New Reviews by Title: U-Z

Yolande Kettle performs this second installment of a trilogy with a crisp and deliberate pacing that serves the high-octane Swedish noir plot beautifully. ULTIMATUM is a police procedural and political thriller with plenty of action and gore, and it helps that Kettle delivers the mayhem with measured and elegant diction that makes everybody sound plausible and sane, though a... Read More

Lecrae Moore's raw approach to writing and rapping is expressed through his reading style of his autobiography. As a professional hip-hop artist, he knows how much work it takes to recount a true story that is stranger than fiction. As a man who now strives to be real with both God and people, he narrates in an honest tone, allowing his fear and anger and loneliness and longing... Read More

The second story in the popular Book Scavenger series finds preteens Emily and James trying to break a famous historical code. As they race around San Francisco finding encrypted messages, a mysterious arsonist is somehow connected--and may be their teacher. Narrator Jessica Almasy's portrayals bring the characters to life through well-crafted vocal variations. Emily's and... Read More

Narrator Scott Sowers's measured pace is tantalizing and demands close listening. Haven't we all hoped to find a message in a bottle washed up on shore? The "Uncorker" featured in this story seems to do it all the time. And then he sets about delivering that message to its rightful owner--whether he or she is nearby or so far away that the Uncorker's "compass [becomes] rusty."... Read More

Narrator Josiah John Bildner inhabits this time-travel, romance, and coming-of-age story. Bildner's narration takes off in 1980 when 15-year-old Jack Inman's epileptic seizures catapult him back to the 1920s, where he meets Lucas and saves his life. During Jack's next "trip" he becomes Jacqueline. Bildner's male and female characters, 1920s speech patterns, spirited... Read More

In the late eighteenth century, New York and Paris were homes to revolution. London also saw unrest. Neil Dickson narrates this work with the energy of those times. Mark Rapport links specific sites in those cities to their political movements. The Common, where the Liberty Pole stood, was a rallying point for the Sons of Liberty in New York, as the Bastille prison was to... Read More

Hillary Huber does an outstanding job narrating this dialogue-rich psychological thriller. Twenty years after "The Prophet," a serial killer, drove her father to the brink of madness, feisty detective Caitlin Hendrix is drawn into the investigation of a ruthless madman who is using the same signature as the former killer in the same Bay Area. Huber sets a steady pace, conveying... Read More

Langdon Cook is a congenial guide to the wilds of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and arid parts of Northern California as he documents diminishing numbers of salmon, tensions between commercial and sport fishermen, and the pure joy of spotting the silver fish in its native habitat. Narrator John H. Mayer is appropriately relaxed and amiable in his tone while also maintaining... Read More

How do the trials and tribulations of "Little Red Riding Hood," "Hansel and Gretel," and "Cinderella" shape a youngster's emotions and problem-solving abilities? Irish narrator Gerard Doyle delivers this 1976 classic of child psychology with fine clarity and conversational authority. It's less a lecture than a very intelligent fireside chat. It's also one of those audiobooks... Read More

Kathleen McInerney narrates the authors' hybrid--a fanciful travel guide to the solar system grounded in solid science. McInerney takes the wide-eyed, cheerful tone of a successful tour guide, patiently recounting basic facts about Earth's moon and each planet--distance from Earth, gravitational force, and the like--and then delving into potential vacation activities, like... Read More

The mildly cheery tone in Stephen Thorne's performance helps the medicine go down in this astute and timely overview of why our rich and poor are so economically divided. Along with effortless-sounding enunciation and phrasing, his narration has a personality that connects with the author's progressive ideals without discernible outrage or hectoring. The author, an MIT... Read More

David Chandler continues to narrate this excellent series featuring game warden Joe Pickett. This is the 17th in the series, and Chandler has voiced them all, to listeners' delight. Dallas Cates--whom Joe was instrumental in jailing in a previous book--is out of prison and seeking his revenge on Joe and his family. Pickett fans are in for a treat, and so is anyone new to the... Read More

Narrator Phil Fox weaves facts and anecdotes with aplomb as he delivers the biographies of brothers Vincent and Theo van Gogh. Fox's delivery is crisp and precise, a style that goes well with the present-tense writing. The audiobook has the structure of a walk through an art gallery, and Fox helps listeners enter the scenes. This dynamic biography includes imaginative... Read More

A time-travel trip to the ancient world is especially engaging in the company of narrator Simon Vance and author Ruth Downie. In this seventh installment in Downie's excellent mystery series about medicus Ruso of Gaul and his wife, Tila, from tribal Britain, we've left Roman England for the teeming metropolis of Rome itself. The action begins with the delivery of a dead body in... Read More

Reading with the dispassionate intensity of skilled narrators, Cassandra Campbell, Sean Pratt, Tristan Morris, and Michael Braun lead the listener on a dark and shattering tour of an all-too-near dystopian future. In it, humans with brain implants communicate directly with computers, memories are for sale, and a few lucky billionaires have access to "genetic life extension"... Read More

Narrator Dion Graham has his work cut out for him in this nonfiction exploration of volcanoes for young people. Given that the read-along book itself is full of sidebars, illustration captions, incidental questions (jokes, really), maps, "word blasts" (glossaries), and postcards, Graham differentiates between them all by using a variety of voices from serious to silly. Graham's... Read More

Clever sleuth Annie Darling and husband Max are working alongside the police when wealthy Ves Roundtree goes missing. Narrator Kate Reading has quite a cast of suspects to portray in this whodunit. Her vocal portraits mostly help listeners keep track of who's who. Roundtree is aware that in death her fortune will be circulated among a few. Reading provides introspection into... Read More

Bundy has a winner with her debut novel, and Catherine Taber's performance is almost perfect as she captures the voice and feelings of 12-year-old Alice. It's 1968 when Alice, her mother, and her deaf younger brother, Eddie, relocate to Rainbow, Georgia, to care for her grandmother. Expert pacing and tone convey Alice's swirling emotions of hurt, anger, sadness, and, finally,... Read More

Cindy Pon's fantasy thriller manages to sidestep many of the tropes in dystopian young adult novels. Roger Yeh's narration creates an enthralling audio experience. In a near-future Taipei, pollution has widened the gap between the haves and have-nots to a dangerous level. In a world in which the rich wear special protective suits while the poor suffer the pollution, acid rain,... Read More

Water--principally in the form of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers--has shaped Chinese history and thought from the nation's beginnings. Author Philip Ball explores this almost metaphysical aspect of Chinese life, showing the link even in things as basic as the alphabet. Derek Perkins offs a solid narration of the audiobook. His voice is clear and easy on the ears, and his pace... Read More

With an immediate sense of the author's considerable intelligence and considered intensity, narrator Mirron Willis reads this thorough, rigorous, and thought-provoking guide to finding one's voice and working in the real world as a writer. National Book Award winner and MacArthur Fellow Charles Johnson believes that writing is a serious business no matter whether one is working... Read More

Helen Watt, a historian who loves Jewish History, and her student assistant, Aaron Levy, study and translate newly discovered Hebrew and Portuguese documents by Rabbi HaCohen Mendez, scribed by Aleph in 1660s London. Corrie James performs this complex tale, which alternates between centuries and across diverse cultures. James adopts two different narration styles and a variety... Read More

The listener is a fly on the wall as five inhabitants of a run-down Ohio town recount their parts in this intriguing story of politics and murder. The unfolding plot involves the murder of a truly unpleasant character and its subsequent investigation. Adam Verner's narration is well paced and perfectly matched to the story. He allows the subtleties of key characters to shine.... Read More

Madeleine Maxwell has her hands full training a group of new recruits while time traveling to ancient Egypt to observe and record findings. Known to her colleagues as "Max," she is part of the semi-dysfunctional St. Mary's Institute of Historical Research, based in England, a group of professionals who return to the past to clear up historical inaccuracies. The term "time... Read More

Mark Smeby offers a delightful interpretation as he narrates this audiobook about life after death. One can hear the joyful nature of the topic where appropriate while also feeling the gravity of the deep, and sometimes uncomfortable, theology. Smeby's pace quickens with excitement when he speaks of the promises of eternal life with Christ and slows in order to let the weight... Read More

In this culinary biography, a newly established genre, food historian and journalist Laura Shapiro provides a different take on the lives of famous women, among them Eva Braun, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Helen Gurley Brown. Her focus is on the language of food. The author narrates the beginning and ending of the audiobook, and adds little. Principal narrator Kimberly Farr, however,... Read More

This unusual audiobook is well performed by Nicole Lewis, whose voice shifts appropriately from pragmatic to passionate, keeping the listener engaged. At its heart is the story of Thandi, an African-American young woman who is dealing with the complexities of life, death, and love that spans the space between. The narrative leaps among time periods and significant events,... Read More

Teenaged Dimple Shah is focused on winning Insomnia Con, an intense summer app-development program. To her dismay, she finds herself partnered with straitlaced Rishi Patel, the boy her parents have arranged for her to marry. Narrators Vikas Adam and Sneha Mathan create a rapid-fire repertoire through alternating chapters as these two unlikely teens work together--and realize... Read More

Pianist Van Cliburn wowed the Soviet Union in a Tchaikovsky competition in April 1958--when the Cold War was at its peak. Isacoff recreates the events that brightened the bleakness of that time as manifested in both the weather and international politics. Narrator Stefan Rudnicki adds warmth and humor to the story of Cliburn's achievement. He gives Cliburn's dialogue a gentle... Read More

Environmental writer David Owen takes listeners on the Southwest's most iconic and troubled waterway. To his credit, he does some digging into a very complicated topic as he travels (physically) from the Colorado's headwaters near Rocky Mountain National Park to its delta in Mexico. Narrator Fred Sanders adds gravitas to Owen's narrative. His crisp baritone could make a... Read More

Narrator Kirby Heyborne deftly portrays the panoply of characters in Haruf's peek behind the picket fences of a small town. Heyborne uses a gruff rough-around-the-edges tone for Jack Burdette. The former high school football hero courts the prettiest girl in town and tells the best jokes. When he absconds with $150,000 belonging to the town, the good people of Holt, Colorado,... Read More

Actress Annabelle Gurwitch recounts some of the highlights of growing up in a family with a colorful and quirky history. She also provides her thoughts on religion, people's devotion to their pets, adult summer camp, marketing, and show business, among others topics. In general, she takes on a sarcastic and somewhat deadpan tone when describing her family's foibles, and even... Read More

Nevada Baylor, a private investigator in a magical Houston, teams up with the dangerously magical Connor "Mad" Rogan to put a stop to the evil being perpetrated by a murderous cabal. Narrator Renee Raudman enchants listeners with this unforgettable duo. She nails Nevada's plainspoken manner and resigned humor and captures her empathy for the vulnerable as it evolves into a... Read More

When Barack Obama once said that American entrepreneurs don't appreciate the help they get from government and society in general, Michelle Malkin took umbrage. Here, the conservative writer counters with fascinating stories of America's hardworking inventors and business pioneers. She narrates with some indignation but comes across as more of a cheerleader than a defensive... Read More

Elisabeth Rodgers narrates the story of Dulcy Remfrey, a young woman in usual circumstances in the early twentieth century. Rodgers portrays Dulcy's finesse and practicality, gained when accompanying her eccentric father around the world as he built a mining treasure. With a feminine yet resolute tone, Rodgers depicts the courage that prompted Dulcy to escape her abusive fiancé... Read More

Turn up the air conditioner! Gary Furlong narrates a steamy romp of six adopted brothers who bypass the law to right the world's wrongs. In this installment, ER doctor Zeke Dugan patches up mechanic Gabrielle Parker, who is injured during a neighborhood burglary. Zeke is immediately smitten but heeds Gabrielle's social anxiety as he gets closer. Furlong's pace is a little fast,... Read More

Narrator Lauren Irwin contrasts a steady narrative with moments of passionate dialogue in this historical import from the United Kingdom. As Lily as grows up in the 1920s, she and her friends take exhilarating chances parachuting from the new contraption called an airplane. Irwin delivers these moments at a fast pace filled with excitement. The dialogue becomes more emotional... Read More

Journalist Adam Lashinsky provides a fascinating account of Uber founder Travis Kalanick's aggressive behavior and ambitions. Lashinksy's pleasant, if rather workmanlike, narration describes Kalanick's wild excursion into the creation and management of the company that allows your mobile phone or a similar device to summon you a ride to nearly anywhere. Of special interest is... Read More

Narrator Suzy Jackson takes listeners on a magical adventure. Carmer, a young magician's apprentice, and Grit, a flightless faerie, work together to stop the mysterious Wingsnatchers from attacking faeries and exploiting their powers. Jackson creates a strong and passionate voice for Grit as she leads the charge against the evil that plagues her fellow fairies. Listeners will... Read More

Underdown's atmospheric historical novel follows Alice Hopkins through grief, warring loyalties, and difficult choices in seventeenth-century England, a period of witch-hunting. While narrator Roy McMillan drops in periodically to lend deep and somber tones as Alice's brother, Matthew, recites passages from his journal, the bulk of the narration is performed by Lucy Brownhill.... Read More

Narrator Simon Vance brings intrigue and depth to Black's historical novel. Vance does well in building the identity of the protagonist who tells the story, a young scholar in the sixteenth century specialising in alchemy who chances upon a dead body. Overall, Vance makes strong work of an audiobook that, at times, is difficult to invigorate. His narration lends a consistently... Read More

In 1945, as Germany prepared to surrender, Berlin was overrun by Russian soldiers. These "Ivans" controlled the city, and life for the residents was worse than in any fictional dystopia. Narrator Isabel Keating manages to convey the frustration, hunger, depression, and exhaustion faced by the author, a journalist, who somehow manages to maintain her sanity despite several rapes... Read More

Everything about Fortey's unusual memoir is distinctly British. Narrator Michael Page's precise, stately, and almost courtly British accent perfectly suits Fortey's observations. After retirement from the British Natural History Museum, author Fortey purchases a small beech wood colorfully named Grim's Dyke Wood and closely observes the natural environment for a year. As Fortey... Read More

An achingly beautiful tale of love, loss, and literature from Australian author Cath Crowley is given an engrossing narration by Chelsea Bruland and Hamish R. Johnson. Rachel Sweetie's inconsolable grief over her younger brother's death opens a story that unfolds in multiple layers. Returning to the town where she grew up, Rachel reconnects with old friends, particularly Henry... Read More

Narrator Debi Hawkins grew up in Africa and still lives there, so it's not surprising that she's so fluent in portraying both the Xhosa-speaking young Joshua and his mother, as well as the Afrikaans language of white South Africans. She brings realism and character distinction to this story of a boy who learns to fight South Africa's apartheid system in 1976. Speaking in the... Read More

Narrator Seán Barrett is wonderful at dialogue, creating distinct voices for a wide range of characters in this rich contemporary gothic tale of murder and bad behavior. There's a vile family secret at its heart that is not exactly impossible to figure out, but Barrett makes the unraveling of it exciting. Surprisingly, for all the impressive care he takes with voices, the... Read More

Fans will love it: Mulder, Scully, Doggett, even the Lone Gunmen are back, once more hunting down aliens and solving mysteries. But David Duchovny often sounds like he's reading the script for the first time--and is totally bored with it. The good news is that the enthusiasm of everyone else in the cast makes up for Duchovny's ennui. Gillian Anderson and Mitch Pileggi more than... Read More

Peter Berkrot faces an unusual challenge in narrating THE YID. Not only are there many characters whose voices and accents he must create, but also the text is written in three languages: English, Russian, and Yiddish, including Yiddish as spoken by an African-American (with a few words of Hebrew thrown in). Yet Berkrot keeps all the voices clear and convincing in a story that... Read More

This audiobook of obsession in contemporary New York, featuring finely drawn characters, a twisty plot, and a glitzy setting, is ably narrated by Robert Petkoff. Immigration attorney and map collector Paul Reeves is drawn into a domestic conflict with violent overtones. When Reeves's pretty neighbor accompanies him to an auction, she reconnects with a former beau, threatening... Read More

Sherman Alexie narrates his powerful memoir with acute emotion and vulnerability. His story of his grief after the death of his mother is rooted in the brutal experiences of Native Americans in the United States. He has composed a repeating patchwork of stories inspired by his family, life on and off the reservation, and poems born of his visceral reaction to his loss. Alexie's... Read More

A diverse collection of poems, short stories, and anecdotes from HBO's president of documentary films is narrated by an A-list celebrity cast, including Alan Alda, Lena Dunham, Meryl Streep, and others. They're filled with heartwarming memories, quirky tongue-in-cheek recollections, regretful experiences, successes and failures, attempts to reverse aging, and a multitude of... Read More

Narrator Taylor Meskimen renders Olivia's relentlessly optimistic narrative in a voice listeners will find hard to forget. With her dad gone and her mom overworked and stressed, Olivia becomes a de facto caretaker, teacher, cook, and entertainer for her 5-year-old sister, Berkley. Meskimen captures Olivia's hopeful attitude, which is manifested in elaborate and often bizarre... Read More

Hallie Ephron has achieved a riveting suspense novel, and Amy McFadden's narration is compelling. Forty years ago, Lis and Janey were playing outside when Lis ran after a puppy, leaving 4-year-old Janey alone. When she returned, Janey, and her one-of-a-kind porcelain doll, were gone. On the anniversary of Janey's disappearance, their mother places a photo of Janey's doll in the... Read More

Surprising revelations abound in this audio biography of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, including a recently discovered confession of her offenses in her own words. Narrator Jenny Funnell does a good job of creating sixteenth-century English life for listeners so that they understand the life of women in this time period and, in particular, the life of a... Read More

Stemming from the question of a female friend, linguistics expert and professor Deborah Tannen turns her attention to the unique nature of female friendships. In narrating her own work, Tannen gives an assured performance, effectively blending her role as researcher and confidante. After all, she knows this material better than anyone, a fact that she carefully demonstrates... Read More