Something is dreadfully wrong when Annie B.’s presumed dead father shows up at the back door following a local prison break. Gerwitz’s novel poses hard questions for a family trying to cope. Long after its final chapter, listeners will ponder the choices made and their repercussions. Did Andrew Stone’s return help or harm his children? Was Gran wise in isolating her grandchildren? How can an 11-year-old pull a family together? Narrator Kate Reinders sets a pace in keeping with the quickly developing story. She brings a youthful voice to her rendition of Annie B., trailing off when deep in thought, bristling with contempt as she criticizes her father, and shouting with raw intensity when coping skills are hard to come by. As Gran, Reinders is prickly, and as young Rew, she’s explosive.
(Historical fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: April 9, 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781469275574
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Liam Aiken narrates this prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events in a somber, deadpan tone that heightens its dark humor. As a teenaged Lemony Snicket investigates a series of arsons in a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, Aiken creates voices that delineate character and help keep clear the large cast of Snicket’s associates, enemies, and enemies that turn out to be associates. Aiken’s tone of quiet urgency will keep listeners hooked through wordplay, mysteries, good meals, romance, and the appearance of a new villain named Hangfire, who hoodwinks adults, frames a librarian, and kidnaps all the children in town. This smart and funny listen will please Snicket fans and create new ones.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478955733
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While narrator Liam Aiken evokes the wistful, dolorous tone of Snicket’s second mystery in his All the Wrong Questions series, he fails to deliver Snicket’s signature snark with appropriate vigor. In this episode, the main character, 12-year-old Lemony Snicket, continues the investigations that began in STAIN’D BY THE SEA with the case of the missing chemist, Cleo Knight. As Aiken delivers Snicket’s declarative sentences in a deadpan voice, his remote reading keeps listeners distant from the story. Furthermore, Aiken does not always play up the quirks of the town’s eccentric characters. When he does use individualized voicings, the story shakes off its languidness to some degree. Aiken’s melancholy narration echoes Snicket’s loneliness but doesn’t enliven the recording for young listeners. An attached PDF file includes the character Seth’s illustrations.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478924845
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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