New Reviews by Title: R

Narrators Katharine Chin and Yu-Li Alice Shen transport listeners with their portrayals of complex characters in this literary audiobook. American Lindsey Litvak, age 22, is fighting for her life in a Shanghai hospital after a hit-and-run accident. Her divorced parents rush to China to be by her side, but they don't speak the language and struggle to navigate their new... Read More

John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan's newest Dee and Lao historical mystery is full of cross-cultural witticisms and kung fu martial arts that narrator Daniel York Loh plays to full effect. It's 1924. Judge Dee Ren Jie is in London. Accompanied by Lao She, his admiring "Watson," he foils a nefarious plot between a Russian diplomat, a Japanese mercenary, and Chinese... Read More

Louise Brealey's captivating narration of Dalton's memoir is simply delightful. Far away from the fast pace and crowds of her life before the pandemic, Dalton finds what she believes is an abandoned leveret, a baby hare, in the English countryside. With the deepest respect for wildlife, Dalton supplies what this leveret needs to survive in exchange for the gift of witnessing... Read More

Narrator Daphne Kouma wows in this epic fantasy/murder mystery/political thriller. In a society built around eight powerful animal spirits, a new emperor is chosen every 24 years when those vying for the throne compete in a series of trials. When the Raven palace's contender is found dead, scholar Neema Kraa finds herself simultaneously taking her place in the trials and... Read More

In this gorgeous memoir, bestselling American author Lidia Yuknavitch meanders through her life with the grace of moving water. Her narration, too, mimics the rhythmic lyricism of water. Her voice gently rises and falls like ocean waves as she recounts her complicated relationships with her ex-husband and mother, along with the ways the grief she carries from their deaths... Read More

Kevin R. Free narrates this fact-filled, occasionally opinionated, history of the post-WWII period when the U.S. targeted communists, trade unionists, homosexuals, progressives, and Soviet sympathizers for removal from civic life. Prodded by influential men like FBI head J. Edgar Hoover and Senator Joseph McCarthy, the government conducted intense surveillance. The House... Read More

P.J. Ochlan narrates the fourth novel in the Red Hotel series. Dan Reilly, former CIA operative/hotel executive, becomes involved in political intrigue and danger when Russian President Gorshkov implements a multifaceted plan to attack the U.S. With his uncanny ability to slip into many accents, Ochlan takes listeners across countries and continents while ratcheting up... Read More

In a voice full of optimism and Midwestern "can-do" spirit, narrator Dan Bittner recounts how a midsized Midwest city transformed itself into an economic juggernaut. Until recently, Tulsa, Oklahoma, was largely dependent on the energy sector: gas and oil. In 2020, with his founding of Tulsa Innovation Labs (TIL), urbanist and social entrepreneur Nicholas Lalla set out to... Read More

Narrator Rosalyn Landor takes listeners to England in the early 1800s as the Dowager Countess Clarissa Ware rediscovers a childhood friendship with Matthew Taylor. Clarissa returns to her family estate to reevaluate her life as she approaches her 50th birthday. Working as a carpenter in the village is Matthew, whom she grew up with. Landor brings maturity to her narration of... Read More

Tom Kiteley's wonderfully drawn narration of this darkly humorous historical debut immerses listeners in its time and place. James Willoughby, a well-born but impoverished medical student, finds himself drawn into an unusual employment arrangement in nineteenth-century Edinburgh. Kiteley captures James's ingrained class behavior and naïveté as he works for his surgical school's... Read More

Gary Tiedemann gives voice to "Rhino" Rhinehart, the featured character in Lipsyte's timely, troubling coming-of-age novel. Because of an impulsive punch, the junior captain of the football team finds himself keeping a journal as part of a school therapy group. Tiedemann delivers Rhino's words in the voice of a teen who is attempting honesty and beginning to question who he... Read More

Many new audiobook histories debunk legend and traditional narratives, but this brief account of Paul Revere's storied ride argues that his warning of approaching British troops on the night of April 18, 1775, was history changing. Narrator Johnny Heller, an engaging voice for wise-guy detective fiction, unwisely pushes the action toward melodrama, thereby sacrificing the tone... Read More

Gem Carmella narrates a magical novella inspired by traditional ballads. Sisters Esther and Ysabel use their musical talents to tend the enchanted willow their family has honored for generations. When an unwanted suitor appears, everything they love is suddenly at risk. Carmella's narration perfectly blends the fantastical elements of fairy tales with the macabre elements of... Read More

Listeners well-versed in Greek mythology will be able to follow along more easily with Senka, Charon's assistant in ferrying the souls of the recently departed to the realm of the Dead. When she becomes involved with a Living girl, Poppy, who is on a quest to retrieve the ghost of her brother, they begin an adventure that has them encountering virtually every denizen of the... Read More

Narrator Emily Mount mesmerizes listeners in this captivating fantasy-romance. England is ruled by an immortal fae queen who graciously grants each citizen one bargain. This year, the high-society girls are encouraged to bargain for qualities that will land them suitors. When Ivy Benton's debut season arrives, she plans to win the heart of the fae queen's son. Mount's ethereal... Read More

Marin Ireland's narration of this family dramedy maximizes the humor behind finding a half-sibling--only to find out there may be dozens more. Ireland's performance captures Madeline's mix of reluctance and curiosity as she joins her newfound half-brother, Reuben, on an unexpected road trip. Ireland's subtle vocal shifts distinguish each sibling, reflecting their varied... Read More

Narrators Dan Bittner and Rebecca Lowman step flawlessly into the characters of Mike and Ruth in this digital-age thriller. Through Mike's and Ruth's alternating chapters, we follow Ruth, a 20-something hacker, as she flees Mike and other government agents who want to recruit her skills. Bittner convincingly portrays Mike in a boy-next-door tone, subtly exposing his... Read More