvable double murder. The dual narration is highly professional and natural sounding. Brewer is an excellent choice as the main narrator; he creates a slightly gruff and... Read More

Stacy Gonzalez narrates this middle-grade fantasy with youthful vigor. Ren is the most powerful godborn; her shadow bruja magic has enhanced her powers over time. She runs a blog that connects the Mayan civilization with aliens, and when a message details a potential alien sighting, she is quick to investigate to prove her theories. But something more sinister is happening:... Read More

Narrator Caitlin Davies brings her talents to this NEW YORK TIMES bestseller. Steeped in mystery, the story features Winnie, a smart, strong female protagonist who is brought to life by Davies. The story, set in Hemlock Falls, includes a cast of secondary characters with well-differentiated voices. Winnie is hoping to become one of the elite monster hunters who protect her town... Read More

Dulcet tones open this enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance, narrated by Raechel Wong. As the third generation to run her family's matchmaking business, Liv is passionate about using the Chinese zodiac to help clients find their perfect partner. When she realizes the cute man she recently met has launched a dating app with the same premise, Liv vows to put him out of business... Read More

Victoria Blunt performs an unsettling horror novel in which years of peace are guaranteed by human sacrifices. The island of Lute is remote and is blessed with prosperity and fortune. Nothing can cast a pall on the land, not even war, except that one day every seven years the island takes seven human sacrifices. Blunt brings the newest denizen of the island to life. Nina has... Read More

Steven Crossley gives an intelligent narration of English actor Alan Rickman's diaries. While not imitating Rickman's voice, Crossley makes personal comments sound authentic. Covering the years from 1993 to his death from pancreatic cancer in 2015, Rickman's diaries are not a gossipy tell-all. His amusing anecdotes are sharply drawn and delivered by Crossley with Rickman's... Read More

It's hard to believe that a single narrator, Danny Campbell, is delivering this confessional novel. Listeners will swear they're hearing the actual reel-to-reel tapes of Harley Mann, made in 1971. He's telling his life story, which involves the Shaker community called New Bethany in Florida's swamplands--what is now Disney World. Campbell sounds like the garrulous old man... Read More

This superb audiobook will surely rank among this year's finest histories and literary studies. British actress Julie Teal brings elegance and grace to popular historian Andrea Wulf's lively account of the unconventional group of authors, poets, and intellectuals who congregated in Jena, Germany, in the 1790s and early 1800s, and together inaugurated the modern romantic idea of... Read More

Sheryl Lee Ralph displays her magical acting talents throughout her bold narration of this adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's short story "Magnolia Flower." Ralph delights listeners as she breathes additional life into this story of love and freedom. The work is presented as a frame story in which the wise river tells the young, babbling brook about Bentley, an enslaved man who... Read More

Victor Hugo's genius for verbosity is on ample display here; he never used two words when a hundred would do. Simon Vance's narration is fluid and evocative, but even his excellent work may not be enough to get many listeners through sections of this audiobook such as the exposition on English lighthouses. The story of a man whose mutilated face makes him a successful clown has... Read More

Narrator Austin Ku captures the rhythms and tone of Chinese folktales within the contemporary pace and observations of Tang's debut novel. A professor at a California university receives an urgent phone call from his mother in China. He must return home to his family's rural village to help search for his aging father, who is missing. Taking place in the fascinating time... Read More

There's a quiet enthusiasm in Traci Kato-Kiriyama's narration that elicits calm and inspiration--emotions that are fitting for kurashi at home. Marie Kondo translates kurashi loosely as "way of life" or "the ideal way of spending our time." Kondo, whose "spark joy" method of decluttering organized homes around the world, is back to show us how to create kurashi at home.... Read More

Narrating her own work, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Louise Glück offers her first work of fiction, a meditation on language, identity, motherhood, and death as experienced by not-yet-one-year-old twins Marigold and Rose. The pair are opposites: Rose is the "good" baby--pretty, happy, and social--whereas, Marigold is "difficult" and introspective. But Marigold is also a writer... Read More

While Neil Baldwin's biography captures the frenetic life of modern dance innovator Martha Graham (1894-1991), it's Gabrielle de Cuir who keeps listeners attentive. De Cuir's voice is delicious--round, mellow, and perfectly suited to Graham's journey of discovery. From Graham's childhood, when her father made her aware that "movement never lies," through her incredible career... Read More

Here's an audio love letter for BLACK PANTHER fans who can't get enough of the film, its characters, comic book roots, and late star, Chadwick Boseman. The publisher gathered dozens of experts to write essays discussing the film, its impact on society, and how it affected them personally. The authors' passion comes through in the delivery of their personal essays and stories.... Read More

Eva Kaminsky and Gabra Zackman gloriously perform this charming dual-timeline audiobook. Zackman portrays Sara, a young, Jewish woman who lives on the Lower East Side in the 1910s. She has an extraordinary gift for matchmaking that is being challenged by the established Jewish male marriage brokers. Kaminsky depicts Sara's granddaughter, Abby, a 20-something divorce attorney in... Read More

Fred Berman weighs his words as he carefully delivers the works of critics and scholars discussing Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking graphic novel, MAUS. Together, they seem to dissect every aspect of the classic work about life in a Nazi concentration camp. It focuses on the impact of the camp's Nazi staff on a couple and the son they have years later, depicting the prisoners as... Read More

A string of deaths that has confounded federal and state law enforcement is the ideal backdrop for the latest Nelson DeMille thriller. It especially shines as an audiobook performed by Scott Brick. Brick's on-point ability to time every phrase perfectly highlights NYPD Detective John Corey's distinct personality. DeMille's other characters are also well defined, particularly... Read More

Mark Deakins returns as narrator of this sixth audiobook in the Maze Runner series, the first installment of a planned trilogy within the series. The story is set 73 years after the Flare, an infectious disease that led to an apocalypse that is chronicled in the first five audiobooks. Descendants of people who were immune to the Flare and sent to live on an island are forced to... Read More

Shakira Shute's plaintive, wistful tone mirrors used bookstore owner Nory Noel's mixed feelings about attending an extended pre-wedding house party with her private school friends, Jenna and Charles, Guy, Jeremy, and Ameerah. Complications ensue: She slept with Guy before she knew he was married, she suspects Amira is falling for her man-Barbie date, and she discovers the... Read More

Michael Tomasky's economic ideas are serious and urgent, and they require a narrator with the gravitas to make them heard. Adam Barr answers that call with his confident baritone, which lends authority to the author's words. Tomasky, the progressive editor of THE NEW REPUBLIC, makes a compelling argument that prosperity emanates not from the top down, but from a thriving middle... Read More

Fourth grader Mihi Whan Park worries that a Korean American girl like her can't be "the princess type" in this series opener narrated by Triya Leong. When Mihi meets fellow princess lovers Savannah, a timorous white girl, and Reese, a brainy Black girl, her hopes rise--and then soar when the three stumble into a really, truly magical land complete with characters from European... Read More

Mark Sanderlin narrates this comic middle-grade audiobook with the perfect amount of flair. Brewster Gaines loves making videos but has yet to achieve his ultimate goal: going viral online. When he enlists a cool new classmate as his scene partner, Brewster doesn't realize the chaos he's about to unleash. As more kids join the project, Sanderlin deftly voices Brewster's alarm... Read More

Daniel Bergner's exploration of the scientific landscape of mental illness and its treatment is wide-ranging and, ultimately, fairly depressing. Bergner's voice is pleasant and genuine, but his carefully enunciated performance is a bit too measured and restrained when added notes of anger and fear would be completely appropriate. Bergner lays out the limited success of... Read More

Narrator Michael Butler Murray has a quirky timbre that makes this exploration of all things bee very listenable. He particularly enlivens the somewhat dull and rather lengthy chapters that provide historical background on bee science. What scientists have discovered about bee perception and intelligence is fascinating to hear, but the nitty-gritty of how they figured it... Read More

You can't love cozy mysteries and be unfamiliar with Miss Marple, and this lovely narration from Juliet Stevenson will wrap you up in the warmth of familiarity quite well. Stevenson takes the listener through the short stories with a variety of well-performed voices and accents, making this as much like listening to a play as to a book. From Sir Henry Clithering and Raymond... Read More

Steve West narrates this collection of ephemera from the Queen's Thief series. Fans will encounter short stories (most reprints) featuring beloved characters, as well as brief essays on some of the books' archaeological inspirations, which can be seen in black-and-white photos in the accompanying enhancement, and occasional tidbits of script-style dialogue. The titular... Read More

Narrator Bahni Turpin portrays Jo Monarch, who lives in a dystopian future in a dreary place called the Ashes. For years, she's wanted to win the Lineup, a live game that chooses the brightest of its young female contestants to move to New Georgia. Pete Cross portrays Cove Wells, who already lives in New Georgia, where everything and everyone seems wonderful--but is not. Cove... Read More

Roman Howell's narration makes the true story of Barnum Brown, the fossil-hunting scientist from Kansas who found the first Tyrannosaurus rex, seem like an adventure novel. Howell sounds excited and fascinated by Brown's ability to uncover fossils in what was becoming a crowded field. As dinosaurs became popular, the paleontologist from New York's American Museum was always... Read More

There's an odd mournful quality to narrator Ava Erickson's narration of Erin Spencer's semi-autobiographical story with romantic elements. Listeners may find the lingering sadness in Erickson's tentative, soft voice confusing because casino dealer Summer seems content with her life. But Erickson's tone soon makes sense as tragedy strikes Summer's whirlwind romance with... Read More

This children's story is set in Compestine's hometown of Wuhan at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nancy Wu masterfully narrates the experience of 13-year-old Mei as the young teen grieves the loss of her late mother and misses her father, who works virtually nonstop at the hospital, helping patients with a mysterious disease. Wu captures the anger born from fear that Mei's... Read More

Kim Niemi's delivery of this memoir takes a potentially emotional situation and, as the author does, expresses it with a neutrality that is based more in thought than emotion. Whether this work is considered a short memoir or an extended essay, it reflects the author's continual adjustments through 11 years of caring for her mother, for whom she did not have wholly positive... Read More

Narrator Steven Crossley sounds like he's having a grand time as he brings out all the humor in this stand-alone mystery set in Thailand in 1996. Supot, a postal worker portrayed by Crossley in a sweetly befuddled tone, is an avid movie fan. Each night, he goes to the video store of his friend, Ali, to watch a film with him. Ali is depicted in a deep pitch and a slightly... Read More

Piper Goodeve gives an appealing narration of this whimsical audiobook. Forty-something Jane loses her job as an attorney and then becomes a murder suspect. Her neighbor informs the police that she witnessed a romantic encounter between Jane and a younger colleague on the roof of Jane's New York City apartment building; then the neighbor is found dead, and Jane begins... Read More

Narrator Chanté McCormick purrs and croons as she portrays Lady Abigail Worthing, an upper class Black woman from the Caribbean Islands who is slowly settling into the ton and her absent husband's house. Lord and Lady Worthing's house is adjacent to the property of her highborn neighbor, Lt. Stapleton Henderson, who has recently retired from serving in the Napoleonic Wars. When... Read More

Wendy Bos performs this Phryne Fisher mystery with perfect aplomb. She sounds just like the indomitable Phryne and gives credible voices to all her sidekicks, adopted children, and numerous lovers, as well as her own children. Plots and subplots abound as Phryne's adopted daughters, Ruth and Jane, uncover suspicious activities at the Blind Institute, while adopted son Tinker... Read More

Billy Collins embraces extreme compression in this collection of very short poems. Some of them are worthy of Henny Youngman; others are potentially heartbreaking if you pause the audiobook to think about them. Most of the poems are under 25 words. Even more than with most audio poetry collections, this one rewards the pause for reflection, since without it you are already into... Read More

Adam Lazarre-White performs S.A. Cosby's reissued debut novel. Nathan Waymaker is a former law enforcement officer now working at his cousin's funeral home in the Chesapeake Bay area. When a local pastor dies under mysterious circumstances, two women from the pastor's congregation approach Waymaker, offering to pay him to look into the pastor's death. Lazarre-White's... Read More

Actor Zosia Mamet is joined by an ensemble in this collection of intimate essays connecting food to the emotions evoked by taste and smell. The stories are as different in tone as their famous authors and range from hilarious to tragic. A few discuss disordered eating. Several are read by their authors. Fans of actor Busy Philipps will enjoy hearing her emphatic cadence... Read More

Gracefully written by the British band's founding bass player, this nostalgic ride through his life before, during, and after Dire Straits' peak years (1977-1995) captures rock and roll's status as a cultural touchstone for baby boomers and musicians on both sides of the Atlantic. The author's no-fuss narration sounds quick, and the range of his tone and phrasing limited. But... Read More

Sitara Attaie is a strong choice to narrate these compelling short stories written by modern Afghani women. She delivers the variety of fictional experiences found in this unique volume, maximizing the power inherent in the wide-ranging, timely, and compelling storylines. Listeners are treated to stories of individuals who are struggling for personal autonomy against history,... Read More

The author presents this collection of previously published articles and essays chronicling many important events and people of the Civil Rights Movement. Charlayne Hunter-Gault is an activist, a journalist, and a former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio. This important collection of her work highlights her contributions, both as an activist and as a journalist.... Read More

Rueby Wood leads the Full Cast Audio team in this sci-fi romp. As first-person narrator Peter Thompson, Emmy nominee Wood ("Better Nate Than Ever") brings the right amount of "gee-whiz" to bear when the sixth grader finds himself on a spaceship teeming with extraterrestrials. They're concerned: Humans are a cruel, violent species on the cusp of interstellar flight, making them... Read More

British narrators Clare Corbett and Kristen Atherton shine in this multilayered thriller. Eve, portrayed by Corbett, is an audiobook narrator who is struggling to get her life on track after a divorce and other losses. Phillipa Roberts, bestselling author of the Tower mystery series, has been missing for nearly a year. When the manuscript of her tenth Tower book surfaces and... Read More

With an uncomplicated and clear delivery, narrator Peter Lerman takes the listener on a deep and cold dive under and around miles and miles of Arctic Ocean ice. He's in search of one of the most mysterious and elusive creatures on earth--the narwhal, a 2,100-pound whale with a tusk, actually a tooth, that can grow up to 10 feet in length. In medieval times the narwhal's tusk... Read More

Scott Brick, with his rich baritone and impeccable pacing, delivers a commanding performance of a riveting, unconfirmed WWII incident. In 1943, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin met in Iran to strategize their attempt to end the war. Authors Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch lay out the Nazi conspiracy to kill the "Big Three," with action that moves from... Read More

Neom is an actual planned smart city to be built by the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. This audiobook imagines it in the far future, when it has become a global gathering place. Using an array of regional accents, Rasha Zamamiri capably brings those in Neom, human or otherwise, to life. Characters range from a native flower seller to a desert-dwelling boy who is seeking the stars,... Read More

Enjoy this rambunctious performance by glowing narrators Barrie Kreinik and Natalie Naudus. Skye and Maya have two things in common: They're both exes of Jordy, and they're both invited to participate in a dating game show to win back his affections. While Maya is dead set on exposing Jordy as a master manipulator, Skye is optimistic that she might rekindle love again. Both... Read More

This audiobook collection of stories by the critically acclaimed Mexican author Cristina Rivera Garza is experimental in nature, with some enigmatic works straddling the line between reality and surreality. The 23 stories, written over the course of more than 30 years, have themes ranging from love to immigration to the search for meaning. An ensemble of seven talented... Read More

To call this performance just an audiobook would be an enormous understatement. It's an immersive listening experience with an original score, sound effects, and an entire cast. A disease has taken over the entire world, making social interactions rare and beloved destinations dystopian. Beta-test player John Chambers joins a lifelike virtual reality game in which he can... Read More

Lisa Flanagan narrates journalist Margaret Sullivan's memoir/manifesto authoritatively. Flanagan speaks in a direct, straightforward style and alters her timbre only when imitating male voices. She captures Sullivan's spirited point of view--she's enthralled with her calling and appalled at the state of the media--and gives this important audiobook the seriousness it merits.... Read More

Narrators Joe Jameson and David Stagg tenderly deliver this touching audiobook. Nick, voiced by Stagg with optimistic confidence, can't stop talking about how excited he is to start university. Charlie, voiced by Jameson with breathy uncertainty, fears facing his last year in high school without his boyfriend. Nick can't tell what's going on as Charlie's anxiety spirals out of... Read More

Matt Godfrey flawlessly delivers Roger Zelazny's last--and possibly best--fantasy novel. Listeners meet Victorian characters who gather only when the full moon occurs on Halloween--3-4 times per century. They play the Game, in which Players battle to end the world or begin a new era of slaughter and slavery. Godfrey masterfully distinguishes the Players; for example, The Great... Read More

In 1628, a Dutch ship bound for Batavia (now Indonesia) sank off the coast of Australia. This audiobook is the fictional accounts of a 9-year-old Dutch girl who perished on the adjacent lonely island and a 9-year-old misfit Australian boy three hundred years later. In a gentle, innocent tone, Fleur De Wit narrates the story of Mayken, a privileged girl of aristocratic lineage... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini is in excellent form as he provides a gripping performance that captures the backdrop of historical events. Lilith is born into the omnipresent terror of Nazi Germany. Her mother eventually makes the heartbreaking choice to send her, alone, to Cuba, for the possibility of a better life. Once there, Lilith embarks on a second life, never knowing what happened... Read More

Narrator Amira Ghazalla delivers a quietly powerful performance of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk's investigation into the ways people react when faced with a health epidemic. In 1901, the dreaded bubonic plague appears on the fictional island of Mingheria, part of the weakening Ottoman Empire. A doctor's wife writes letters to her sister, describing the events as they unfold. A... Read More

Maulik Pancholy narrates his charming middle grade audiobook with love and enthusiasm. Nikhil's mom moves his family from L.A. to his grandparents' house in Ohio, taking him far from his best friend and his job--he's a voice acting star on a hit cartoon. Nikhil finds welcoming friends, lands a nerve-racking lead role in the middle school musical, crushes on a cute boy--and is... Read More

Part memoir from his Guam childhood and part manifesto, this audio collection of essays by climate activist Julian Aguon looks at resistance, resilience, and collective power in the age of climate disaster. It's also a call for justice--for everyone but, in particular, for Indigenous peoples. Michael Ignacio's narration exactly fits the text. He adds appropriate outrage,... Read More

The latest Reacher audiobook weaves a number of seemingly disconnected yet gripping subplots before the pieces come together in typical Reacher fashion. Twisted and fast-paced, the story begins with Reacher witnessing the murder of a woman. Narrator Scott Brick voices Reacher as strong and determined but also compassionate. Brick also creates a wide range of multidimensional... Read More

After 27 years, veterinarian Dimpna Wilde comes back to the Irish village of Dingle to help clear her parents, who have been accused of murdering the village's wealthiest man, Johnny O'Reilly. Narrator Emily O'Mahony portrays many characters, all of whom have motives. She is at her best as Dimpna and as Cormac O'Brien, the detective who is investigating the case. Her rich Irish... Read More

This classic depiction of Black family life in Kansas in the 1930s is narrated with grace and skill by Jaime Lincoln Smith. The work brings the struggles and challenges of early-twentieth-century Black American experience to life, complete with Hughes's skillful use of dialect and prose. Smith deftly switches into period diction and local accents, voicing each family member so... Read More

Donald Corren's performance is as balanced as it gets. He's tasked with conveying what is essentially an extended interview, in which journalist Barsamian's questions invite Noam Chomsky's detailed answers. Perhaps one of the most recognized public intellectuals, Chomsky fields questions on the nature of the pandemic, its impact on the wealth gap, and American politics over the... Read More

With the enthusiastic delivery of an entertainment news anchor, narrator Armando Riesco emphasizes the shocking and obsessive elements of one of the most sensational crimes of all time. In 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two promising and privileged 19-year-old scions of Chicago wealth, intricately planned the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a 14-year-old boy. Riesco... Read More

Christa Lewis's affecting performance illuminates the types of social and political resistance taken up by teenagers in Nazi Germany during WWII. Lewis's smooth transitions between English and German accents immerse listeners in the world of underground jazz clubs that queer Berlin teen Charlie Klaus and her friends, Geli, Minna, and Renate, discover. What begins as a reprieve... Read More

Kotaro Watanabe, who recently narrated a collection of Murakami short stories, returns with the famed author's essays about his life as a writer. Watanabe's unembellished delivery clearly conveys the essays' informational tidbits; for example, Murakami produces 10 pages at a sitting, he doesn't know other writers, and he always travels outside Japan to write his novels.... Read More

Tom Beyer's narration often appeals to the emotions. His delivery of the sad stories of koalas who made their way into Australian yards after fires raged through their habitat pulls at the listener's heartstrings. He tells the story of the dangerous mosquitoes moving into Germany with a weary sigh. The accounts of animals and plant life on the move as their habitats shift with... Read More

A series of sensational crimes surrounding an unhinged Danish nurse is captured in this informative audiobook. In 2016, Christina Aistrup Hansen was convicted of multiple murders during her service as a lead nurse at the Nykøbing Falster Hospital in Denmark. Later she was retried and her sentence reduced. Narrator Colin Mace recounts a complete narrative of Christina's tenure,... Read More

Raphael Corkhill balances drama and sincerity in his narration of this sci-fi space opera. When socialite and mind reader Tennalhin Halkana is conscripted into an intergalactic military, he begrudgingly teams up with dutiful Surit Yeni, who has the power to control others. They fake an order to sync their minds and uncover a political struggle that threatens the stability of... Read More

Tavia Gilbert single-handedly delivers this production, and is she ever up to the job. She evokes the story's characters--Lampie, the lonely, motherless lighthouse keeper's daughter; Lampie's self-hating, alcoholic father; Edward, the angry, neglected child immured in the Black House, where Lampie is indentured; and more. Gilbert shades her delivery as the third-person close... Read More

The third episode in Henkes's Miller family series is told from Sal's point of view, splendidly expressed by Julienne Irons. At first, the arrival of the new baby was an exciting time for Sal and her family. However, a week after her birth, Sal has become bored because the unnamed infant mostly sleeps and eats. As narrator, Irons captures not only these subtleties, but also... Read More

Dominique Franceschi shines with her enthusiastic narration of this fun and creepy mystery. All the characters have distinct and realistic voices. Omega Morales feels that she doesn't fit into her hometown, Noche Buena. The human townspeople are wary of her because she is half-human, half-empath. She straddles both worlds without fully feeling part of either one. Omega's best... Read More

Sara Sheckells correctly describes her delivery style as "equal parts empathetic and authoritative," and that is the case with this somewhat academic performance. Sheckells confidently lays out Rabbi Ruttenberg's expansive discussion of the ancient Jewish philosopher Maimonides's five steps to repentance and their application to individuals, communities, and cultures. Centered... Read More

Robin Miles transports listeners to 1950s San Francisco to meet mother Vivian, who wants her children to be famous singers, and daughters Ruth, Esther, and Chloe, whose wants differ. Miles fully embodies Vivian as she talks about growing up in Louisiana, negotiates with a music manager, professes her love for the preacher, and reacts to Ruth's becoming pregnant, Esther's... Read More

C.S. Lewis, author of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, believed that "you should hear every sentence you write as if it were being read aloud or spoken." So it seems apt that we should now have the opportunity to LISTEN to Lewis's observations on the art of writing, all delivered in John Lee's sonorous Oxbridge tone and phrasings. Lee does a wonderful job of rendering the balance and... Read More

Brutal, soul-crushing, surreal, and duplicitous. What else would you expect from a North African Nazi labor camp in the midst of WWarII? With a voice that is at once heartless and urbane, the camp commandant, portrayed by English voice talent Simon Templeman, pits two young couples--one Jewish and the other Muslim--into betraying their friendships, their faiths, and everything... Read More

Author/narrator Nathan Chen is the first Asian American to win an Olympic Gold medal in figure skating, which he did at the 2022 Games in Beijing. In a delightful foreword Eunice Wong explains how Vera Wang came to design his costumes. Chen's own delivery is fast and filled with scenes of his childhood and the sacrifices his mother made to secure lessons and coaches for him.... Read More

Juliette Goglia embraces the enthusiastic viewpoint of Gerda Pohorylle, a German Jewish teenager who is thrilled to be studying in Switzerland, falling in love, and taking pictures with her uncle's portable camera between the wars. Gerda's passion takes a more adult turn when she is taken in for questioning by the Gestapo and flees to Paris for safety. There she meets... Read More

Meera Simhan, narrator of the majority of Ellis's Breadwinner series, delivers the fifth installment. It takes place in 2021, twenty years after the initial book, when Parvana and Shauzia became heroines. Simhan's slight accent gives a sense of the Afghan setting. She infuses emotions into her otherwise neutral reading to show the terror of those who are experiencing the... Read More

Andrea Emmes narrates an allegorical techno-thriller in which a virtual reality game offers an unusual solution to the potential end of the world. Society is in the midst of a near global addiction to social media and a virtual reality game when disaster strikes. The world begins to burn--metaphorically and literally--but then everything is brought back online by a new version... Read More

This audio collection includes most of Wilde's short fiction, most of which, in turn, is fairy tales. The writing is beautiful, of course, but the stories preach a rather simplistic morality, more appropriate for children than for adult listeners. All the narrators are equally good, but they were recorded in different studios with different production values. The background... Read More

Narrator Dion Graham returns to portray former FBI agent John Adderley, who has a new identity as a Swedish police detective. Listeners will be filled with dread as Adderley's former life as an undercover agent in Baltimore catches up with him in Sweden. Adding to the police procedural's complexity is a second storyline involving Alicia Bjelke, whose beautiful celebrity sister,... Read More

The listener, of course, knows the catastrophe that's ahead. But this dramatic audio history of Japan's rising militarism in the 1930s, based on American Ambassador Joseph Grew's extensive diaries, confirms the Hitchcockian theory that suspense is generated not by surprise, but by expectation. Narrator Dan Woren is, as always, matchless. Given a narrative so powerfully built... Read More